MoGCSP unveils 2026–2030 strategy to combat adolescent pregnancy, protect girls and keep them in school
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) has launched a renewed national effort to tackle adolescent pregnancy by unveiling the Revised Adolescent Pregnancy Strategy (2026–2030).
The strategy aims to protect the rights of adolescents, improve access to sexual and reproductive health information and services, and ensure that more girls remain in school.
The strategy was launched during a stakeholder coordination meeting to facilitate its effective implementation.
Delivering remarks on behalf of the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, the Ministry’s Chief Programme Officer of the Department of Gender, Vera Kakari Bediako, described adolescent pregnancy as not only a public health challenge but also a national development issue with far-reaching implications for education, gender equality, child protection, social protection and economic growth.
She noted that adolescent girls continue to face greater vulnerabilities than their male counterparts, including early marriage, school dropout and poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Many girls, she said, enter adolescence with limited control over critical decisions affecting their health, education and future due to harmful social norms and inadequate access to quality sexual and reproductive health information and services.
Citing national statistics, the Minister revealed that approximately 15 per cent of girls aged 15 to 19 have experienced pregnancy, with Ghana recording more than 100,000 teenage pregnancies each year. She attributed the situation to poverty, school dropout, and limited access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and services.
She also highlighted significant regional disparities, noting that while Greater Accra records one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates at about six per cent, regions such as Savannah, Ashanti, Upper East and Upper West continue to record some of the country’s highest rates.
She disclosed that the Upper East Region alone recorded more than 2,400 teenage pregnancies within the first five months of 2025, including 522 cases in the Bongo District, underscoring the urgent need for targeted interventions in high-burden areas.
She underscored that the figures reinforce the need for coordinated, evidence-based and rights-centred interventions to safeguard the health, education and future of Ghana’s adolescents.
She explained that the revised strategy builds on the country’s first Five-Year Strategic Plan to Address Adolescent Pregnancy (2018–2022), which was developed in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Ministries responsible for Health and Education, and other key stakeholders.
Vera Kakari Bediako said the revised policy was informed by extensive stakeholder consultations and lessons learned from implementing the previous strategy.
“This new adolescent strategy document incorporates emerging issues and also reflects the comments we received from stakeholders during the implementation of the old strategy,” she said.
According to her, the revised strategy has been designed to address the different needs of both in-school and out-of-school adolescents.
“We have incorporated all these issues into the new document to ensure it responds to the needs of adolescents in school as well as those who are out of school.”
Mrs Bediako said one of the key lessons from the previous strategy was that a uniform approach could not effectively address adolescent pregnancy.
“During implementation, we realised that we cannot have a wholesale approach. There are many intersectionalities when dealing with gender issues. Factors such as age, whether a young person lives in a rural or urban community, and their specific vulnerabilities all come into play when designing a policy.”
She noted that these lessons informed the development of the revised strategy, which places greater emphasis on tailored interventions and stronger collaboration among stakeholders.
The Revised Adolescent Pregnancy Strategy (2026–2030) provides a comprehensive national framework to strengthen coordination across sectors, expand access to adolescent-friendly services, promote evidence-based interventions and improve outcomes for young people across Ghana.