The Shama District Assembly (SDA), in a bid to curb teenage pregnancy in the area, has tasked relevant agencies to develop proposals to secure resources to address the issue.

Mr Eric Cobbina, the District Chief Executive (DCE), expressed worry over the alarming rate of teenage pregnancy, describing it as a ‘major challenge’.

The District Health Service report, he said, indicates that between 18 per cent and 20 per cent of the recorded pregnancies are of teenagers.

“This indicates that one out of every five reported pregnancy cases is a teenager,” Mr Cobbina stated when he addressed the 27 members of the Assembly at its Second Ordinary Meeting of the Second Session, at Shama.

As a result, he tasked the District Health Directorate to collaborate with the Department of Social Welfare, Community Development and Development Planning Unit to develop innovative strategies to solve the social canker.

On the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) he said about 1,166 pupils had been registered in six schools across the district, while the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Authority was to register some 600 aged people.

On the monthly National Sanitation Programme, the DCE said he was not happy about the poor participation by the citizens.

He, therefore, called on chiefs, assembly members, religious leaders and opinion leaders to impress on the people to actively participate in the cleaning exercises.

He warned that drastic measures would be taken against those who absented themselves, saying ensuring a healthy environment was a collective responsibility, therefore, it must not be left to only the Assembly.

Meanwhile, the assembly members expressed anger over the continuous absence of technocrats from assembly sittings to respond to pertinent issues.

They complained that the technocrats either did not attend meetings or reported late after an issue had already been dealt with.

He said such practices delayed proceedings, thus affecting the speedy development of the area, and advised them to change that attitude.