Background
Adolescents and young people are entitled to decent livelihoods; however, girls face
disproportionate risks and distinctive consequences related to the vulnerabilities they experience.
Young girls compared to their male counterparts are more likely to drop out of school, to marry
at an early age, and to bear the consequences of poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes.
Adolescent girls confront distinct physical and social vulnerabilities that threaten their human
rights and livelihoods. The needs and opportunities for girls’ and boys’ diverge during early
adolescence, with girls entering puberty on average two years earlier than boys. For many girls
in the developing world, this marks the beginning of a protracted risk period during which they
have little or no control over critical social, health, and economic outcomes. Girls are
disproportionately vulnerable to violations of their human rights, inadequate reproductive health
services, education and subjected to child marriage - all limiting realization of their full human
potential. The recognition that adolescent girls and young women face a complex array of issues
led the UNFPA Country Office (CO) to initiate an in-depth situational analysis of adolescent
girls and young women in Ghana. The aim of the situational analysis was to identify and work to
improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights (including gender-based violence and
child marriage) vulnerabilities adolescent girls and young women face.
Objectives of the situational analysis
The objectives of this situational analysis of adolescent girls and young women in Ghana were:
1. To identify and analyze the major trends in issues that impact upon adolescent girls and
young women in Ghana: teenage pregnancy, abortion, gender based violence, and
education (access, retention, transition) as well as child marriage;
2. To define gaps and barriers in data for addressing issues pertaining to adolescent girls and
young women in Ghana;
3. To identify the achievements of programs, policies and plans on issues of adolescent girls
and young women in Ghana;
4. To identify and analyze the enabling factors that perpetuate the phenomenon of child and
forced marriages in Ghana; and
5. To make recommendations on relevant program areas focused on adolescent girls and
young women for consideration by UNFPA CO (especially for the child marriage
initiative)
Methods
Multiple approaches (desk review, quantitative and qualitative approaches) were used to achieve
the set objectives of the situational analysis. The desk review utilized nationally representative
survey reports such as the GDHS (1993-2014), MICS (2006 & 2011), NSA (2004) and GMHS
(2007). Reports from international and national institutions including UNICEF, Ghana Health
Service (GHS) and Ministry of Education (MOE) were reviewed. Other relevant literature such
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as peer reviewed journal articles was also used. Datasets including the GDHS and the Ministry of
Education’s EMIS were analyzed where appropriate. The quantitative data analyses were
conducted using statistical techniques such as frequencies, cross tabulations and binary logistic
regression models. Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were
conducted for the qualitative strand of this study. The KIIs were conducted with key stakeholders
on issues surrounding adolescent girls and young women’s wellbeing in the Greater Accra,
Central and Northern regions. The FGDs were conducted in selected UNFPA country program
support regions (Northern and Central). These are regions with high prevalence of teenage
pregnancy (Central, 21.3%) and child marriage (Northern, 35.8%) (Ghana Statistical Service,
Ghana Health Service, & ICF International, 2015). The FGDs were conducted in Zabzugu-Tatale
(Northern region) and Assin South, Ekumfi and Agona West (Central region). The qualitative
data was transcribed (verbatim) and analyzed using the thematic approach. The results were
presented under main themes and sub-themes to add meaning and context to findings from the
desk review and quantitative analysis where appropriate.