One out of every four pregnant women who patronise a health facility in the Adaklu District is a teenager, Mr Charles Azagba, the District Director of Health, has said.

The situation, he said, was a catastrophe and urged traditional and opinion leaders, Assembly Members, Religious Organisations and Parents “to get up in arms against the canker”.

Mr Azagba was inaugurating the ninth Adolescent Health Club at Adaklu-Kodzobi, the result of joint efforts of the Adaklu District Health Directorate and the traditional authorities of the area, to curb the situation. The goal is to form a club in every community.

Members of the Club are to serve as peer educators and role models for the youth in their various communities.

Mr Azagba advised the youth to be circumspect with sexual activities and be mindful of their drawbacks and the health dangers associated with teenage pregnancies.

He also appealed to them to resist the sexual advances from both their peers and older men.

Mr Azagba told members of the Club that they had a herculean task on their hands, but said with the right approach they could achieve the objectives set.

Togbe Dzegblade IV, the Chief of Adaklu-Kodzobi, said that until the youth embraced the teachings of the Bible and submitted to their parents, the war against teenage pregnancy would fail.

Mr Emmanuel Nyatsikor, an Elder of the Community, who chaired the function, advised the youth to change their attitudes towards sex, saying, “It is not for the pleasure of the unmarried, but only for the enjoyment of the married, and for procreation in marriage.”

He appealed to those who had fallen into the web of teenage pregnancy to be guided by the motto of the club, “To Rise and Shine.”

During an open forum, contributors identified the neglect of children by parents and peer pressure as major contributory factors to the menace.