GHS, UNICEF Scale Up ‘Safety Net’ to Tackle Adolescent Pregnancies in 262 Districts
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) and UNICEF Ghana have launched a national scale-up of the Adolescent Safety Net Programme, with plans to expand the intervention to 262 districts by the end of 2026 to improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes for adolescent girls.
The announcement was made at a high-level regional meeting in the Northern Region that brought together regional health directors, deputy directors, and adolescent health focal persons from across the country.
Presenting findings, Prof. Patricia Akweongo of the University of Ghana School of Public Health said baseline data from Tamale and Kumbungu showed 74% of surveyed pregnant adolescents had no income and 29% had never attended school.
She also noted adolescent mothers reported more respectful care at Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds and health centres than at regional hospitals.
Billy Joshua of the Family Health Division said cumulative enrollment since 2021 has reached 23,531 adolescents, with 6,787 new enrollments in 2025. Ashanti Region led national performance, while Upper West lagged.
Only 4,633 home visits were documented nationwide in 2025 against the mandated six-visit protocol, though Northern Region achieved 84%.
Northern Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Chrysantus Kubio, revealed that the Northern Region alone recorded 955 institutional deliveries among adolescents in the past year.
He said many young girls are still losing their lives during childbirth despite attending antenatal care multiple times.
“The ultimate measure of a health system’s robustness is its maternal mortality index,” Dr Kubio stated. “If young mothers continue to die from preventable physiological events, the fundamental structures of primary care must be urgently re-examined and repaired.”
Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, urged health managers to take ownership of facility data and act on local gaps.
She mandated all regional teams to make adolescent health a standing agenda item at executive meetings and to resolve at least one specific local service gap within the next 30 days.
“Programme sustainability is a question of accountable leadership rather than finance,” she told participants.
Director of the Family Health Division at GHS, Dr Kennedy Brightson, said the Safety Net initiative was designed to mainstream adolescent-friendly services into primary healthcare.
He emphasised early pregnancy detection, with teams urged to engage girls in schools, workplaces, and communities rather than waiting for facility visits.
Programme Manager for Adolescent Health, Ms Sharifa Mohammed, said the programme has maintained a 93% skilled delivery rate and 90% antenatal care (ANC) attendance rate among beneficiaries.
However, she noted data capture remains a challenge, with discrepancies between field registers and the digital E-tracker.
Ms Mohammed added that with thousands of girls dropping out of school due to pregnancy, the next phase must strengthen linkages with social welfare and education to support school re-entry.
Chief of Field Office for UNICEF Ghana, Dr Peter Gyamfi Kwarteng, reaffirmed UNICEF’s commitment, describing the Safety Net as a human capital and human rights agenda.
“Investing in the health, education, and protection of adolescents is a vital driver for dynamic community development,” he said.
About the Programme
Introduced as a pilot in 2017, the Adolescent Safety Net Programme is implemented by GHS with support from UNICEF, the Ghana Education Service, and the Department of Social Welfare.
It provides health, psychosocial, and social support to pregnant adolescents and adolescent mothers, and facilitates their return to school and access to social protection services.
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