Zambia: The Choma District Administration is concerned with the alarming rates of teenage pregnancies in the district. The social welfare authorities and healthcare stakeholders of the district have come forward to express their concern on the situation.
Teenage pregnancies can lead to many teens facing lifelong healthcare challenges. The early pregnancies can also claim the lives of expecting mothers as their bodies are not ready for these changes.
The district administration has taken several steps in order to educate and inform the teens about the dangers of early pregnancies. The district social welfare services have asserted that the youngsters in the district should be educated.
The team has been working hard to get more and more teenaged girls to be a part of the intiative.
Choma District Social Welfare Officer, Kazembe Zyambo shared with the media that that they are making a list of vulnerable people to be added on soSial Cash Transfer Scheme.
The registration of the population has shown high numbers of unwanted pregnancies among teenagers between 13 and 17 years. The authorities have expressed that they are not happy with the current situation.
However, they have been working hard to rectify the situation. The Choma District Social Welfare Officer revealed that many young girls have been leaving school and education after becoming pregnant.
He says the situation is disheartening seeing young girls dropping out of school at a tender age without fulfilling their aspirations and dream. He asserted that it is the responsibility of the parents to encourage their children to take good decisions.
Choma’s Bulebo Zone Community Welfare Assistant Committee Chairperson, Royd Masusu has called on parents to guide their children on the negative effects of involving themselves in sexual activities.
Masusu says parents should monitor the movements of their children and see the kind of company they are keeping, specially for a girl child as they are most vulnerable to the .