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Rumbidzayi Zinyuke-Senior Health Reporter
YOUNG people must access Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) services as a way of addressing the high maternal mortality rates and others challenges being registered among them, experts have said.
Speaking during a media science café held recently, SRH advocate Mr Onward Chironda said young people, especially adolescent girls were more exposed to risks associated with limited access to SRH services.
Zimbabwe has the highest maternal mortality rate among young people in the East and Southern African region at 15 percent.
The national teenage pregnancy rate currently stands at 22 percent and this is the highest contributor to school dropouts among adolescent girls.
Aids is also a leading cause of death among adolescents at 50 percent with at least 48 percent of young people aged 10-24 years not being aware of their HIV status.
“When cases of teenage pregnancies rise, we want to think deeply about how we can address these issues. Comprehensive sexuality education gives young girls the power to make informed decisions. We need to also ensure that systems are in place to provide SRH services for sexually active young people and we should remove legal barriers to access to SRH services,” he said.
In Zimbabwe, the age of consent to marriage was raised to 18 while the age of consent to sex remains at 16. However, the age of consent to access to sexual reproductive health services also remains at 18.
This means no child under the age of 18 can access contraceptives or sexual reproductive health services without parental consent.
Mr Chironda said this was a major dissonance in the laws which could be attributed to the rise in unsafe abortions among young girls.
According to UNICEF, every year there are about 70 000 to 80 000 unsafe abortions which also contributes to the country’s high maternal mortality.
“When we look at the pregnancy rate in Zimbabwe, 40 percent of pregnancies are unintended among all age groups. This translates to 18 abortions for every 1000 women aged 15 to 49.
One in four pregnancies end in abortion among young people. And one in five women lose their lives due to complications of induced abortions,” he said.
“In Zimbabwe we have the Termination of Pregnancy Act which prohibits abortions unless if the pregnancy is a risk to the mother or the child and in cases of incest and rape. But research done in other countries shows that countries that have restrictive laws on abortion have high maternal deaths because restrictive laws do not stop women form aborting. We should also be considering the ripple effects of these actions that include infertility and cancers among many others.”
Zimbabwe offers post abortion care in public health facilities where women who experience miscarriages and abortions can access treatment.
However, said Mr Chironda, this is a major drain on the health budget as it becomes more expensive to offer post abortion services than to provide contraceptives and other sexual reproductive services.
For communities in Zimbabwe, cultural, religious and many other reasons can be attributed to the challenges associated with lack of access to SRH services for young people.
Although the country has introduced comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) in the education curriculum as part of Life skills, Sexuality, HIV and Aids education, there is more to be done to ensure that it is accepted and appreciated by parents and the communities.
UNFPA adolescents and youth programme specialist Mr Blessing Nyagumbo says CSE is not initiating children into sex but about empowering them with the knowledge to make informed decisions about their bodies.
“When we talk about CSE, we are not initiating young people into sex but we are basically doing the opposite. We are trying to stop early sexual débuts. We are trying to empower the young person with the knowledge and the skills that they need to exercise what we call bodily autonomy. To say no to anything that can infringe on their rights and will result in them falling pregnant,” he said.
Online Reporter