Oyam District Tops Uganda in Teenage Pregnancies as Busoga Struggles with Early Childbearing

28 September 2026, 10:06 am

By Eman Yonah Oruk

Oyam District has emerged as the leading district in Uganda for teenage pregnancies, recording a prevalence of 27 percent, above the national average of 24.5 percent.

Within Oyam, Kamdini Sub-county leads at 36.8 percent, followed by Minakulu at 31 percent, Oyam Town Council at 30 percent, and Iceme at 29 percent. Early marriage is also widespread, with Abok registering 47.4 percent and Kamdini 42.1 percent of girls married before adulthood.

In the Busoga sub-region, Namayingo accounts for 25 percent of adolescent births, while Buyende reports 2.3 percent of births among girls under 15 years. Mayuge recorded 65 pregnancies among girls below 15, and Bugiri reported 55 cases in the same age group.

Other districts such as Kamuli, Iganga, Soroti, Bukedea, and Busia continue to face rising teenage pregnancy rates, often linked to poverty, school dropouts, and risky environments around border trade centers.

Key drivers of the crisis include poverty, which pushes families to marry off girls for survival, night markets that expose adolescents to risky behavior, and limited education opportunities that leave dropouts more vulnerable.

The risks are severe: teenage mothers face higher maternal health complications and mortality, disrupted education, and a cycle of poverty that reduces future economic opportunities.

In Oyam, the Amuka Project has been launched to fight teenage pregnancy and HIV among young girls. Nationally, the Strategy to End Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy (2021–2026) is focusing on reproductive health education, enforcement of protective laws, school reintegration, and community-led norm change.

Programme Lead Miriam Cherykut explained that a feasibility study provided an accurate picture of the crisis, identifying Kamdini, Minakulu, Oyam Town Council, and Iceme as the most affected areas.

Commissioner for Youth and Children Affairs in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Mondo Kyateka, noted that over 42 percent of pregnancies nationwide are unplanned, with many young girls unaware of who impregnated them.

Oyam District Chairman Nelson Adea Akar attributed part of the problem to insurgency and trading centers such as Kamdini, where hundreds of trailers park daily, creating conditions that expose young girls to prostitution and exploitation.

Reverend Canon Robert Edinga, Archdeacon of Oyam Urban Archdeaconry, blamed night markets for worsening the situation, saying young people often attend late-night markets where they are vulnerable to risky behavior.