The Chief Executive Officer of Global Media Foundation (GLOMeF), Raphael Godlove Ahenu, has criticised churches, leaders of the various mosques and parents for shying away from educating their children about sex.

This, according to him, has been a major setback in the campaign against illegal abortion and teenage pregnancy.

“The lack of sexual and reproductive health education among most young people has led to wanton sexual exploitation, unwanted pregnancies, avoidable deaths, health complications and abuse of emergency contraceptives among others,” he stated.

Mr Ahenu who spoke in an interview at Sunyani, Bono regional capital stated that a close collaboration between faith-based organisations and other stakeholders through effective health education programmes will further deepen people’s awareness on sexual reproductive health, dangers associated with unsafe abortions and teenage pregnancies.

He encouraged parents to spend quality time with their children and make conscious efforts to provide them with their basic needs as a way of preventing them from engaging in early sex, adding “this will help prevent sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancies to further avoid illegal abortions”.

Mr Ahenu said although there has been some decrease in the number of teenagers who got pregnant over the last five years, the Bono region still recorded 4,478 cases of teenage pregnancy in 2020 with most of them coming from Christian and Muslim homes.

“A situation, which usually disrupts the academic pursuit of the girls and affects their development,” the GLOMeF CEO emphasised.

He said the clergy is critical in helping to reduce teenage pregnancies and illegal abortions in the country, hence the need for them to pledge their support toward that course.