On Tuesday, 14th June, 2022 some staff of Social Welfare and Community Development Department of the Assembly were paneled on Dess FM (a community radio station in the municipality) to educate the populace on teenage pregnancy. This platform was used as an opportunity for the Mass Education Officers to expatiate on the meaning, causes, effects and prevention of teenage pregnancy.
On the radio program, Mr. Evans Owusu-Addai (Principal Mass Education Officer) defined a teenager as a person who falls between the ages of thirteen (13) to nineteen (19) years. He went further to explain teenage pregnancy as when such a female child gets pregnant.
It was further discussed that, some of the causes of teenage pregnancy are as follows: broken homes, peer pressure, drug abuse, poverty, lack of sex education, lack of communication, poor parental care, poor living condition, media influence, sexual abuse etc. Every single point was vividly explained for listeners to have a fair knowledge about them.
The effects of teenage pregnancy which include pre-mature mothers, school dropout, child delinquencies, hardship on the family, jeopardized education, health consequences etc. were also explained in detail.
To prevent teenage pregnancy, teenagers were educated on what not to do to get pregnant, which includes sex education, abstinence from sexual act or activities, good communication from parents to child, reliable and trustworthy adult to confide in, having an approachable and knowledgeable role model, unconditional love and support, avoidance of negligence on the part of parents.
At the end of the program, listeners were encouraged to report cases at the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development so that case specific recommendations and solutions would be rendered.
The staff of the department used the platform to appeal to all teenage pregnancy prevention stakeholders in the municipality to up their game in curving the situation. They finally thanked the Management and Staff of Dess FM for such a prestigious platform given them.
Source: Social Welfare and Community Development Department, BMA
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