COVID-19 scared us from family planning treatment – Adolescents

Some adolescents in the Tema Metropolis on Monday disclosed that the fear of contracting COVID-19 prevented them from accessing family planning services last year.

Some adolescents told the Ghana News Agency at Tema that even though they used to patronize family planning clinics, they decided not to go for renewal for fear of contracting COVID-19.

“I did not come for the service because I was scared of contracting COVID-19 as I heard that some nurses and doctors at the hospital had been infected with the virus,” 17-year-old Nana Ama told the GNA.

Another adolescent girl said “I was unable to see my boyfriend because of the restrictions especially during the lockdown and I therefore decided to abstain and not go for the family planning”.

Meanwhile, 2020 data on adolescent sexual reproductive health indicators from the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate revealed that only one person from Tema Manhean accessed family planning even though logistics were available.

The figure showed a drastic shift from the high numbers of adolescents on family planning in 2019 and 2018 which stood at 1,585 and 574 respectively.

Mrs. Grace Eddy Amewu, Tema Metropolitan Adolescent Health Focal Person, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Tema disclosed that there was a slight decrease in adolescent pregnancies in 2020.

Mrs Amewu said 502 adolescent pregnancies were recorded in 2020 as against the 511 recorded in 2019.

She said out of the 502 documented, Manhean topped the list with 287, while Tema South saw 158, Community one 43, with 17 adolescent pregnancies at Tema North.

She further said 51 abortions related cases were recorded among adolescents in the year 2020, adding that, all the cases were recorded within Tema South, as Community one, Manhean and Tema North all documented zero abortions.

The Adolescent Health Focal Person also revealed that HIV and AIDS among the teenagers saw a decrease from 27 persons in 2019 to 22 in 2020.

Source: GNA