News
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
News
Abu Trica’s extradition case: Prophets, fetish priests demand pay for spiritual solution …Lawyer reveals
Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a lawyer for embattled Frederick Kumi, affectionately called Abu Trica and has made a shocking revelation over the behaviour of some members of the clergy.
According to him in a post on social media, the difficult part of Abu Trica’s trial is not the law but the number of ‘Men of God’ and fetish priests demanding financial sacrifices to help resolve the matter spiritually.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2026, “The most difficult part about the Abu Trica case; is not the law.”
He continued: “It is the number of, prophetesses, evangelists and fetish priests, who have called or messaged to ask us to pay for spiritual solutions.”
It would be recalled that in March this year, the Gbese District Court dismissed a preliminary objection filed by Abu Trica, challenging the extradition proceedings initiated at the request of the United States.
The court, presided over by Anna Akosua Appiah Gottfried Anaafi Gyasi, in its ruling held that the offences forming the basis of the extradition, particularly wire fraud, constitute extraditable offences under the 1931 treaty between Ghana and the United States.
He was then given 15 days counting from March 27 to appeal the decision of the court or be surrendered for extradition to the US.
Against this backdrop, he was on Tuesday, April 22, granted a bail in the sum of GH¢30,000,000 by an Accra High, pending the appeal of his extradition
Mr Kumi was arrested in Ghana in December 2025 following an indictment by United States authorities, alleging that he played a role in a romance scam network that defrauded elderly American victims of more than $8 million.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
From panic to pass: how parents, teachers can help children beat BECE, WASSCE exam phobia- Part 1
Walk through any Junior High or Senior High compound in Ghana as BECE or WASSCE approaches and you will see it.
A bright girl suddenly quiet. A boy who led class debates now sleeping at his desk. A Form three student with stomach pains every Monday morning.
This is not laziness. This is academic stress. When left unaddressed, it hardens into exam phobia-overwhelming dread that pushes children into burnout, avoidance, and sometimes silence.
As a mental health professional who sits with these children and their parents at Counselor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC) in Adenta Oyarifa-Teiman, I see the pattern clearly.
Research confirms it. Putwain and Daly (2014) found that high test anxiety predicts lower grades independent of ability. Zeidner (1998) showed that chronic academic pressure raises cortisol, weakens memory recall, and increases school dropout risk. The brain under fear cannot retrieve what it studied.
Understanding the storm: What academic stress really looks like
Exam phobia is not just “being nervous.” It shows up as headaches before mocks, sudden anger when books are mentioned, night-time insomnia, or perfectionism that ends in blank scripts.
Some children over-study until 2 a.m. and forget everything by 9 a.m. Others avoid books completely, scrolling phones instead. Both are distress signals. Dr Kenneth Ginsburg, a paediatrician specialising in adolescent resilience, notes: “Stress is not the enemy; feeling alone with stress is.” Too many Ghanaian children feel alone with it.
The home front: How parents and couples become safe havens, not extra pressure
The first antidote is at home. Structure beats shouting. Set a predictable study slot-same time, same place, with water and a light snack. Then protect sleep like you protect school fees. A tired brain fails faster than an unprepared one. Use the “15-minute start rule”: “Just sit for 15 minutes. If you still can’t, we close and try after a walk.” Often, starting is the hardest part.
Couples must watch their language. “Don’t disgrace us” plants fear. Replace it with “We see your effort. What part feels hardest today?” Praise process, not only position: “You revised three topics and asked for help—that is maturity.” Research by Dweck (2006) confirms that process praise builds resilience while outcome praise increases anxiety.
For caregivers, check your own anxiety. Children borrow our nervous system. If BECE makes you panic, they will panic. One parent grounds—keeps meals, prayer, and bedtime steady. The other pivots—talks to teachers, adjusts timetables, arranges counselling. Both protect rest. An empty cup cannot pour calm.
Resources
– Counsellor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC): Award-winning Clinical Mental Health and Counselling Facility, accredited by the Ghana Psychology Council.
– School-Based Support: Speak to Guidance & Counselling units, or licensed school counsellors. E.g. Counsellor Blessing Offei – 0559850604 (School Counsellor).
– Contact CPAC for Parent Coaching/Counselling & Student Therapy: 055 985 0604 / 055 142 8486
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