The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) has called for stronger support systems to enable teenage mothers to return to school and continue their education after childbirth.

The Head of the Child Marriage Unit of the MoGCSP, Mrs Saphia Tamimu, said although the government had introduced the ‘Back to School’ policy to enable teenage mothers to resume their education after giving birth, inadequate support remained a major challenge.

“There is a ‘Back to School’ policy which allows the girl to go back to school after she has given birth. But most of them don’t go back to school because if they give birth and don’t have the support system to carry their babies, the likelihood of them going back to school might not be realised,” Mrs Tamimu said.

She made the call at a meeting with traditional faith practitioners on ending gender-based violence, including child marriage, in Accra last Friday.

The meeting was organised by the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs (MLGCRA) in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Mrs Tamimu urged parents and guardians of teenage mothers to provide the necessary support and care to enable them to return to school, while also taking steps to prevent teenage pregnancies.

She said the government, through the MoGCSP, was working towards achieving a zero per cent child marriage rate by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

According to her, Ghana’s child marriage rate stood at 16 per cent, based on 2022 statistical data from the Ghana Statistical Service.

Mrs Tamimu attributed the progress made in reducing the rate to government interventions, including the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.

She also cautioned perpetrators against child marriage and urged all stakeholders to contribute to efforts to end the practice.

The Regional Gender Officer for the Upper East Region, Ms Charity Batuure, said Ghana needed to preserve cultural practices that were not harmful and that protected the rights, health and dignity of citizens.

“Culture is not the problem. Culture is indeed our medicine and we only need to weave out some practices that are impacting on our lives negatively. There are some cultures that have been transitioned into religion and is having a lot of confusing understanding for us,” she said.

Ms Batuure said practices such as puberty rites were important in teaching young girls personal hygiene and supporting their development, while some nutritional taboos had health implications.

She said the MoGCSP would develop a framework to guide engagement with traditional and religious leaders at the community level.

In a welcome address delivered by the Chief Registrar of the MLGCRA, Mr Baafi Nsiah, the Chief Director, Mr Amin Abdul-Rahaman, highlighted the important role traditional faith practitioners played in shaping social norms and influencing human behaviour.

He said the contributions of the participants would be critical to developing an action plan to guide advocacy and ensure that policy interventions were rooted in tradition and aligned with constitutional and human rights.