By Seraphine Nyuiemedi
Teenage pregnancy is taking a toll on many young girls in the Volta Region. Some of them dropped out of school, while others stopped their apprenticeship, thereby cutting short their dreams and aspirations.
In a bid to curb the teenage pregnancy menace, the Volta Regional Department of Gender has stepped up education on the dangers of teenage pregnancy in the North Dayi and Akatsi North Districts.
It covered more than 600 young girls who were advised to be assertive and focus on their education or apprenticeship to better their lot.
Many pregnant adolescents have found themselves compromised due to lack of finances, parental neglect, and sexual abuse, among others.
Teenage pregnancy, if not monitored and managed properly, could jeopardise the health and well-being of its victims.
The Volta Regional Director for the Department of Gender, Thywill Eyra Kpe, said the implications of teenage pregnancy and child marriage are problematic, such that the teenage girl is forced into early parenting when she is not physically, emotionally, and psychologically prepared.
Mrs. Kpe said this at a sensitisation forum organised by her department for 100 artisans and young girls in apprenticeship at Anfoega in the North Dayi District.
With funding from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Volta Regional Department of Gender has constituted Community Parents’ Advocacy Groups to support parents of adolescent girls in the targeted communities where adolescent girls could be identified, and also take informed decisions.
