Ada West District tackle challenges facing adolescents

Leaders of Sege in the Ada West District have initiated moves to improve parental skills in a bid to enhance parent-adolescent relationships and reduce adolescent pregnancies in the locality.

In recent records, the district has been number one on the list in terms of teenage pregnancies in the whole Greater Accra Region.

The District Chief Executive (DCE), Adzoteye Lawer Akrofi, said the large number is bad news for the district and the development of girl-child adding, every effort has been made and still been made to reduce it.

Mr. Lawer was speaking at a ceremony to hand over a district adolescent health unit meant to train and motivate young girls to abstain from early sex by the Regular intake 30 of the Ghana Military Academy on August 17, 2021.

“It is very disturbing because if you look at it, in terms of population and Ada West should be topping the Greater Accra Region, it is not anything to write home about, therefore we have mounted vigorous campaigns, radio and television including a public engagement to fight the menace and we are on course,” he said.

Relationship

Dr. Marry Mantey, Ada West District Director of Health on her part noted that good parent-adolescent relationships in molding the character of the adolescents was crucial and would be promoted to support the fight to reduce the high incidence of adolescent pregnancies in the district.

She noted the facility would serve as change agents in the locality in promoting healthy parent-adolescent relationships, adding that, they would also seek to equip parents with effective parenting skills to help them mold children into responsible adults.

“The Ada West district has always grappled with issues of teenage pregnancy, this has been one of our biggest headaches, currently we are leading in the region as the highest number of teenage pregnancies and this is very worrying. And this has been the case for the past 3 years.

“We believe that the facility gesture would go a long way to help improve the health need of the adolescent in the district to reduce cases of teenage pregnancy leading to school dropout and other social issues affecting the youth. The adolescent unit would provide a friendly environment for counseling and guidance so as to take the necessary measures to end it” she noted.

Brig. Gen. Fiifi Amissah – Defence Financial Controller of Regular intake 30 of the Ghana Military Academy on his part also advised the young ladies present at the ceremony to stay vigilant and not be suede into some unwanted pregnancies.

“The purpose for this gathering is for us to donate some needed items to the adolescent center as members of the military academy. About 31 years ago, we assembled at the military academy, Teshie as young and vibrant boys from different villages, towns, districts to train and be commission as military officers to serve our dear country.

Here we are, we have come afar as responsible citizens through the blessings of God and the support of our society, once reflecting on the 31 years of military service, as we occasionally do, during every milestone of our career, we look back to give back to society.”

According to him, it is needed to create a more sustainable change in society than merrymaking, the reason they settled on renovating the facility for an “adolescent unit to educate and support especially the girl-child on how to eradicate the menace of teenage pregnancy”.

He added, “We associate with this vision and hope for it to benefit the purpose for which we established it. We acknowledge that this facility will be of immense support to the young adolescent here.

Once this project puts the young girls into capable and mature women, our society would be of the great beneficiary. It would further eradicate poverty for national development. We hope the adolescent girls would become responsible people years after passing through this service.”