By Gloria Edinam Atiase
Findings from the Ghana Statistical Service’s 2022 Demographic and Health Survey, alongside data from the 2021 Population and Housing Census, highlight a concerning trend in the Eastern Region. According to the statistics, adolescent boys in the region are more likely to engage in sexual activity before the legal age of consent compared to their peers in other parts of the country. The data reveal that approximately one in every three boys in the region becomes sexually active before reaching the age of 16.
In an exclusive interview with GBC News in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional Population Officer, Kwasi Owusu Obeng, described the situation as alarming and called for urgent, collective action. “This is a worrying trend that requires the concerted efforts of all stakeholders to address. We must work together to safeguard the future of these young boys and ensure they grow into responsible adults,” he stated.
The data revealed that all ten districts in the country with the highest rates of underage sexual activity among boys aged 16 to 19 are located in the Eastern Region. In stark contrast, the ten districts with the lowest rates are in the Upper West Region. According to Mr. Obeng, the Upper Manya Krobo District leads with a prevalence rate of 35.7%, followed closely by Atiwa West (35%), Upper West Akim (34.5%), and both Suhum and Kwahu Afram Plains (34% each). Other high-prevalence areas include Yilo Krobo Municipality (33.8%), Ayensuano and Atiwa East (33.7% each), Fanteakwa North (33.5%), and Kwahu West Municipality (33%).
“While one in every three adolescent boys in the Eastern Region is sexually active before the legal age of consent, the situation is far different in the Upper West Region, where only one in every 24 adolescents is engaged in early sexual activity,” Mr. Obeng noted. Even in Birim Central Municipality, which has the lowest prevalence in the Eastern Region at 30.3%, the figure still exceeds that of any other district nationwide.
Mr. Obeng attributed this to several factors, including peer pressure and societal masculinity norms, easy access to sexually explicit content, gaps in sexual and reproductive health education—particularly among boys—and limited parental supervision, among others. “Sex education and community awareness campaigns tend to focus more on girls,” he explained, “leaving many boys to learn about sex from peers or unverified sources.”
Mr. Obeng warned that early and unprotected sexual activity among adolescent boys leads to a wide range of negative outcomes not just for the boys themselves, but also for girls and society at large. These include unplanned or unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, mental health challenges, and substance abuse, among others. He emphasized that the trend undermines national efforts toward achieving health and education targets and supports concerns raised by the Ghana AIDS Commission about the rise in new HIV infections among youth aged 15 to 25.
Mr. Obeng called for targeted interventions that recognize the unique needs of boys, noting that current programmes often overlook them. “When we talk about teenage pregnancy, most of the focus is on girls,” he said. “But we must not forget the boys. A girl who is well-informed and protected might still end up marrying a boy who never received any guidance. Just as we have reproductive health programmes tailored for girls, we urgently need similar initiatives for boys.”
He called for comprehensive, age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education for boys to help them make informed, responsible choices. “If this trend is not addressed, the Eastern Region could face increased rates of teenage pregnancies, school dropouts, adolescent health issues, and long-term cycles of poverty and poor health,” Mr. Obeng cautioned. “The future of this country,” he indicated, “depends not just on empowering our girls, but equally on guiding our boys to make safer and healthier decisions.”
