Teenage Pregnancy, HIV Still Major Threats to Ghana’s Development – National Population Council

The National Population Council (NPC) has raised fresh concerns over the persistent rise in teenage pregnancy and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections among adolescents, warning that the twin challenges continue to undermine Ghana’s social and economic development.

Speaking at the Second High-Level Coordination Meeting of Partners in Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy Implementation and Advocacy in Accra on Thursday, the Deputy Chair of the NPC, Dr Nii Akwei Addo, said teenage pregnancy and HIV remain major public health and development concerns that require urgent, coordinated national action.

He attributed the growing prevalence of teenage pregnancy and HIV among young people to a combination of poverty, harmful socio-cultural practices, misinformation, inadequate access to adolescent-friendly health services, and emerging risks associated with digital technology.

“Teenage pregnancy and HIV infections among young people remain major challenges to Ghana’s development,” Dr Akwei stated.

He stressed that addressing the problem would require stronger collaboration among government institutions, development partners, civil society organisations, traditional authorities, schools, parents and young people themselves.

According to him, Ghana already has several policies and programmes aimed at improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health, but their implementation must be accelerated to achieve meaningful results.

Dr Akwei also called for increased domestic investment in adolescent health programmes and greater involvement of young people in designing and implementing interventions that directly affect their lives.

Delivering a presentation at the meeting, the Director of the Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Kennedy Brightson, revealed that adolescents constitute a significant portion of Ghana’s population.

Citing findings from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), Dr Brightson said approximately 7.8 million people—representing 26 percent of Ghana’s estimated population of 34 million—are adolescents.

She noted that 15.4 percent of adolescent girls have experienced teenage pregnancy, describing the figure as alarming and one that requires sustained national attention.

Dr Brightson explained that early sexual debut remains one of the key drivers of teenage pregnancy. According to the survey, the median age of first sexual intercourse is 17.4 years for girls and 17.2 years for boys.

On HIV, she disclosed that young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years continue to account for a significant proportion of new infections, making targeted education and prevention efforts even more critical.

She emphasised that parental involvement remains one of the most effective protective measures against teenage pregnancy and HIV, urging parents to foster open, honest and age-appropriate conversations on sexual and reproductive health with their children.

Dr Brightson further appealed to schools to strengthen comprehensive health education, guidance and counselling services to equip adolescents with accurate information and life skills needed to make informed decisions.

Also addressing the meeting, the Acting Executive Director of the National Population Council, Mrs Angelina Osei Kodua-Nyanor, called for stronger partnerships and coordinated action among stakeholders to improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes for adolescents and young people across the country.

She said achieving Ghana’s national development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) would depend largely on collective commitment and sustained collaboration among government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations and communities.

“The success of our efforts depends on the active engagement, commitment and collaboration of every institution,” Mrs Kodua-Nyanor said.

The high-level meeting brought together policymakers, development partners, health professionals, civil society organisations and youth advocates to review progress in implementing adolescent sexual and reproductive health policies, identify existing challenges and strengthen collaboration towards reducing teenage pregnancy and HIV infections among Ghana’s youth.