The family planning acceptor rate has improved at the Sankore Health Centre in the Asunafo South District of the Ahafo Region.

Available figures revealed that 69 girls between 15 and 19 years accessed family planning services at the centre between January and May this year.

According to Ms Sonia Akosua Tempoh, the Nurse in charge at the Adolescent Corner of the Centre, most of the girls opted for Depo-prover (three months injection).

Describing the situation as encouraging, Ms Tempoh told news reporters in an interview at Sankore that many young girls in the area had accepted and patronised the family planning services.

That notwithstanding, she added teenage pregnancy was still a problem in the area, saying the Centre had since January recorded 61 cases of teenage pregnancies.

Ms Tempoh who was speaking to the GNA during a visit of Dr Patrick Kumah-Aboagye, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) mentioned poverty, disinterest in education as well as peer influences as some major causal factors of teenage pregnancies in the area.

Accompanied by other key staff of the GHS, including Mr Owusu Ansah, the Head of the Health Workers Services Union, Dr Kumah-Aboagye is on a two-day working visit to the region.

Ms Tempoh regretted that many girls in the area refused to go to school during their menstruation period because they could not afford to buy sanitary pads, a situation which was impeding girl-child education in the area.

She indicated that pre-marital sex and multiple sex partners among boys and girls in the area remained high, saying some parents were not also helping as they encouraged their girls to engage in acts of immorality to get money to support the upkeep of the family.

Established in 1978, Mr Asante Offei, the Head of the Sankore Health Centre explained the Centre’s monthly Out-Patient Department cases stood at 1,360, in-Patient, 200 and 30 deliveries.

He said malaria and diarrhoea were the highest recorded cases in the area and appealed for the upgrading of the Centre to a polyclinic to widen and enhance the scope of health care delivery services to attain improved quality health status of the people.

Dr Kumah-Aboagye commended the health workers for their dedicated services and assured the GHS would soon post a medical officer to serve the facility.