More than one thousand teenagers in West Akyem in the Eastern region have been compelled to engage in sex trade in order to fend for themselves.
Some of these girls, whose ages range from 10 to 19 years, reports revealed have become pregnant as a result of their sexual escapades with either young men or ‘sugar daddies’.
Parents have been blamed for their inability to control their teenage daughters in the area.
The situation, according to the West Akyem District Health Director, Abdul Aziz Abdulai, is a worrying one, which ought to be addressed effectively and with all seriousness, calling on parents to be responsible in nurturing their children.
He told Joy FM’s Beatrice Adu, who visited the Asamankese Government Hospital in the Eastern region that some of the girls lose their lives as a result of complications during delivery.
In 2011, he said the facility recorded 887 teenage pregnancies and 1,164 in the previous year.
“These are young children who should be in school. It’s life threatening getting pregnant at 14 years; 15 years; 16 years,” he emphasized.
Beatrice narrated a story of a 16-year-old pregnant girl, who was jilted by a boy she dated. Apparently, she had informed him of her three-month old pregnancy.
She said the boy had promised to marry her but immediately she told him about the pregnancy, he denied being responsible.
According to the pregnant teenager, she wanted to go to school and become a prominent person but this dream has been shuttered.
She collapsed one morning when she woke up from bed and was rushed to the hospital.
Elsewhere in Boli in the Upper West region, Joy FM’s correspondent Rafiq Salam also reported that members of the community are in total shock about the spate of young girls dropping out of school because of premature pregnancy.
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