By Seraphine Nyuiemedi
As part of efforts to help reduce the high rate of teenage pregnancies as well as sexual and gender-based violence in the Volta Region, the Volta Regional Department of Gender under the auspices of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council has embarked on a sensitisation programme for Community parents’ advocacy support groups to help curb the menace. The Volta Regional Director for the Department of Gender, Thywill Eyra Kpe said Parental responsibilities have been identified as one of the key challenges contributing to high rates of abuse and teenage pregnancy in the Volta Region and advised parents to cater for their children by providing them with their basic needs.
Mrs Kpe was speaking at a pilot training program in Kpeve for Community parents’ advocacy support groups from three Districts namely, North Dayi, South Dayi and Afadzato South Districts.
“As we go round one of the key challenges, we’ve identified that is contributing to high rates of abuse and pregnancy is Parental responsibilities so as a region, we decided that this year, we will form Community parents’ advocacy groups these are parents that we’ve identified from various Communities.”
“We have currently seven Communities from three Districts as a pilot so we are training leaders of these groups that we expect in the communities as advocates on parental responsibilities and on issues of adolescent sexual and reproductive health and sexual and gender-based violence issues.”
“We know that parenting is a very difficult thing, it’s a tough task, but sometimes parents themselves, we are oblivious we don’t know what to do when it comes to the behaviour of adolescents and so for us as a department we feel that it’s important to engage the parents, give them some knowledge on the laws, the rights, the responsibilities of young people so that they as parents can also help us in the process of protecting and empowering adolescent boys and girls.”
The day’s training programme which was organised by the Volta Regional office of the Department of Gender with funding from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was participated by 50 Community parents and advocacy support group members comprising, religious organizations, traditional authorities, Assemblies among others from seven Communities of the three Districts in the Volta Region.
It was part of the activities under the UNFPA’s seventh country program with a focus on adolescent protection against sexual abuse and all forms of violence. The training was to equip the community parents and advocacy support groups with the requisite knowledge for promoting good parenting, adolescent sexual and reproductive health education. It was also to help prevent teenage pregnancy, sexual and gender-based violence and child marriage.
The Volta Regional Director for the Department of Gender, Thy will Eyra Kpe urged parents to continue to learn about parenting to enable them to guide their children in the appropriate direction.
“Parenting is a difficult thing. It’s a tough task and you need knowledge, you need skill, you need ability to be able to parent correctly and effectively and so I will encourage every parent to learn, continue to learn, they should learn about parenting they should learn about the development about our adolescents, our children so that they can guide them in the appropriate way.”
“I will say that if a child even makes the mistake and gets pregnant, it is not time to drive that child into marriage, that will destroy the life of that child. It is time to draw that child near, let that child go back to school, support that child so that child can become something for you one day.”
“Pushing that child into marriage is just destroying the child’s life and so we should prevent child marriage, sexual and gender-based violence against ourselves, against our children so that together we can all give these children a voice, a chance and a great future.”
The District Chief Executive for South Dayi, Godwin Kwame Dadzawa bemoaned the increasing rate of teenage pregnancy in the three Districts and commended the Volta Regional Department of Gender for the initiative saying it was timely.
“The incident rate of teenage pregnancy is escalating in these three Districts. South Dayi District, Afadzato South District and North Dayi District. I appeal to all of you gathered here to take this tuition, this education seriously so that when you get back to your various communities you will impact it to curb the menace of teenage pregnancy in our society.”
According to statistics from the South Dayi District Health Directorate, 16% of teenage pregnancies were recorded in the District between January and September 2021 with 15.4% being recorded in South Dayi District and Afadzato South District recording 11.7% within the same period.