News / Regional
Teenage pregnancies rampant in Beitbridge
09 Jul 2014 at 15:31hrs | Views
Poverty and hunger have been cited as some of the socio-economic factors contributing to the high rate of early pregnancies reported in Beitbridge district.
17-year-old Thuli Mbedzi (not her real name) is orphaned and has dropped out of school at just Form 3 and is now staying with her boyfriend's guardians.
Just like 37 other girls who have dropped out of school in Beitbridge district, Thuli left school after falling pregnant.
Those staying with her are however concerned about the girl's future without an education.
Teenage pregnancies are unusually high in Beitbridge and the community of Lutumba attributes the pregnancies to economic pressures.
To them, poverty and lack of education is pushing girls into relationships with older men.
Beitbridge East Senator, Cde Tambudzani Mohadi says teenagers need to be better educated about reproductive health to stem the high rate of pregnancies.
According to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, 122 girls dropped out school in Beitbridge as a result of pregnancy in 2012.
The number slightly declined to 112 in 2013.
65 percent of the girls dropping out of school are below the age of 16.
The high rate of teenage pregnancies also raises fears of increased HIV infections in a district already the worst affected in terms of HIV prevalence rate.
17-year-old Thuli Mbedzi (not her real name) is orphaned and has dropped out of school at just Form 3 and is now staying with her boyfriend's guardians.
Just like 37 other girls who have dropped out of school in Beitbridge district, Thuli left school after falling pregnant.
Those staying with her are however concerned about the girl's future without an education.
Teenage pregnancies are unusually high in Beitbridge and the community of Lutumba attributes the pregnancies to economic pressures.
Beitbridge East Senator, Cde Tambudzani Mohadi says teenagers need to be better educated about reproductive health to stem the high rate of pregnancies.
According to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, 122 girls dropped out school in Beitbridge as a result of pregnancy in 2012.
The number slightly declined to 112 in 2013.
65 percent of the girls dropping out of school are below the age of 16.
The high rate of teenage pregnancies also raises fears of increased HIV infections in a district already the worst affected in terms of HIV prevalence rate.
Source - zbc
