Editorial
Adolescent mothers deserve care, not condemnation
Adolescence is expected to be a time of growth and discovery, but for many young girls in Ghana, it becomes a period shadowed by unintended pregnancies and fear of seeking help.
Instead of finding compassion at health facilities, adolescent mothers too often faced judgment, stigma, and outright rejection from those meant to care for them.
The interim Country Director of Right to Play Ghana, Mr. Evans Sinkari, has rightly warned that such attitudes by some health workers are undermining adolescent healthcare and, by extension, Ghana’s public health goals.
Pregnant adolescents, he noted, are frequently shamed when they seek antenatal care.
This does not only strip them of the dignity they deserve but discourages them from returning for skilled delivery or postnatal services.
The result is devastating. Young mothers, fearing mistreatment, turn to unsafe abortions or unqualified attendants.
Others simply avoid health facilities altogether, putting both their lives and their babies at risk.
The ripple effects are preterm births, low birth weight, and poor child health outcomes.
Adolescent pregnancy is a public health challenge that demands compassion and professionalism.
Whether pregnancy results from coercion, early marriage, or consensual relationships, young girls must never be denied the right to safe, respectful, and confidential care.
Ghana has already committed itself through the Adolescent Health Services Policy and the National Reproductive Health Services Policy to create supportive and youth-friendly health environments.
What remains is for these policies to move from paper to practice.
It is the view of The Spectator that health workers must be trained and retrained to treat adolescents with empathy, not disdain.
The paper also believes that facilities must guarantee privacy and reduce the intimidating, adult-focused atmosphere that currently drives young people away.
Beyond saving lives, adolescent-friendly antenatal offers young mothers a chance to remain in school, build a future, and break cycles of poverty.
It is also central to achieving Sustainable Development Goal three and five which focuses on good health and well-being and gender equality respectively.
As a country, we must deal with the problem of stigma surrounding adolescent mothers. We must be seen to be upholding their rights and liberties instead of the mistreatment.
The recent floods in Accra and the neighbouring areas, which were brought on by a heavy downpour, were very catastrophic and caused loss of lives and property damage.
Similar severe flooding and downpours were also reported in other regions, which has caused anxiety and dread whenever it rains.
In a short period of time, the floods had a dangerous effect on entire communities and landscapes. Because of this, a lot of people are now temporarily putting up with friends or family members.
Videos that went viral on social media showed cars and other valuables being swept away by the floodwaters with little to nothing being done to stop them.
Certain organisations, including the New Times Corporation (NTC), publishers of The Ghanaian Times and The Spectator, were not spared because the flood level damaged important documents and swamped their premises.
Even locations outside of flood-prone zones were inundated by the floods.
The rains would intensify along with thunderstorms, according to the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet), which is tasked with observing, analysing, and disseminating weather and climate information to protect lives, promote economic planning, and maintain public safety.
It is important to remember that increased evaporation and atmospheric moisture due to climate change might intensify rainfall. Furthermore, more catastrophic floods are caused by heavy rainfall and shifting topography.
We discussed the causes of floods and mitigation strategies in our earlier editorial, “Accra floods necessitate change in attitude.”
Although the current flood situation is dire, safety can be greatly improved by being ready and understanding what to do.
The Spectator encourages the public to make an effort to be well-informed about weather predictions and take the required precautions to stay safe because the GMet is now providing accurate forecasts.
Make excellent use of the alert services that you can sign up for these days to get notifications on your phone.
Water, non-perishable food, a flashlight, batteries, prescription drugs, crucial documents in waterproof containers, and first aid supplies should all be prepared and kept readily available.
Safeguard your house and offices, relocate valuables to higher floors, and raise electrical appliances off the ground.
Avoid coming into contact with floodwater whenever you can since it might be tainted with chemicals, sewage, and other dangerous substances and also reptiles.
To make sure your neighbours are secure, it is crucial to check on them, especially if they are elderly, disabled, or living alone.
Additionally, parents need to make sure their children do not play in or close to floodwaters.
Let us be careful as there are floods everywhere.
Dear Editor,
I wish to plead with the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) to dispatch personnel to some of the flash points when it rains.
What happened last Monday and Tuesday at major transport terminals must not be something that must be repeated.
I wish to first of all commend the Interior Minister, Mr Muntaka Mubarak for the swift intervention by announcing the ‘holiday’ that gave workers and school children a relief.
It was such a tough moment for workers driving and those not driving. The situation at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange and other transport terminals forced workers to walk long distances.
Apart from the lack of public transport, pedestrians had to navigate through mud, making it difficult to move around.
I believe that with the presence of police personnel, the traffic situation can be well managed to ease the huge traffic congestion to make travelling a lot easier.
Frank Amoah,
Kasoa
