Indomie, MoMo responsible for rising teenage pregnancies – Research

A new research conducted by Star Ghana Foundation has identified indomie, mobile money, and social media as the causes of rising teenage pregnancies in Ghana.

Per the research, men use their phones to lure teenage girls into sexual encounters. They give the girls access to their phones to take pictures and post on social media.

The teenage girls are also taken advantage of by men who buy them indomie at night and also send them mobile money regardless of the amount.

The research findings were shared at a National Dialogue on Sexual and Gender-based violence in a COVID-19 pandemic: prevalence, drivers, and response measures held in Tamale.

Organised by Star Ghana Foundation in collaboration with Songtaba, the dialogue sought to identify, share, and profer solutions to the continued vulnerability of women in the country.

Gender-based abuses against women such as witchcraft allegations and sexual abuses among young girls were among key issues discussed during the dialogue.

Speakers at the forum also lamented the negative impact of COVID-19 on young girls and women in the last six months.

According to them, its impact was devastating as several young girls especially teenagers got pregnant during the period.

Key speaker and consultant to Star Ghana Foundation, Bashiratu Jamal with reference to a research conducted by Africa Education watch and Ghana health service, concluded that teenage pregnancy is on an increase despite several efforts by NGOs to curb the trend.

Some women who have been accused of witchcraft were also present at the dialogue.

Narrating their ordeals of how they endure torture and in some cases, banishment from their communities, the women appealed to the government and other relevant organizations to intensify their efforts at ending witchcraft accusations.

They also want the government and well-meaning organisations to support them in order to survive.

The dialogue brought together gender-based organizations, youth groups, PWDs, and the Association of accused witches.