Teenage and abortion rate high in Fanteakwa

Begoro (E/R), Dec. 5, GNA - The Ghana Health Service Management Team in the Fanteakwa District has called on stakeholders to help halt the alarming rate of teenage pregnancy and abortion in the district. The District Director of Health Service, Dr Frederick Kwame Ofosu, made the call at a meeting of the Quarterly Performance Review meeting of both medical staff and stakeholders in health care at Begoro on Friday.

He said even though majority of the people have embraced family planning services in the district, yet teenage pregnancy increased from 360 cases last year to 374 as at October this year, while abortion cases rose from 36 to 40.

Dr Ofosu asked community-based volunteers and other stakeholders to assist intensify the educational campaign to reverse the negative trend.

He said the district clocked 100 per cent in the second phase of the polio eradication exercise as against 94.3 per cent in the first phase.

The Director commended health professionals for staying at post to provide quality health care to the people, despite the mass exodus of their colleagues from the country.

The secretary to the District Health Directorate, Mr Simon Dagbie, said the district recorded zero case for seven diseases but diabetes cases rose from 21 last year to 266 this year, while typhoid fever was significantly reduced from 1,146 to 270.

According to the Principal Nursing Officer at the Begoro District Hospital, Ms Mary Nartey, malaria ranked first in 10 top diseases, while diabetes was the least.

She said among the top five causes of death at the hospital, stroke ranked first, while urinal blockade was the least. The participants appealed to the District Assembly to sponsor nurse-trainees to come back to work at the hospital to beef up staff at the hospitals.