Over 2400 teenage pregnancies in Upper East this year – Dr. Apaak

The Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak, has expressed worry over the high rate of teenage pregnancies in the Upper East region.

This comes on the back of the Upper East Region recording 2,436 teenage pregnancies between January and May 2025.

According to statistics presented by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) during a regional review meeting on the Essential Services Package (ESP) for women and girls subjected to violence, on the issue of teenage pregnancies 25 cases involved girls aged 10 to 14 years, while the remaining 2,411 were between 15 to 19 years.

The meeting aimed to review progress under the ESP, which is a framework for service providers to coordinate efforts to support survivors of gender-based violence, identify gaps in service provision, and strengthen coordination among service providers.

The data showed that Bawku West District recorded the highest number with 372 cases, followed by Pusiga (276), Bongo (212), Talensi (210), Kassena Nankana West (198), Kassena Nankana Municipal (196) and Bolgatanga Municipal (152).

Other districts included Bawku Municipal (147), Tempane (123), Garu (118), Builsa South (116), Nabdam (100), Binduri (86), Builsa North (78), with Bolgatanga East recording the lowest with 52 cases.

Commenting on the development, Dr. Apaak described the alarming numbers of teenage pregnancies as “terribe new”.

“This is terrible news. We must, as a matter of urgency, identify and deal with the causal factors to prevent this from reoccurring.

How to deal with teenage pregnancies in Upper East: The way forward

The deputy minister of education while reacting to the teenage pregnancies in Upper East called on all to help put in place systems that will education, inform and help families, young girls and society in general to help halt the worrying trend.

“While at it, we must put in place mechanisms to assist those who are already in this situation. We cannot, and must not, neglect or abandon them”, Dr. Apaak stated.

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The meeting, organized by the Department of Gender with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), brought together stakeholders from the GHS, Ghana Education Service (GES), Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, Legal Aid Commission, Department of Social Welfare, Judiciary Service and Civil Society Organizations.