At least 421 Junior High School girls got pregnant and could not return to school after the President announced the re-opening of schools in January after a long break resulting from the Covid-19 outbreak.

Lamnatu Adam, Executive Director of Songtaba Organisation who said this, attributed her source to data released by the Ghana Education Service, which indicated that the 421 girls were all final year JHS students. 

Madam Adam said this in Tamale, during the official launch of Vibrant Village Foundation (VVF), which would give financial support to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to enable them to increase access to quality education for children in rural areas, especially girls.

Besides, it would assist some NGOs to increase income and food security for vulnerable people, especially women and people with disabilities in poor communities through increased access to control over productive resources and income-earning opportunities. 

She noted that Songtaba Organisation had identified girls dropping out of school as an urgent concern that needed to be addressed.

Madam Adam urged stakeholders to partner with Songtaba Organisation to increase awareness in the communities on the re-entry policy of Ghana Education Service, which allowed pregnant girls to return to school even after delivery.

She urged parents to assist the girls in caring for their babies so that they could return to school to further their education.

Mr Osman Mohammed, Country Director of VVF, noted that his outfit’s support for local partners was a 12 month project, which started in January and expected to end in December this year.

He reiterated that the project would support rural communities in under-served regions to achieve self-sufficiency and to get opportunities to thrive. 

He stated that so far, VVF had selected three organisations including Songtaba Organisation, Pure Trust Social Investors Foundation and Peace for Life, as the first batch of VVF grantees in Ghana to undertake development programmes such as food security, livelihoods and financial wellbeing, health, education, gender, and child protection in communities.

Beneficiaries of the NGOs being supported by VVF lauded the move and collaborated the benefits they had derived from the various NGOs.

VVF is an organisation from the United States of America, established in 2010 to help communities achieve their development agenda.