Reported cases of teenage pregnancy in the Kumasi Metropolis increased from 5,123 in 2003 to 5,286 last year. The Kumasi Metropolitan Director of Health, Dr. Joseph Oduro, who stated this during a sensitization seminar on adolescent reproductive health for a section of the Muslim community at Aboabo, a Kumasi suburb, on Saturday said 30 pregnant teenagers died before delivery.

He said this was the result of complications in pregnancy. According to him, the Ashanti region recorded 17,000 teenage pregnancies in 2004 and expressed concern about the high figure.

Dr. Oduro also spoke about the increasing rate of HIV infection among the youth and pointed out that the rate of infection in the Kumasi metropolis was increasing steadily.