By Jones Anlimah
The Akatsi North District in the Volta region has recorded a significant decline in teenage pregnancies over the past three years, a development that aligns with global efforts under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
District Director of Health Services, Mr. Timothy Mahama, attributed the progress to collaborative efforts among stakeholders and the implementation of targeted community-based health interventions.
Speaking at a workplan implementation meeting with traditional and religious leaders in Ave Dakpa, Mr. Mahama revealed that the district’s adolescent pregnancy rate dropped from 12.49% in 2021 to 7.79% in 2024, marking a significant step toward achieving SDG 3.7, which calls for universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services.
“Akatsi North has been one of the districts which used to record higher levels of teenage pregnancy in the region,” Mr. Mahama stated. “But I can report to you that for the past three years there has been a consistent decline.”
This improvement has been driven by the collective action of key institutions such as the Ghana Education Service, the Akatsi North District Assembly, and development partners including Good Neighbours, International Needs, the Department of Gender, and UNFPA. These partnerships directly support SDG 17, which emphasizes inclusive collaboration to achieve sustainable development.
The interventions have focused on reproductive health education (SDG 4.7) and empowering women at the community level by training mothers to serve as caregivers and counselors, thus reinforcing SDG 5, which aims to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls, including harmful practices such as child marriage and adolescent pregnancy.
“So that in the case of an adolescent child who has an issue regarding her reproductive health or even a boy, they could reach out to those within the communities to refer them to the health service,” Mr. Mahama explained.
Multi-stakeholder collaboration has increased adolescents’ access to reproductive health services, improved health outcomes, and offered young people greater agency over their futures. Despite this progress, Mr. Mahama emphasized the need for continued support, especially from traditional and religious authorities. “The child becomes a collective responsibility and everybody must play his or her part so that we can have a good future for our very central district,” he urged.
The meeting was part of Phase Three of the Programme to End Child Marriage, which supports Ghana’s National Strategic Framework on Ending Child Marriage and reinforces the targets of SDG 5.3, aimed at eliminating harmful practices.
