1st Model Girls' Essay Competition Awards Held in Accra

The maiden edition of the Model Girls' Essay Competition Awards has taken place in Accra.

The event, organized by Insight Foundation Ghana, in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service, formed part of activities marking the United Nations (UN) International Day of the Girl Child (IDGC) which was celebrated on the theme: 'Innovating for Girls' Education.'

In all, students from five schools participated in the essay competition which was on the topic: "The prevalence of teenage pregnancy has become very common in the Ghanaian society, especially among youth who are at the primary and junior high schools of education. In your view, discuss the causes and effects, and suggest solutions."

The Deputy Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Benita Okity-Duah, in a keynote address, noted that the situation of girls in Africa remained a challenge due to socio-economic and development circumstances, compounded by natural disasters, armed conflicts, exploitation and hunger.

Hon. Okity-Duah said it was, therefore, as part of measures to tackle the challenges faced by girls that the UN General Assembly in December 2011, by Resolution 66/170, declared October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child.

She added that the Day was set aside to promote girls rights, highlight inequalities between girls and boys, and to address the various forms of discrimination and abuse suffered by girls globally.

Hon. Okity-Duah disclosed that 75,000 teenage pregnancies were recorded in the country last year involving children between the ages of 15 to 19 years, the majority of who were in the primary and Junior High Schools (JHSs).

According to the Hon. Minister, children who engaged in unsafe abortions contributed to the high level of maternal mortality in developing countries such as Ghana.

She said 10% of maternal deaths that occurred in Ghana were as a result of unsafe abortions with 13.8% of pregnant women being teenagers as revealed by a World Bank survey.

The development, she said, had affected the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5 on reducing child and maternal mortality, respectively.

Hon. Okitty said, the responsibility of curbing teenage pregnancy lay on the state and parents as well as teachers and religious leaders.

She said government had put in place statutory provisions to guarantee the rights of children while her ministry had put in place the Early Childhood Development Policy (ECCD) to set standards for the education, training, nutrition, and the physical and mental well-being of children between the ages of 0-8 years.

The Deputy Minister urged parents to send their drop-out children back to school, the challenges they may face, notwithstanding.

For her part, Cynthia Prah, a representative from the UN Information Centre, underscored the importance of education, noting that educated young women had better opportunities as they were more likely to get jobs and earn higher wages.

Furthermore, Ms Prah said, educated women had smaller families and healthier children and were less likely to die in childbirth.