More effort needed on teenage pregnancy

Harare(New Ziana) -Despite the concerted efforts that have been made to reduce teenage pregnancy, more still needs to be done as the cases are still high, a United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) official has said.

Speaking on the first of a two-day international conference on Population and Development, UNPFA Adolescents Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) program analyst Pennelope Kasere said more work was still needed to reduce teenage pregnancies.

“Our teenage fertility rates are still on the high side and we need to do more to ensure young people are empowered to make informed decisions that enable them to realize their full potential and have access to comprehensive information,” she said.

Although teenage pregnancies are still high, there has been decrease as per the National Adolescent Fertility report of 2016, which reported that from 2015 the rates lowered as compared to 2010.

“We still think that’s too high but if you compare with 2015 data you find that there has been a decrease because in 2010, we had 15 girls in every 1 000 giving birth but now we are at 10.

For us, it’s still too high so that is part of the unfinished business where we are saying, our teenage fertility rates are still on the high side and we need to do more to ensure that young people are empowered to make informed decisions that enable them to utilize and realize their full potential.”

Meanwhile in bid to try and abolish teenage pregnancies, the UNFPA has made huge investments in ensuring that young people have access to information which include supporting life skills,sexuality, HIV and Aids strategy for the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.

“We have contributed to the curriculum review process, teachers learning materials and teaching of teachers so that learners are taught updated information.” said Kasere.

New Ziana.