By Emmanuel Akayeti
The Nabdam District Chief Executive, Agnes Anamoo, has bemoaned the rising rate of Teenage pregnancy in the District saying it is worrying.
She stated that while the district saw a decrease in the teen pregnancy rate from 22 percent in 2020 to 15 percent in 202, it was still nothing to be proud of as a mother, and she urged all stakeholders to rise to the challenge and put an end to the canker.
This was disclosed in an interview with GBC in Nangodi on the sidelines of a stakeholder’s engagement meeting on Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Rights (ASRHR), organised in the District by Rise-Ghana in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and sponsored by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Mrs. Anamoo said she has been in relentless talks with all the traditional authorities, queen mothers, health workers, opinion leaders, assemblymen, and women, youth groups, teachers, and faith-based organisations (FBO) within the District, together with the District Assembly, to fashion by-laws and agree on a set time for scheduling public events organisations such as durbars, festivals, passing out ceremonies, and funerals, among others, to start and end early during the day.
This, she said, will leave young people no room to have all night activities to themselves with their parents at home. Mrs. Anamoo stated that so far, the response is good, but it must be enforced by all so as to help reduce teenage pregnancy to a single digit, if not eradicate it completely in the District.
She, however, touched on the eating patterns of adolescents, especially girls, saying the modern kinds of foods being sold in the markets, such as indomie, and fried rice, among others, have taken over the taste of the youth into thinking that the 4-star dieting system espoused by health professionals is now out-dated.
Mrs. Anamoo added that the 4-star dieting system has come to replace what is called the balanced diet at the local level at a cheaper cost, yet “for lack of knowledge, my people perish” as scripture entails. These kinds of foods abound in our various communities with rich nutrients for healthy growth. The DCE urged parents to rise and play a leading role by educating their children to learn to eat well.