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as it exposed them to serious health risks.
“This is worrisome as it is an indicator of young women’s high exposure to unprotected sex which may lead to unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV,” reads part of the statement.
The 115 births per 1 000 women is an increase from 99 births per 1 000 women in 1999. The Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey (2010/2011) notes that one in four girls aged 15 to 19 have already begun child bearing. Furthermore, 92 percent of all sexually active women within the same age group are in a union or marriage.
“But for many of these girls pregnancy and marriage has nothing to do with informed choice. It could be a case of rights violations, inadequate education or sexual coercion,” says UNFPA.
Commenting on adolescent pregnancies, UNFPA’s executive director Dr Babatunde Osotimehin said there was a need for commitment from all nations, communities and individuals in both developed and developing countries to invest in adolescent girls.
Dr Osotimehin said Governments should enact and enforce national laws that raise the age of marriage to 18 and should promote community-based efforts that support girls’ rights and prevent child marriage and its consequences.
“Adolescents pregnancy is not just a health issue. It is a developmental issue. It is deeply rooted in poverty, gender inequality, violence, child and forced marriages, power imbalances between adolescent girls and their male partners, lack of education and the failure of systems and institutions to protect their rights,” Dr Osotimehin said.
He said good quality reproductive health services and infrastructure to deliver reproductive health care in a youth-friendly and sensitive way should also be available.
The World Population Day is commemorated every year on July 11. This year’s commemorations are running under the theme: ‘adolescents pregnancy’.
United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon said to address these problems education for girls must be prioritised.
“When a young girl is educated, she is more likely to marry later, delay childbearing until she is ready, have healthier children, and earn a higher income,” he said.
Online Reporter