Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, the Central Regional Minister has appealed to stakeholders to commit the needed resources to the development of the youth to safeguard their future.
She said the greatest asset of the country, is the youth and so much attention should be allocated to their activities to harness them to become great future leaders.
Mrs Assan made the appeal at the launch of the African Youth Day 2021, dubbed, “Safeguarding the teenage girl; a clarion call to action” held in Cape Coast.
She called on stakeholders to collaborate and put in place strategic policies and programs to find pragmatic solutions to address the challenges confronting the youth.
The Minister noted that parental neglect, sexual exploitation and abuse, lack of adolescent and productive health education among others were contributing to the high prevalence rate of the menace.
She, therefore, called on all leaders to ensure that the girl child and the youth were protected and secured to prevent further recording of teen pregnancies.
She also reiterated the need for a rigorous campaign to bring the canker to the barest minimum to improve the standards of adolescent girls.
Mrs Assan said all efforts to reduce the menace behooves on parents to be responsible to their obligations to guide and take good care of their children especially the girl child.
She urged guardians to provide the necessary logistics for the physical, mental, financial, and spiritual growth of teen girls to shape their lives for the better.
Mr Pius Enam Hadziede, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Youth Authority (NYA), called on stakeholders to actively engage in the campaign to decisively tackle teen Pregnancy in the country .
He said the country needed to recognize and promote the central role of the youth to enable them contribute their quota to its socio- economic development.
Mr Hadziede charged the youth to be agents of change in all aspects and areas they may find themselves.
The youth were educated on girls’ empowerment, teenage girls in community development, and the role of stakeholders in safeguarding the teenage girl.
Ms Abigail Appiah, a student of the University Practice Senior High School, expressed gratitude to the organizers and pledged to educate fellow peers who could not attend the program.
She called on the government to step up support for stakeholders in their efforts to safeguard the future of the girl child.
