GOVERNMENT has been urged to set up legislation encouraging teenagers to gain access to contraceptives in order to mitigate the increase in teenage pregnancies which put young girls at higher risk of maternal death.
Own Correspondent
Recently, Health and Child Care Minister, Constantino Guvheya Chiwenga said girls under the age of 16 cannot be given contraceptives as they cannot legally consent to sexual activity.
Speaking during a virtual meeting on Social Accountability and Oversight in the Implementation of SADC Regional Commitments in Health and Agriculture yesterday, Chairperson for the Parliamentary Portfolio on Health Dr Ruth Labode said the government and other stakeholders should rethink their position on access to contraceptives.
Currently we cannot pretend that we have don’t have a problem. This Marange girl is not a unique case. Thousands of adolescent girls are dying out there. Even if we commit 20 percent of the budget to contraceptives, that will not stop teenage pregnancies because our youths are being stopped from accessing them.
“Let’s deal with the legal frame work first. As long as we avoid the elephant in the room which is access to contraceptives, we will always have increases in teen pregnancies leading to a surge in maternal deaths,” said Labode.
The debate has divided public opinion for some time in Zimbabwe yet cases of teenage pregnancies continue to be on the rise, more so since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown which kept children out of school.
Southern Africa HIV and Aids Information Dissemination Service (SAFAIDS) Regional policy and Advocacy Specialist, Adolf Maveneke said the country has been fighting hard against the scourge of teenage pregnancies despite facing challenges.
“The country has been working on trying to reduce these teenage pregnancies however there are still challenges. Besides the legal framework, education around contraception and is still needed as studies have shown a surge of new infections are mostly among adolescence,” he said.
