Ghana records over 50,000 teenage pregnancies in six months; ARHR calls for urgent action

Ghana recorded more than 50,000 teenage pregnancies in the first half of 2026, a development described as alarming by the Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR), which has called for urgent national action to address the growing reproductive health challenges confronting adolescents.

The worrying figures come amid renewed public concern over sexual abuse following recent reports involving the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High/Technical School in the Ashanti Region, underscoring the need to strengthen the protection of girls against sexual violence and exploitation.

Mr Isaac Nyampong, Programmes Manager of ARHR, said the country was facing a silent crisis that required urgent national attention, particularly as teenage pregnancies continued to occur at an alarming rate.

Speaking to the media after a regional policy dialogue and media training in Techiman in the Bono East Region, he said data from the Ghana Health Service showed that more than 50,000 girls became pregnant in the first six months of the year.

He noted that Ghana had consistently recorded more than 100,000 teenage pregnancies annually in recent years, describing the situation as worrying and calling for decisive measures to reverse the trend.

“Ghana is currently experiencing a silent crisis, which requires a national conversation. It is about poor adolescent health outcomes,” he said.

Mr Nyampong observed that despite the scale of the problem, teenage pregnancy and adolescent sexual and reproductive health challenges had not received the sustained national attention they deserved.

He said providing young people with age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education and services was one of the critical steps towards addressing the situation.

According to him, the responsibility could not be left to any single institution, as teachers, parents, religious leaders, the media and other stakeholders all had important roles to play in educating adolescents, protecting them from abuse and helping them make informed decisions.

“We are being hypocritical about it as a country, and we need to sit up and deal with the issue decisively. We cannot continue to have our teenage girls getting pregnant at the rate at which it is happening. We all have to come together,” he stressed.

He identified violence against girls as one of the key drivers of poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes and teenage pregnancy, urging stakeholders to empower adolescents to recognise abuse, report incidents and seek appropriate support.

Mr Nyampong also called for deliberate efforts to engage boys and men in the prevention of sexual violence, saying they needed to understand that abusing girls was unacceptable.

He said empowering girls through education would enable them to identify harmful conduct, understand their rights and know where to seek assistance when their safety was threatened.

Responsible reportage
The ARHR programmes manager said the training was organised to equip journalists with accurate information on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) to promote responsible reporting and reduce misinformation and sensationalism surrounding the subject.

He said the media had a crucial role in shaping public understanding, challenging harmful social norms and encouraging conversations about the factors contributing to teenage pregnancy and other adolescent health challenges.

The Regional Policy Dialogue and Media Training, organised by ARHR with support from UNFPA Ghana and DANIDA, brought together media practitioners to deepen their understanding of reproductive health concepts, rights and related policy issues.

Topics covered included the concepts and rights framework underpinning SRHR, Ghana's legal and policy context, the anti-SRHR and anti-gender movements and their narratives, as well as the media's role in advancing reproductive health rights.

The training also addressed opportunities and risks in SRHR reporting and the ethical standards journalists should observe when covering sensitive issues involving women, girls and other vulnerable groups.

ARHR believes that responsible media reporting can help break barriers, amplify the voices of affected persons, challenge stigma and promote informed public discussions, while ensuring that women and girls have access to the information and services needed to make decisions about their health and well-being.

Advancing reproductive health rights
Established in 2004, the Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights is a network of Ghanaian non-governmental organisations that promotes a rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health.

The organisation advocates stronger primary healthcare systems and sustainable financing to ensure that women, children and adolescents can access essential healthcare without suffering financial hardship.

ARHR reaffirmed its commitment to working with the media and other stakeholders to promote informed reporting, meaningful public dialogue and improved reproductive health outcomes across the country.