Accra: The Upper East Regional Child Protection Committee has expressed deep concern over the recent surge in teenage pregnancy cases in the region, calling for urgent and collective action to reverse the trend. Statistics from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) show that the region recorded 2,751 teenage pregnancies within the first half of 2025, including 2,436 cases from January to May alone. This figure is significantly higher than the 2,073 cases recorded during the same January-May period in 2024.
According to Ghana News Agency, the data further revealed a steady rise in teenage marriages, with 6,979 cases documented in the first half of 2025, up from 6,599 in 2024 and 6,078 in 2023 during the same period. The Committee described the situation as alarming, warning that the growing trend posed serious threats to the health, education, and future prospects of young girls in the region.
Presenting the Committee’s first and second quarter reports during a review meeting held in Bolgatanga, Mrs Georgina Aberese-Ako, the Upper East Regional Acting Director of the Department of Children, urged stakeholders, including parents, community leaders, and civil society organisations, to intensify education and advocacy to curb the problem. She emphasised that teenage pregnancy and early marriage not only violate the rights of children and cause school dropouts but also perpetuate cycles of poverty and inequality.
The meeting was organised by the Department of Children with funding support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and aimed to strengthen inter-agency collaboration and review progress on child protection efforts within the region. It brought together various stakeholders from state departments and agencies, including the Departments of Gender, Children and Social Welfare and Community Development, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, National Youth Authority, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and the Ghana Police Service, among others.
Mrs Aberese-Ako noted that despite efforts over the years to address challenges facing adolescents, teenage pregnancy remained a major issue, and urged stakeholders to intensify interventions to curb the menace. Ms Patience Hayford, Principal Programmes Officer at the Department of Children, noted that Ghana was committed to ending violence against children and underscored the need for a multi-sectoral approach for effective implementation.
She stressed that the Department of Children, in partnership with the National Child Protection Committee and other key stakeholders, must proactively communicate these commitments widely and rally support for their execution. ‘This collaborative effort will drive Ghana toward achieving a violence-free environment for children by 2030,’ she said.
Mr Awal Ahmed Kariama, the Executive Director of RISE-Ghana, said that although the Child Protection Committee in the region had worked closely to rescue some girls from child marriage, more needed to be done in view of the recent rise in teenage pregnancy cases.