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NGO rescues teenage mothers
LifeAgain, a local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in the Upper West Region of Ghana has come to the rescue of some out-of-school teenage mothers whose hope of continuing with their education would have been dashed because of early pregnancy.
As the name implies, LifeAgain, the NGO has taken upon itself to provide the necessary educational materials to these young mothers to get them back to school to continue with their education so that they do not become burden to their parents and society.
The Chief Executive Officer, Ms Saudatu Mohammed said that her organisation usually identified girls between 12 and 20 years who had given birth under economic hardship, and assisted them to either go back to school or learn a trade.
According to her, the activities of LifeAgain had made positive impact in the lives of some teenage mothers in the region who would have been liability rather than asset.
Addressing a conference of teenage mothers here recently, Ms. Saudatu Mohammed said that a lot of young girls endured maltreatment as a result of unplanned pregnancies, and called on donors to support her laudable project.
Some beneficiaries shared their experiences on what triggered their engagement in early sex leading to pregnancy.
The emotional flame was sparked by 19-year-old Ms. Saudatu who explained that growing up as a young girl with parents who cared less about her well-being, she had to wash bowls for food vendors at the Wa Central market to raise money to buy books and other school items.
“I did this job until junior high two when I met a young man who proposed to me and offered to assist me financially and I was excited that he gave me GH₵5.00 daily so that I didn’t have to go to the market anymore to wash bowls”, she said.
She stated that at some point, she felt obliged to meet the sexual needs of this “good Samaritan” who later became her boyfriend and got her pregnant.
She said she had to run away from her parents to her boyfriend who had moved to a different district because her parents wanted her to abort the pregnancy as a result of differences in religion between her and the boyfriend.
“Staying with a jobless man was real hell for a pregnant woman like me because sometimes I would wake up the whole day and not get food to eat; I didn’t want to go back to my parents because they would force me to undergo abortion”, she narrated.
Saudatu explained that luck shone on her after delivery, when LifeAgain visited her community and she was enrolled as an apprentice of a dressmaker in the area, saying even though things were still difficult for her, she was hopeful that if she passed out, she could make a living for herself and the child who was now two years old.
Also, a 17-year-old Hidaya through peer influence started an early sexual relation with a man who got her pregnant at age 15.
Apparently, she conceived at Junior High school form two and was advised by friends to either abort the pregnancy or run away from home in order to escape scorn and shame.
“I stuck to my guns because I really wanted to go to school and I actually did not do away with the pregnancy, amidst scorn, shame and mockery from friends; people mockedand shamed me publicly and pointed fingers at me but I still went to school till I delivered in form three and could no longer go to school”, she said.
She indicated that after delivery, she went back to school and registered for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and scored aggregate 26 after the exam.
“My elder brother took care of me till delivery. I heard of LifeAgain through someone and contacted them to help me further my education at the senior high school (SHS)”, she said.
Hidaya said the NGO got her books, school uniforms and everything else she needed to go back to school and said her brother also helped in taking care of the child.
“Even at the new school, some of my old friends from JHS who knew I got pregnant have told the others that I had a child, so my mates still make mockery of me but I don’t care because I really want to utilise this opportunity to study hard and complete the school”.
“The father of my child tried to get me to abort the pregnancy and when she refused, he employed the help of friends to make fun of me and called me a school ‘drop-out’.
“Because of these people, I really want to do well in life; I want to show them that having a child does not mean I am useless so I don’t care whatever others say, I am determined to complete my education”, she said.
An 18-year-old mother of one narrating her ordeal also said she was forced into an early relationship as a result of marital problems at home.
“My mother was 19 years when she had me out of wedlock and when she finally got married, the husband made me his rival and did not want to have anything to do with me”, she said.
She said her step-father stopped her mother from providing for her needs so she had to fend for herself with the hope of completing at least JHS before she left her mother’s house.
She narrated that she endured days of intense hunger and had to use rags as sanitary pad, a situation she said made her stay out of school for days she had her menstrual period.
“I moved to our house in the village after JHS and worked at a drinking spot to save money for SHS, but I met a guy who used to give me money and ended up sleeping with me” she narrated and said she had to drop out after first term at the SHS when she discovered she was pregnant.
Since the man was not ready to help, she said she had to fend for herself and suffer days of hunger and poverty so much so that she could not even afford diapers for the baby.
“I met LifeAgain, the NGO that trained me on how to make liquid soap which I vend to take care of myself and my son but I am still hoping to get back to school”, she said.
Rounding up the discussion, a camerawoman in the region, Ms Martiuna Masoonoo Zabog encouraged the girls not to give up regardless of their circumstances.
The young lady who became a mother at age 17 and wrote her final exam at the SHS with six months old pregnancy said friends mocked her, family rejected her and she was called all sort of names but she was determined to weather the storm and make a life for herself and her son.
“Sometimes when these things happen, people call the girl all sort of names without understanding and addressing the root causes such as poverty, broken homes, lack of parental care and peer pressure”, she said and advised the girls to stay away from deceitful men.
Other women mentors at the programme charged the girls on to make use of the opportunity made available to them by LifeAgain to get a substantive living for themselves and their wards.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
