The Member of Parliament for Dormaa East, Hon. Rachel Owusuah Amma, has raised a passionate alarm over the alarming surge in teenage pregnancy, abortion, and HIV/AIDS cases in her constituency, calling for urgent and collective action to tackle the growing crisis.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament in statement on Friday July 18, 2025, Hon Owusuah, a trained midwife, expressed deep concern about the toll the crisis is taking on the health, education, and future of young girls.
She revealed that Dormaa East currently ranks second in the Bono Region for teenage pregnancy, abortion, and HIV cases, a trend she described as both “disturbing and unsustainable.”
According to the MP, data from the past three years paints a worrying picture. While the number of reported teenage pregnancy cases in Dormaa East dropped from 292 in 2022 to 218 in 2023, it rose again to 227 in 2024.
“These figures are not just statistics; they represent the shattered dreams and endangered futures of our daughters,” she lamented.
Hon. Owusuah identified multiple contributing factors including poverty, broken family structures, inadequate parental guidance, lack of reproductive health education, peer pressure, and cultural practices such as early marriage.
“In many cases, girls are forced into relationships for survival, while others fall victim to ignorance and peer influence,” she added.
The MP highlighted the devastating consequences of teenage pregnancy, including health complications, unsafe abortions, school dropouts, and increased vulnerability to poverty and exploitation.
“Many of these girls end up isolated and stigmatized by society, pushing them further into hardship and risky behaviour,” she said.
The lawmaker called for a multi-sectoral approach, calling on government, development partners, NGOs, traditional leaders, schools, and families to unite in addressing the issue.
She proposed some key interventions to bring the situation under control.
These includes; improved access to family planning and contraceptive services, comprehensive reproductive health education in schools and a comprehensive reproductive health education in schools.
Further solutions proposed by the MP are; the promotion of abstinence and safe sex practices, skills training for young mothers, empowerment of traditional leaders, especially queen mothers, to lead cultural change and the provision of sanitary pads to reduce transactional relationships
“Mr. Speaker, if we fail to act decisively, the cycle of poverty, disease, and underdevelopment will persist. But if we invest in these girls in their education, health, and empowerment we can change the narrative,” Hon. Owusuah concluded.
Other MPs who contributed the statement agreed on the urgent need for policy attention and community-driven solutions.
