Sekyere Kumawu Health Directorate tackles teenage pregnancy

The Sekyere Kumawu District Health Directorate has resolved to use a multi-stakeholder involvement approach to address the high incidence of teenage pregnancy in the district.

The multi-stakeholders the health directorate intends to work with are churches, mosques, assembly members and school health committees to fight the incidence of teenage pregnancy in the district.

Speaking at the 2014 annual performance review meeting at Kumawu, the district capital, the District Director of Health Services, Dr Justice Thomas Sevugu, noted that teenage pregnancy was common in the Kumawu area and that it was  time the directorate intensified efforts to curb the menace.

Healthcare referral system

He said apart from tackling the problem of teenage pregnancy, the directorate had resolved to create a strong healthcare referral system with a community-based approach using the services of private transport operators and indicated that they had held a meeting with private transport owners and operators, assembly members and traditional rulers in that respect.

He mentioned the expansion of infrastructure at health centres at Kumawu, Oyoko, Woraso, Asekyerewa and Banko as one of the achievements of the health directorate, adding that four midwives had also been posted to the district to improve maternal and child health. In addition to that, there has been an expansion of community health improvement service (CHPS) compounds in six zones, while collaboration with development partners had been strengthened.

He said the district did not record any case of maternal death last year but mentioned the lack of facilities and inadequate medical equipment, as well as the absence of residential and office accommodation for members staff of the directorate and inadequate laboratory services and logistics, as challenges facing the directorate.