Obuasi: Decline in teenage pregnancies due to advocacies, empowerment programmes – NGO

Louisa Amoah, the Executive Director of Obuasi-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Girls Shall Grow, has confirmed a reduction in cases of teenage pregnancy in Obuasi.

Speaking at the Living Right conference held by the NGO to mark their 5th anniversary, Mrs. Amoah said teenage pregnancy had been a major social challenge facing the youth, especially in mining communities.

She attributed the drop in teenage pregnancy cases to the tremendous efforts of NGOs like Girls Shall Grow, which have put in place advocacy and empowerment programs to ensure that girls stay away from situations that could get them pregnant.

Mrs. Amoah said that Girls Shall Grow has succeeded in building the self-esteem, confidence, and resilience of the Girl Child through mentoring programs where girls are provided with guidance and support to help them navigate challenges and make positive choices in life.

She conceded that the war against discrimination and marginalization of the Girl Child can only be won if all stakeholders, including teachers, parents, and religious leaders, join forces to intensify the campaign for women’s empowerment. Additionally, she advocated for equal attention to be paid to empowering the male child.

Ms. Amoah said that the high cost of treatment for renal diseases prevents most patients from affording it, which worsens their plight. She advocated for the expansion of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to include kidney diseases. This, she said, would enable people living with the disease to access quality healthcare and save lives.

“The cost of dialysis has been a major problem to patients who have to go through that process, and as a Girl Child advocate, we see a lot of young girls develop kidney diseases lately hence our call for the government to consider adding the treatment of the disease into the NHIS,” she said.

Pastor Maxwell Kumi of Christ Embassy Church, Obuasi Mawuli, who was the Guest speaker of the Living Right conference, called on churches to intervene to stop the increasing attrition rate among teachers and nurses in Ghana.

Experts are predicting a worrying future for Ghana in the wake of a high rate of migration of professional medical practitioners. Nurses and doctors have become bent on leaving the country for developed countries for better working conditions.

Early this year, it is estimated that a little over 16,000 Ghanaian teachers applied to the Department of Education in the UK for employment. By June 13, 2023, 10,000 of the applicants with Ghana Teacher Licenses had been certified to work in the UK without any further assessment (qualified teacher status test) by the UK government.

Pastor Kumi described the situation as worrying and called on religious leaders to speak against the phenomenon and advised the government to put in measures that will encourage trained professionals to stay and work in the country.

“Ghana is a beautiful country with beautiful laws. It is rather unfortunate that some of us are running away to countries whose laws encourage all forms of homosexuality and polygamy contrary to what the Bible teaches us,” he said.

He seized the opportunity to advise the youth to remain steadfast in the Lord by obeying the teachings of the Bible even while they strive to pursue academic excellence.

The participants who attended the program, mostly drawn from first and second-cycle institutions in Obuasi, lauded the Girls Shall Grow for their efforts in empowering the girl child over the years.

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