Statistics from the Akatsi South Municipal Health Directorate showed that the Municipality is among the top three Districts to have recorded increasing cases of Teenage Pregnancy for the 2024 half-year health performance review.

 The figures saw Anloga District leading the chart with 15.3 per cent, whilst South Dayi and Akatsi South were joint second, recording an equal percentage of 15.0 per cent with South Tongu holding the fourth position.

This was made known during a half-year health performance review by health officials from the Akatsi South Municipal Health Directorate.

The figures further indicated some Districts in the region that have recorded some rise in cases relating to teenage pregnancy.

These are, Agotime Ziope 14.5, Central Tongu 14.4, Adaklu 13.6, Ketu South 13.4, Keta 13.2, Ketu North 13.07, and North Tongu, registering 11.4 per cent in that order.

However, the data also highlighted a few Districts that have recorded percentages ranging from 11.0 to 5.52 in that trend.

These are Kpando 11.0, Hohoe 10.91, Akatsi North 9.76, Ho West 9.3, North Dayi 9.28, Ho 7.69, and lastly, Afadjato South 5.52 per cent, respectively.

On Maternal health services, the Directorate, however, recorded a decrease in Antenatal care (ANC) registrants by 55.2 per cent in 2024 as compared to 60.3 between January to June 2023.

The review also highlighted a total number of 14 deliveries in 2023 under the ages of 10 to 14 years as compared to 6 in 2024, whilst 182 deliveries were recorded in 2023 as compared to 163 for girls between 15 to 19 years, representing 17 and 16 per cent, respectively for the period under review.

Further checks by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) also revealed that the Akatsi South Municipality has placed second after Central Tongu District, which recorded the highest teenage pregnancy cases, followed by Agotime-Ziope in 2023.

The Alarming situation, according to Mrs Justine Sefakor Alornyo, the Akatsi South Municipal Director of Health Services, required all stakeholders to rise to the task by ensuring pragmatic measures were put in place. On their part, she revealed that the Directorate would do everything possible to mitigate the challenge.

“We are doing community education as well as engaging the media platforms to fight the situation,” she said.

Mrs Alornyo also stated that her outfit had introduced a project dubbed ‘School Health Services’ in the Municipality, where adolescent boys and girls were educated on their health issues.

The trend, according to some stakeholders, who are members of a constituted Risk Communication and Social Mobilisation Sub-Committee (RC &SMC) members under the watch of the Health Directorate, pledged to offer their support by engaging the various communities through educational activities on the canker.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest adolescent birth rate of 97.9 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 years. In Western and Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa, around 25 per cent of adolescent girls and young women gave birth before age 18. – GNA