UN official describes teenage pregnancy in Zambia as "crisis"
18/8/2006 16:51
Teenage pregnancy has become a crisis in Zambia, Untied Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) Representative Deji Popoola has said.
Popoola, who just came
back from a trip to Zambia's Northwestern province where he visited rural
schools and communities, said his findings were "shocking".
"In one rural
school, there were 18 girls reported pregnant between January and June this
year," Popoola said, adding that the other one registered nine pregnant
girls.
"I went to a nearby clinic where the youngest girl to deliver was 13
and the average age for the girls to deliver was 15," he was quoted by Friday's
local newspaper The Post as saying.
The UN official said there was a need to
mobilize the rural community to come up with recreation facilities for young
people. The lack of recreation facilities made the girls engage in sex
activities.
Popoola also pointed out that the misinterpretation of the policy
that allows girls to go back to school after delivering had a bearing on the
high pregnancy rate among teenagers.
"It is supposed to be a rehabilitation
policy, but it is being misinterpreted as a facilitating factor for pregnancy,"
he said.
"Teenage pregnancy is a crisis and the government should pay
attention to reproductive health needs of young people," he added.
Popoola
said the UNFPA would promote information dissemination in rural areas to
ultimately change the perception of the community.
"We also need to let the
girls and boys to realize that there are consequences of unprotected sex which
include HIV/AIDS infection and pregnancies," he said.
Xinhua
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