A research conducted in some parts of the Upper West Region relative to teenage pregnancy has produced a “very worrying result” which should be of concern to all.

It is noted that the inability of some girls in the Wa East District of the region to raise money for sanitary pads has compelled them to engage in premarital sex in exchange of money to buy the pad.

This practice has disturbingly resulted in high rate of teenage pregnancy in the area.

The research which was titled “Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Wa East District of the Upper West Region: A synthesis of Research Evidence” was conducted by the Regional Youth Parliament with support from Plan International Ghana.

It was revealed that 83 percent of adolescent-girl respondents who participated in the research said they indulged in premarital sex with males for money to buy sanitary pads.

According to the study, some of the girls were not provided with pads by their parents who had relegated their responsibilities to the backyard making it difficult for them to get supply of their basic needs such as sanitary pads.

Explaining the details of the study to The Spectator Newspaper at Wa, the Speaker of the Youth Parliament, Mr James Baba Anabiga said that the study included 300 respondents comprising parents and guardians as well as adolescent girls in the community.

He said most of the girls confessed to have slept with a men in exchange of money to buy sanitary pad or were still sleeping with men for money to buy such basic necessities.

“When we have about 57 per cent of parents reneging on their responsibilities due to poverty or sheer negligence, then we will have such a situation at hand because menstruation is a biological consequence which happens every month whether the girl is prepared for it or not”, he said.

He explained that some of the girls said they had to stay away from school during menstruation and it affected their studies but with the help of the men, they were able to buy sanitary pads and ensured that they stayed in school.

“But to what extent is this feasible when our study uncovered that 41 per cent of girls who indulged in such premarital sexual activities ended up getting pregnant, and out of that number, 34 per cent are married off at very tender ages whereas eight per cent were compelled by the circumstances at hand to drop out of school”, he lamented.

Mr. Anabiga again said that in spite of efforts to increase sexual education to adolescent girls, most parents did not appreciate the fact that some of their daughters were exposed to sex at very early stages of their life until they showed up pregnant.

“Wa East is one of the poorest districts in the region yet existing data and media reports indicate that early and unprotected sexual practices by adolescents are a common trend that exposes them to many reproductive health challenges such as unplanned teenage pregnancies, school dropouts, unsafe abortion, and sexually transmitted infections and diseases (STIs/STDs)”, he said.

He said the study suggested that to help solve the problem, parents, District Assembly, Member of Parliament for the area as well as government should initiate moves that would help support the girls and protect them from unscrupulous men.

“Parents must perform their responsibilities to the core, bearing in mind that each child they bring forth is their responsibility; the district assembly and office of the MP should support girls with sanitary pads as well as provide funding for programmes aimed at educating the girls on sexual and reproductive health”, he said.

On the whole, the speaker of the Youth Parliament called on government to introduce free sanitary pad policy to ensure that girls in rural and deprived communities had access to the sanitary towels without having to pay for them as he believed such policies would save the girls from engaging in promiscuity in order to raise money for the pad.

From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa