As part of measures to end the alarming rate of teenage pregnancies in the country, the chief of Gomoa Okwawu in the Gomoa East district of the Central region is advocating fines and lashes to curb the menace.
According to Nana Kofi Sakyi Ababio V, the system has helped in curbing the menace in Gomoa Okwawu, hence the need for other communities to emulate them. “If a young lady is pregnant and you fine her GHC200 or GHC100 and the parents punish their daughter or you give the teenager two or three lashes, she will learn lessons and reform.
“There was a case like that sometime ago and the person who impregnated the school girl and the girl were fined GHC200 each. As a result of this no female student has gotten pregnant for the past three years in our community,” the chief stated.
Nana Kofi Sakyi Ababio V aded “we were are not forcing it on others but if it worked for us, we think that other regions or communities will see it worthwhile and also adopt it as a way of curbing teenage pregnancies in the country.”
The Gomoa area and in fact the whole of Central region are noted for teenage pregnancies with many girls dropping out of school.
According to a report by the Department of Gender and the Central Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service, over 13,000 teenagers got pregnant in 2016.
However, the Gomoa Okwawu chief said teenage pregnancies have reduced drastically as a result of the measures they have put in place and students are performing very well in school.
“We now have female students who are not getting pregnant but are in school and performing well. We presented 16 female students for BECE exams last year and all of them have passed and are in Senior High Schools.
Even those who did not perform well got aggregate 23 and that is why we are advocating it to others because it will help the country,” he added.
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