The National Population Council (NPC) is rallying support of all stakeholders’ especially religious leaders to lead in the fight against teenage pregnancy in their communities.
The involvement of religious leaders according to the Chief Executive Officer of NPC, Dr Leticia Adelaide Appiah, will not only reduce the high population growth rate but in the turn make it easier for families and nations to invest in quality human capital (nutrition, health education) for the benefit of all.
Speaking at an engagement forum with religious leaders on teenage pregnancy held at the GNAT Hall in Accra, Dr. Adelaide Appiah told the gathering that available data shows that developed countries have reduced maternal and child mortality and morbidity by focusing on policies that reduce high-risk pregnancies.
It is against this backdrop, the NPC hope the nation finds short, medium and long-term solutions to this canker of teenage pregnancy, which undoubtedly makes it difficult for families, communities and nations to develop, Ghana inclusive.
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We need community partnership (government, private, religious bodies, labour, education, health and media) with leadership from the religious to help address this preventable yet devastating public health canker that affect both current and future human capital accumulation.” She disclosed.
Dr. Adelaide Appiah was of the view that the engagement forum with religious leaders sees to move the devastating (teenage pregnancy) national issue from the blind side into national focus for the collective effort since no one can tackle it alone.
On his part, the Director of Marriage and Family Life at the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra-Pastoral Centre, Rev. Fr. David Amissah Andoh who represented the Catholic Church used the occasion to appealed to the government to through the education ministry to bring back the effective teaching of religious and moral education into our schools.
Presenting a paper on “Addressing the Challenges of Low Education Attainment and Youthful Exuberance”, Rev Fr. Amissah Andoh again drew government’s attention to the numerous calls by religious bodies to hand over the administration of mission schools to the missionaries for effective control and supervision.
We have the know-how. We are capable. We have done it before and we can do it again. I am speaking, not only for the Christian community, but also for the Islamic as well as the Traditional communities” He reiterated.
Source: Franklin ASARE-DONKO