It has come to light that the majority of illicit mining operations in the Upper East Region – specifically the Nabdam District are what’s causing the high number of teen pregnancies.
The alarming rise in the number of adolescent pregnancies in the area is primarily due to illegal miners who entice young girls with the revenues of their mining operations.
Madam Dora Kulariba, the Upper East Regional Focal Person in charge of Adolescent Reproductive Health at the Regional Health Directorate who linked the high rates of teenage pregnancy to mining activities said that majority of adolescent girls are falling pregnant in areas where mining is practiced.
She noted that the Talensi District has higher rates of teen pregnancies due to the introduction of mining in the region.
“In Nabdam, they have this gold mining. You will agree with me that anything that has to do with capital, or money, you find the youth there mostly. When you have money, you make good or bad decisions. They [the girls] are being influenced. Nabdam is having these issues because of the mining that is going on there. That is also to say that its sister district, Talensi, is also having high teenage pregnancies,” she said.
Although teenage pregnancy rates have increased in certain mining districts, the Upper East Region has seen a decline in the overall number of cases of teenage pregnancies as a result of the efforts of stakeholders to treat the canker.
“We have made some gains even though we are still far from the national target which is 11.5% per region…Looking at data from the past 3 years, we have actually recorded a decline from 15.4 percent to 15.2 percent in 2021. In 2022, we had 14.2 percent. We would say we have recorded some gains because of our work,” Madam Charity Tanni, Regional Information Officer with the Ghana Health Service, said Bolgatanga based on A1 Radio Day.
Teenage pregnancies continue to represent a significant developmental setback in the area, resulting in school dropouts and early marriages for females.
Stakeholders have engaged in a variety of actions throughout the years to support the trend’s reversal.
