Body decries rise of teenage pregnancies

By ABIGAEL SUM

More girls are dropping out of school as cases of teenage pregnancies continue to soar, the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) chairperson Winfred Lichuma has said.

She said preliminary findings by the commission revealed that most cases of teenage pregnancy are never documented yet they affect school going and out of school children aged between eight and 17.

These girls are vulnerable and must be protected. Child pregnancy results in severe consequences for both parents and child including psycho-emotional disorders and health complications which could lead to death and social economic challenges,” she said.

She was speaking during the launch of a public inquiry on child pregnancy, which will take nine months after which the findings and recommendations will be published.

 “If top Government leadership does not acknowledge that this is a problem, then it becomes a challenge to come up with meaningful policies,” she said.

Lichuma cited several factors including defilement, cultural practices, lack of sexual awareness and poverty as having contributed to teenage pregnancies. She said teenage pregnancy is the main driver of school dropout, illegal and unsafe abortions, early or underage marriages, and polygamy as pregnant girls are married as second or third wives. She said there is need to equip children with information on sexuality to prevent them from engaging in risky sexual experiments.