One-hundred-and sixty-five girls between 10 and 14 years got pregnant in the Volta Region last year.  

Out of this figure, 23 were recorded in the Akatsi South District, 21 in the Ketu North Municipality while Ho and Ketu South Municipalities recorded 14 cases each.  

Also, 5,974 teenagers within the age group of 15 and 19 got pregnant during the same period.  

This brings the total number of underage and teenage pregnancies in the region in 2020 to 6,139.  

Out of the total figure, 774 were recorded in the Ketu South Municipality, followed by South Tongu District with 466 cases and then Keta Municipality with 464 cases.  

The municipalities of Ketu North and Hohoe recorded 444 and 440 cases respectively while North Tongu District also recorded 414 cases.  

Madam Florence Gyaase-Nketiah, Deputy Volta Regional Director of Nursing (Public Health) made the startling revelation to The Spectator at Ho on Tuesday.  

She said that the Akatsi North District recorded 94 cases which was the least number of the pregnancies.  

According to her, the health authorities in the region were working vigorously with the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, and the United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency, UNFPA to curb the trend significantly.  

The Deputy Director of Nursing entreated parents to talk openly with their children on sexuality, saying the “world is changing and so are the body development stages of our children.”  

She expressed concern over the usual silence on the identities of the men who impregnated under-aged girls in the communities and called on all and sundry to help to expose the perpetrators for the appropriate action to be taken against them.  

She again said that the 6,139 cases of underage and teenage pregnancies were among the 45,411 antenatal registrations in the region last year.

Still on the underage and teenage pregnancy figures, the Adaklu and Afadzato South Districts recorded 121 and 117 respectively, while Akatsi South recorded 392 cases, with 273 of such pregnancies occurring in the Anloga District and 300 in the Ho West District.  

The rest are Kpando Municipality, 309; North Dayi District, 137; South Dayi, 302 and Agotime Ziope 181.