Tackling Teenage Pregnancy

TEENAGE pregnancy remains a significant issue facing this country and has been so for a long time now, despite efforts by governments to effectively tackle it. The rate of pregnant teenagers is indeed alarming and in February of this year, statistics from the Linden Hospital Complex show that 18% of the deliveries done at the hospital are on teenagers ranging from the ages of 13 to 19. As a matter of fact, a UN Population Fund report last year revealed that Guyana has the second highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Shamdeo Persaud, recently revealed that the teen fertility rate skyrocketed to 6.5 when compared to 2.6 for the overall country in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine. Four out of every 100 15-year-olds are pregnant and 16 of every 100 under-19s have already given birth.
There are many factors which lead to teenage pregnancy, including sexual violence, poverty, poor education and limited opportunities, all of which our young women face in Guyana. The current administration, in an effort to address the issue head on, launched its evidence-based, Teen Prevention Pregnancy and Empowerment initiative last year, which targets the 10 administrative regions.
We believe that this is an ambitious and commendable programme, which is being executed by the Child Care and Protection Agency (CPA) in collaboration with Non-Governmental Organisations, such as the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association and Youth Choice. Youths between the ages 15 to 19 will be educated on the disadvantages of teenage pregnancy and early sexual activities, but this is just a one-year intervention and thus why we believe that the Ministry of Education should seriously consider introducing sex education in the schools curriculums. This topic will provide the kind of social guidance that is necessary to positively impact on the questionable choices made by young people.
Teaching children about the disadvantages of early sexual intercourse at a young age will only stand to benefit them in the long run. The Ministry of Education should be commended for soliciting the services of a consultant from UNICEF to draft a policy for the re-integration of teenage mothers into schools. The subject Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, had told this newspaper recently that Guyana does not have a policy that caters for pregnant teenagers and the decision as to whether a pregnant teen can continue to attend school before and after pregnancy is left to the head of the institution or the regional authorities. This draft policy will now ensure that the affected students can be re-admitted to the same school or another learning institution.
Pregnancy forces many young girls to drop out of school as it is an obstacle to their early ambitious plans in life and force most of them to find ways and means to provide for themselves and their newborn children. Teen mothers should not be prevented from studying simply because they are pregnant.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.