Acting Municipal Health Director of Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA), Dr. John Ekow Otoo, has disclosed that teenage pregnancy was disturbingly still high in the municipality.
According to him, out of 2,188 deliveries recorded in the area, 17.5% were teenagers.
“The most disturbing part is the numbers below 14 years. This is obviously unacceptable, and a challenge that needs to be urgently addressed,” he noted.
The health director made this known during the 2016 performance review by the KEEA health directorate in Elmina on Wednesday, February 15, 2017.
He, therefore, called on chiefs and queen mothers, religious groups, organisations and the assembly to contribute in finding lasting solutions to the menace.
He observed that although 75% of his outfit’s clientele base accessed healthcare in the municipality with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the scheme continues to owe health facilities in the area.
He revealed that NHIS currently owes health facilities in the municipality GH₵ 1,298,213.00 with the last payment being made in February 2016.
“This is definitely having a toll on health delivery in the area because if no attempts are made to pay these huge debts, it will be difficult to achieve the quality health delivery system that we all desire,” he lamented.
He disclosed that it was his outfit’s priority to convert the Elmina Urban Health Centre into a polyclinic this year as well as institute emergency hotlines and response systems as part of their emergency preparedness plans.
He further added that his outfit also hopes to retrieve health facility lands from encroachers and also institute pragmatic measures to improve staff members attitude and motivation for quality healthcare delivery in the area.
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