“We, as traditional leaders, parents, guardians and all other stakeholders in the Anum Traditional Area, cannot entertain the level of teenage pregnancy and child marriage in our communities.

I am, therefore, calling on all stakeholders to come on board to end it before it is too late because it is harmful, unproductive and unacceptable in an enlightened traditional area such as Anum”, the Paramount Chief stressed.

Workshop

He made the call at the end of a two-day capacity-building workshop for traditional leaders in Anum Traditional Area on commitment to curbing teenage pregnancy and harmful cultural practices, including child marriage.

The programme, which was on the theme: ‘’One Paramountcy at a time’’ was sponsored by the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and was facilitated by the Obaapa Development Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Accra.

The Paramount Chief said teenage pregnancy and, particularly, child marriage were so harmful that, if care was not taken, they could destroy the future of many young girls in the traditional area.

He, therefore, stressed that the issue was non-negotiable and called for immediate steps to be taken to nip it in the bud before it was too late.

Bye-laws

Akusiaku Sasraku said that as part of measures to curb the menace, the traditional council would introduce some bye-laws and, if possible, present them to the Asuogyaman District Assembly for ratification. This, he explained, would enable the chiefs to run a smooth system and ensure that girls in all the communities had a better future.

Two facilitators, Mama Bobi III, the Paramount queen mother of the Asogli State, who also doubles as a Circuit Court Judge for Madina, and the Volta Regional Director for the Department of Gender, Thywill Eyra Kpe, took turns to address participants.

Train traditional leaders

The Executive Director, Obaapa Development Foundation, NanaHemaa Awindor, who gave an overview of the workshop, noted with concern that, as a way to measure the impact of the project, there was a need to train the traditional leaders in the various communities to be responsible for monitoring the measures that would be put in place by the traditional council.

NanaHemaa Awindor said the project was currently supporting teenage mothers to return to school in six districts across the country.

So far, she noted, 60 of such beneficiaries had gone back to school, completed their education, and were now able to take care of themselves and their children.