This year, as Ghana’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) began nationwide, the sight of pregnant and lactating adolescent mothers walking into exam halls across the country laid bare a silent crisis we’ve long ignored.
In the Upper East Region alone, 21 pregnant girls and 17 nursing mothers sat for the BECE exams, according to the Public Relations Officer for Ghana Education Service in the Upper East Region, Mr. Nathaniel Nyaaba. Similar cases have emerged from Northern, Upper West, Bono East, Savannah, and beyond.
These figures are not just statistics. They are lives interrupted, dreams deferred, and futures made uncertain. But they are also stories of courage. Each girl who showed up in that exam room is fighting two battles, against the challenges of adolescence and the harsh realities of early motherhood.
At A Voice for Her, these girls are the reason we exist. They represent the heartbeat of our mission: to mentor, advocate for, and protect the most vulnerable girls in our society. Their presence in school uniforms, with pregnant bellies or babies on their backs, is a powerful image of resilience, but also a stark reminder of the systemic failures we must address.
What are the causes? Why is this happening?
Teenage pregnancy in Ghana is not merely a personal choice, it is a social consequence. According to the World Health Organization, 13% of adolescent girls worldwide give birth before 18. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the rate is nearly twice as high as the global average. Ghana’s teenage pregnancy rate rose to 15% in 2022, up from 14% in 2014 (Ghana Demographic and Health Survey). This trend is fueled by deeply rooted inequalities, economic, cultural, and structural.
Poverty remains a leading cause. For many girls, especially in rural areas, survival means entering transactional relationships, exchanging sex for food, shelter, or basic support.
Cultural norms around early marriage and gender roles further compound the issue. In some communities, girls are married off before they can complete basic education, often without the knowledge or power to negotiate safe sex.
Silence around sexuality is equally harmful. Many parents shy away from open conversations about sex, leaving adolescents to navigate their reproductive health through myths, peer pressure, and misinformation. Abstinence-only messages, often moralistic in tone, don’t prepare teens for real-life choices.
Systemic gaps and stigmas
These challenges form a web, what experts call an “interlocking vulnerability matrix”, that traps girls in cycles of risk. Healthcare services are often unfriendly to adolescents. Many young girls are met with judgmental attitudes, limited privacy, and a lack of youth-specific support. Some are too afraid to seek help, while others are turned away by stigma or shame.
Even worse, dangerous misconceptions persist like the myth that contraceptives cause infertility, discouraging their use and increasing unintended pregnancies.
The story behind the statistics
Imagine a 15-year-old girl from Nyali Junior High School in the Upper West Region who entered the exam hall for her science paper, and was rushed to the labour ward moments later.
Her courage is undeniable. But her story is a reflection of a system that failed to protect her, inform her, or give her better options.
Behind every belly is a backstory of hardship, vulnerability and, often exploitation. These girls are not irresponsible. They are unsupported. The question is not just why they are pregnant, but why we, as a society, allowed it to happen.
What must be done: The urgency of collective action
We need a national response that is bold, compassionate, and practical:
- Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) must be introduced as a stand-alone, age-appropriate, culturally sensitive and grounded subject. Teacher training institutions should be empowered to deliver this effectively.
- Youth-friendly healthcare services must be the norm, not the exception. Clinics should offer privacy, dignity, and accurate information in local languages.
- Laws protecting girls from child marriage and sexual exploitation must be enforced, not just written.
- Re-entry policies for pregnant students should be backed by real support: scholarships, childcare, remedial classes, and flexible schedules to encourage these girls.
- Sensitization programs should target teachers, students and communities alike, dismantling the shame and stereotypes associated with teenage pregnancy.
- Economic empowerment through vocational training, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship programs can help break the cycle of poverty that fuels this crisis.
- Peer mentorship and girl-led programs should be scaled up to give girls the space to lead, learn, and thrive.
At A Voice for Her, we are committed to this cause. We amplify the voices of rural girls, mentor those at risk, and support teenage mothers to return to school or learn a trade. But we cannot do it alone. We call on parents, teachers, policymakers, traditional leaders, faith leaders, and every Ghanaian with influence to stand with us. Sponsor a girl’s education. Offer childcare support. Help dismantle the stigma, be their voice
These girls are not failures.
They are fighters.
With our support, they will become leaders.
Writer: Priscilla Khadi Vawurah | Executive Director, A Voice for Her
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