Akatsi south: The Akatsi South Municipality recorded 177 teenage pregnancies between January and June 2026, accounting for 13.2 percent of all pregnancies registered during the period.
According to Ghana News Agency, the figure comprised seven girls aged between 10 and 14 years and 170 aged between 15 and 19 years, which exceeds the national target of below 11.5 percent. Mrs. Justine Sefakor Alornyo, the Municipal Director of Health Services, described teenage pregnancy as the municipality's 'most troubling indicator' and emphasized that the issue demands a response beyond the health sector.
Mrs. Alornyo highlighted that the seven pregnancies involving girls aged 10 to 14 years were particularly alarming, stressing that teenage pregnancy is not only a health issue but also a social, educational, and child protection failure. She revealed that the Directorate plans to intensify adolescent sexual and reproductive health outreach, targeting both school-based and out-of-school adolescents in electoral areas with high teenage pregnancy rates.
The directorate will also convene a multi-sectoral response involving the Municipal Assembly, Ghana Education Service, Department of Social Welfare, Ghana Police Service, traditional authorities, and religious leaders. According to her, cases involving girls aged 10 to 14 years must be treated as child protection matters and referred appropriately.
Mrs. Alornyo stated that the Directorate will strengthen community-based antenatal care mobilization through CHPS compounds, community health volunteers, and traditional birth attendants to improve early booking. Although antenatal care registration improved during the period, 1,337 pregnant women, representing 68.9 percent coverage, were registered, leaving roughly three in ten pregnant women still not reaching health facilities early enough or at all.
Mrs. Alornyo has called for stronger community collaboration to address the factors contributing to teenage pregnancy and improve maternal and adolescent health outcomes.