Poverty, unemployment and poor parental care are fuelling a surge in teenage pregnancy and child marriage in the North East Region, where 1,252 girls were married off in the first six months of 2026.

Many of the girls have dropped out of school as a result of these economic pressures.

According to Pang-bot S. Biiya, the North East Regional Focal Person on Adolescent Health, half-year data presented to the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) shows the region recorded 903 child marriages in the previous half-year, rising to 1,252 in the current half-year, a 38.6% surge.

At the same time, teenage pregnancy dropped slightly from 15.39% to 14.88%, indicating that many pregnant teenagers are being forced into marriage.

East and West Mamprusi record sharpest rise in child marriage

East Mamprusi: From 137 to 367 cases, now the highest in the region.
West Mamprusi: From 115 to 350 cases, nearly tripling.
Mamprugu-Moagduri: Still high at 307 cases, down from 361.
Chereponi: Slight increase from 158 to 166 cases.
Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri: From 4 to 18 cases.
Yunyoo-Nasuan: The only major improvement, dropping from 88 to 24 cases.

Teenage pregnancy: West Mamprusi still leads despite improvement.

While the regional average improved, West Mamprusi remains the worst performer, with 17.09% of all pregnancies being teenagers, though down from 18.85% last year.

It is followed by East Mamprusi with 15.68% (down from 16.45%), Mamprugu-Moagduri with 14.92% (up from 14.2%), Yunyoo-Nasuan with 14.55% (up from 11.57%), Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri with 13.53% (up from 11.71%), and Chereponi with 12.05% (up slightly from 11.16%), the lowest in the region.

Public Health Nurse at the West Mamprusi Health Directorate, Ayembire Kweku said, “our performance is not good. As at half-year, we are having about 16% close to 17%, which is very bad. When you compare to other districts, we are performing badly.”

He warned that early pregnancies expose girls to infections and rising HIV cases because “their systems are not matured,” adding that unsafe abortions are resulting in “deaths, infections and infertility.”

Stakeholders link the double crisis directly to joblessness and broken homes.

A seamstress based in Walewale, Madam Lydia Asibi, said many young girls who enter apprenticeship lack financial support to sustain themselves.

“Many of them come to learn, but they don’t have somebody to take good care of them. Some want to do the work but lack finance or support,” she said, advising girls not to fall for men who offer phones and gifts only to abandon them.

Assemblyman for Fongni Electoral Area in Walewale, Mohammed Saani Ahmed, blamed poverty and lack of jobs, saying that “Poverty is a very serious issue in Walewale. We don’t have job opportunities.”

The West Mamprusi Municipal Director for NCCE, Thomas Imoro Issahaku, said parental irresponsibility is the number one cause of the crisis.

“Parental irresponsibility is the number one cause. Many teenagers are roaming at night unchecked, while economic hardship forces others to seek help from men who demand sex in return,” he said.

He said the NCCE will be bringing in health officers to educate young girls on family planning and to dispel myths, while maintaining that abstinence remains the best advice.