Population Council boss calls for investment in teenage pregnancy prevention

The Executive Director, National Population Council, Dr.Leticia Adelaide Appiah has asked government and stakeholders in the educational sector to commit to investing in teenage pregnancy prevention in a bid to avert high and far-reaching health, social, security and economic implications to the country.

Teenage pregnancy, Dr.Appiah says occurs in 140 teenagers per every 1000 teenager. This self-imposed barrier has the most devastating consequences in two generations; both the teenage mother and the at-risk baby who face impoverishment, school failure and mental illness creates a self-sustaining cycle of poverty, crime, growing underclass or lower-class of young people ill equipped to be productive as citizens.

She said this at the University of Ghana/ISSER Development Dialogue in Accra, “As a country, we will bene t from investing in our own future by investing in teenage pregnancy prevention. We also need to help those who have already given birth so they become e ective nurturing bonding parents. We will be removing the greatest barrier to education, improve enrollment that generates the skill desperately needed for sustainable development.”

According to Dr. Appiah, in preventing teenage pregnancy, the country will by extension be improving school enrollment, stressing that it is an important alue investment all developing countries prioritizes.

To achieve that, she highlighted three key points consisting; the need for consistent reproductive health education that supports young girls delay rst sexual intercourse.

Secondly, improved access to the full range of contraceptives, and thirdly, widespread public education campaign in support of contraceptive use. Responsible parenting, religious and traditional authorities and the media support. This is non-negotiable because adolescents need information and access to protect themselves. These approaches in unison are the main used by the global community.

Further, she maintained that investment in the young people, can create a healthier, highly educated, a happier, more loving and equitable society with improved life expectancy. Every child will have access to furniture and other requirements necessary for quality education. Taking no action

The NPC boss however, disclosed that the cost of action or inaction of maintaining the status quo concerning high-risk pregnancies including teenage pregnancy has high and far-reaching health, social, security and economic implications.

It increases expenditure with suboptimal returns. It has implications for all sectors including education (overcrowded schools, inadequate feeding, desk de cit in basic schools etc) health, supply of utilities and maintaining individual and community well-being.

“The fact is that, any policies/cultures/habits, ideologies that increases disease (covid) or economic (debt exchange) burden on any segment of the population ( babies, teenagers, etc) is a threat to the national economy, governments, employers, employees and the general citizenry.

Today more than ever, education, be it formal, informal or non-formal remains the key to escaping poverty whiles poverty remains the biggest obstacle to education especially the formal.

It is an undisputable fact that, education plays a critical role in

By Eugene Davis

determining the health, quality of life, life expectancy of populations, social and economic capital accumulation. The aggregate knowledge capital quality education provides is the most important public good for peace and national development especially in the 21st century.”

Dr. Appiah did not mince words when she asked all stakeholders to ensure it is time for the well-being of the young people to be more important than ideology, outdated culture or politics.

“In fact, in tolerating teenage pregnancy, we will continue to grapple with an ever-increasing number of lower class or underclass population which translates into a sicker population and workforce making business less competitive, slow socio-economic growth. The fact remains that, our economy and Ghanaians cannot a ord this in the 21st century.”