Ministry of Health campaigning to reduce teenage pregnancies

27 February 2024, 9:07 am

By Byamukama Alozious

Ministry of Health plans to get specific interventions in addressing teenage pregnancies which continue increasing in the country.

In 2016, during the demographic health survey, teenage pregnancy was found at 25% and after 5 years a new survey has indicated that teenage pregnancy stands at 24% which means there has been a reduction by just 1%.

Henry Mwebesa, Director General at Ministry of Health, says there is a combination of factors which have contributed to the increase such as poverty, school drop outs and inadequate funding services. We have not done very well because some districts especially in the rural areas, teenager pregnancies stand at 31%. He adds that female teenagers are the most affected where 1 in 5 gets pregnant.  

Mwebase says some interventions to calm this practice has faced resistance such as use of contraceptives which was not welcomed by religious leaders.

The Ministry of Health is now in a new campaign to end the practice through creation of awareness, making new strateges and media campaigns. This was unveiled during a monthly media breakfast at Ministry of Health in Kampala on 26^th February 2024. “We want by next survey the rate to be at 15%” Mwebesa told media.

Most young women who have got teenage pregnancy have got high cases of high blood pressure, fistula and deaths. The ministry report survey revealed that 18% of pregnancy related deaths are teenagers.

Dr. Richard Mugahi, commissioner for reproductive and child health, says the ministry is now collaborating with other ministries such as Ministry of Gender and Ministry of Education in order to combine efforts focusing on prevention, and a lot of changes are under ways including the school health policy. He adds that emphasis will be towards helping young women and girls due to high number of cases. Dr. Mugahi noted that the ministry is finding a challenge to respond to aftereffects such as fistula due to high level of specialization because the services of his nature are at regional referrals.

The recent study by Center for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP) found that that 34% of girls in Uganda are married before their 18th birthday; 7% are married before the age of 15, while 6% of boys are married before their 18th birthday. The prevalence of teenage marriages among girls is highest in the North (59%), the Western (58%), Eastern (52%), East Central (52%), and West Nile (50%). Teenage marriages are very common also in Central 2 (46%), Central 1 (41%), Southwest (37%), and Kampala (21%).