The Regional Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for West and Central Africa, Dr Sennen Hounton, has raised alarm over the high number of maternal deaths among adolescent girls in Africa, urging governments, families and communities to invest in girls' education, end child marriage and expand access to sexual and reproductive health services.

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the 2026 African Union Extraordinary Summit on Health Financing in Accra on Wednesday, July 22, Dr Hounton said more than 30 per cent of maternal deaths in the region occur among adolescent girls, despite many of the deaths being preventable.

"When we look at the data, we realise that more than 30 per cent of the maternal mortality in our region is to adolescent girls. And they are completely preventable," he said.

He attributed the high maternal mortality among teenagers to child marriage, early pregnancies and limited access to reproductive health information and services, particularly in rural communities.

"We still have child marriage going on in these remote areas and once you get pregnant when your body is not prepared, your risk of dying is higher," Dr Hounton explained.

He stressed that protecting girls before they become pregnant is critical to reducing maternal mortality, arguing that governments must look beyond healthcare facilities and address the social factors that place young women at risk.

"You can put the best hospital out there. You can even put the midwives out there. But if the woman, the teenager, is still pregnant and cannot access those facilities, she will continue to experience maternal mortality," he said.

According to him, keeping girls in school is one of the most effective interventions for reducing maternal deaths and improving national development outcomes.

"We need to start by protecting the women and girls by making sure that they complete school, that they have access to contraception," he said.

"You keep girls in school, not married off. They have access to information and services. They will not be pregnant. They will continue their education, achieve their full potential and they will be in charge even of their health."

Dr Hounton also called for greater access to contraception and comprehensive reproductive health information for young people, acknowledging that abstinence messages alone are insufficient to address the reality facing many adolescents.

"The abstinence message in our churches, in our community, is very good. But we must not be fooled. Adolescents are having sex. And if they are having sex, we must protect them," he said.

He added that families have a responsibility to equip young people with the knowledge and means to protect themselves.

"It is the duty and responsibility of the family to provide them the means to protect themselves. This includes education, but it includes when someone is engaging in sex, to have products," he stated, referring to access to contraceptives.

The UNFPA Regional Director said preventing adolescent pregnancies is not only a health issue but also a pathway to unlocking the potential of young women and accelerating national development.

"When a girl can finish her school, can be protected against child marriage, can choose when to become pregnant, when there is access to this contraception, the life can change and the nation can transform," he said.

However, he warned that funding shortfalls continue to limit access to reproductive health services across the continent.

"With these cuts, unfortunately, governments are not yet putting enough resources. Ghana, even here, they are allocating resources but it's not enough to meet the needs of women and girls across our nation," Dr Hounton noted.

He called on African governments and development partners to increase investment in programmes that protect adolescent girls, expand access to reproductive healthcare and eliminate child marriage, saying such interventions are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and ending preventable maternal deaths by 2030.