Assistant Minister for Youth Development at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Kula Fofana has called on parents to invest in their teenage girls by providing them quality education for the betterment of the society.
Speaking on Monday at programs marking the official celebration of World Population Day, Assistant Minister Fofana emphasized the importance of girls' education noting there are lots of challenges affecting teenage girls in the society.
She mentioned that the celebration of the World Population Day is intended to address issues affecting the different population and growth of the country and is celebrated each year across the country and focus on teenage girls.
She named some of the challenges that are affecting teenagers and the population as teenage pregnancy, harmful traditional practices, early marriage, sexual reproductive health challenges and rape.
She also urged parents to invest in the education of girls in order to prevent unwanted pregnancy that will affect the population and cause them to become burdens on the country's health budget.
She added that even though the community and government have committed themselves to ensuring that girls and children go to school, the different challenges teenage girls face must be acknowledged. The Assistant Youth Minister pointed out that teenage boys should not be left out of such investment.
Assistant Minister Fofana stressed that investment in girls remains a critical economic decision because girls have been marginalized and it is time for them to be protected to avoid health consequences.
