Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube in Hwange
THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care has started gathering citizens’ views on whether to give contraceptives such as condoms and pills to adolescents and young people.
People who attended the first meeting at Lwendulu Hall here on Monday were divided on the issue with some, mostly youths and some civic society organisations (CSOs), saying denying young people condoms and other contraceptives is tantamount to violating their rights to comprehensive health services.
Others, mostly the elderly and religious leaders, criticised the proposal saying it is satanic and seeks to drive the nation into immorality, child prostitution, casual sex, cultural erosion and further sexual abuse of the girl child instead of calling for abstinence.
The committee chaired by former Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa is conducting nationwide consultations towards crafting of a law that will seek to promote access to sexual reproductive health (SRH) services like condoms, family planning pills and HIV and Aids testing and counselling to adolescents.
This follows a petition to the National Assembly by Advocacy Core Team (ACT), representing Access Taskforce which is a consortium of CSOs.
The petition wants age restrictions for adolescents and young people when accessing SHR services removed as they attributed the high rates of teenage pregnancies, child marriages, high rates of school drop-outs, high teenage mortality and high rates of HIV and Aids among minors to the restrictions.
Sixteen years is the age of consent.
The petitioners allege that early unintended pregnancies are a leading cause for child marriages with 15 percent of national mortality rate made up of young people while there are 70 000 illegal abortions happening every year in Zimbabwe.
They want the Health Act amended hence the consultations by the Portfolio Committee.
Participants blamed teenage pregnancies on disintegration of the family unit and the new education curriculum which they said was exposing children to bad behaviour by teaching sexual health to children.
Some also said the Bill should be extended to legalise safe abortions and protect health service providers to be able to conduct the service.
“There should be no age restriction on access to comprehensive health because the status quo is causing teenage pregnancies. There should be a law protecting health service providers to be able to conduct abortions on adolescents,” Mr Daniel Nyathi from Young People’s Network.
A youthful participant from the same organisation said parents should not deprive adolescents of their rights to SRH so as to reduce prevalence of teenage pregnancies and STIs.
“We understand when parents are concerned about culture but the solution is removal of restrictions on access to SRH services. We can’t continue being blind to the fact that kids are sexually active.
“We as youth want access to SRH, we are not talking about sex but access to information and health services,” he said.
Mr Gift Sibanda from SafAids said giving condoms and family planning pills to adolescents will prevent birth complications as a result of illegal abortions.
Ms Action Ngwenya attributed the high rate of early pregnancies and marriages to failure by parents to educate children and said now is the time for “Plan B” which is access to condoms and pills.
Mrs Stella Rugare Mpofu from Goodhope Mothers Children’s Home in Hwange said giving condoms and pills to minors is satanic.
“This is a worrying issue. We have never heard of 12-year-olds taking contraceptives. This will promote child prostitution and trafficking and is not acceptable in our society. We are strongly against it and on behalf of all adults I appeal to you MPs and traditional leaders to protect our society because this is satanism,” she said.
Chairman of Pastors Fraternity in Hwange Pastor Emmanuel Nkomo said: “We can’t allow a nation of immorality.
Yikuganga lokhu. We are trying to pass a Bill that will bring a lot of problems to the society and parents will be the ones to bear the consequences. We can’t pass such a bill.”
Ms Patience Ndlovu from Hwange Heritage said most contraceptives such as pills and injections have side effects which can damage adolescents’ health.
“Even if we legalise access, they will struggle to buy the pills because already their mothers are struggling. Let’s not kill our future generations. This will also increase sexual abuse because men will know that girls won’t get pregnant since they will be preventing,” she said.
Ms Abigail Siziba from Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV and Aids (ZNNP+) said children should be taught to abstain.
“It’s not the right option to give access to contraceptives to children. They should be given access to HIV testing and counselling and sexual education. It is the duty of parents to teach children while the law is only there to buttress values already learnt at home. We know kids are engaging in teenage sex so let’s also engage them in school because some of the perpetrators are their peers,” she said.
Dr Parirenyatwa said another meeting will be held in Gwanda today. — @ncubeleon
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