Teenage pregnancy and some obnoxious cultural practices like Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) are still major issues affecting the growth and development of adolescent girls in some rural and poverty-stricken communities in the Upper East Region, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Ghana, an international Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has observed.
Mr Richard Amoani, National Coordinator for FAWE-Ghana Chapter, said the increasing rate of teenage pregnancy in some districts and municipalities in the region was "highly lamentable and mind-boggling." He stated that despite the frantic advocacy efforts by the not-for-profit making organisations, government agencies and other philanthropic organisations are willing to end the phenomenon.
Mr Amoani was speaking at the closing ceremony of a two-day capacity building workshop organised in Bolgatatanga, capital of the Upper East Region.
The workshop, which brought together traditional leaders, Health Directors, Directors from the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, among others, formed part of the Sexual Health And Reproductive Education (SHARE) project which aimed to aid the teenage girls and young women to access high quality sexual health care.
