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Increasing birth rate among adolescents alarming
Proof’d
The Department of Gender has described as a tragedy the high adolescent birth rate in the Volta Region, saying “the trend is taking serious toll on the human resource of the area.”
“An adolescent birth rate of 103 per 1000 which is far above the national average of 75 is, indeed, a great cause for worry for the country,” Madam Lena Alai, Volta Regional Director of Gender, has said.
Speaking at the opening of a four-day mentorship camp at Ho for 100 girls and 20 boys selected from the Central Tongu, Afadzato South, North Dayi and South Dayi districts last Thursday, she said that an immediate action was required to curb the trend.
Madam Alai said that apart from the adolescent birth rate, the large number of reported cases of sexual abuse in the region was also undermining efforts to attain the fifth Sustainable Development Goal which focused on gender equity, with emphasis on the participation of women in politics.
In 2018, for instance, a total of 511 of such cases, including 93 defilement and 17 rape cases were recorded in the region, in addition to many other cases of assault against young women being investigated by the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), the Regional Director revealed.
She further disclosed that in 2017, a total of 664 of such cases, including 152 defilement and seven rape cases were reported in the region.
Madam Alai pointed out that early sexual relations and marriages among adolescents gave rise to gender-based violence and abuse because they were not mentally developed to face the challenges of marriage.
“They also lack the skills to negotiate for safe sex for which reason they often become victims of unsafe relationship or marriage with its consequences of unplanned birth and other health challenges,” she said.
The Volta Regional Director of Education, Madam Enyonam Afi Amafuga also told the participants that the adolescent stage was a critical period to learn everything as they had the capacity to explore the world around them.
She, therefore, urged the participants to make good use of their youthfulness by studying hard towards a bright future, not to engage in vices which would destroy their future.
“May you find your way into adulthood with little or no regrets because you made the right choices as an adolescent boy or girl,” Madam Amafuga added.
The participants were taken through Adolescent Reproductive Health, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence at Schools and in the Community; and Healthy and Responsible Adolescent among other topics.
Pix: 1. Volta Regional Director of Gender – Madam Lena Alai
2. The camp participants
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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