Cape Town: The Health Department of the City of Cape Town guided teenage girls over the increasing number of teen pregnancies. The city’s health department showed their concern over the increase in several teenage girls seen for their first antenatal visit.
Reportedly, the department has encouraged girls to take charge of their future, as the increase can be seen across all the City Health districts.
As per the sources, earlier between July 2022 and June 2023, 632 teenagers visited the clinic for their first antenatal visit, who were between the age of 12 and 17, as compared to the previous year’s 355 cases. During that time, the number of clinic visits for contraceptive services also decreased.
Member of Mayoral Committee of the City for Community Service and Health Councillor – Patricia van der Ross declared that while the week aims to reduce pregnancy-related complications and encourage women to visit a clinic, they cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the girls are sexually active and there is an increase in teen pregnancies.
Councillor Patricia said, “Besides the detrimental impact on growth, productivity, communities and families, the teen pregnancy disrupts the young mother’s education and also puts her future at risk.”
She added, “Our girls have a bright future and I want to encourage them to do everything they can to make healthy and informed choices.”
The City of Cape Town has also arranged Condom and STI Awareness Week, which is an important initiative that aims to raise awareness about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and promote safe sexual practices.
To this Councillor Ross stated, “Condom and STI Awareness Week also seeks to address common misconceptions surrounding condom use and encourage open conversations about sexual health.”
She mentioned that at such events, staff encourage the proper use of male and female condoms, debunk myths related to their effectiveness and engage in discussions on how to prioritise safe sex practices.
“By creating a space for dialogue and education around condom use, we hope to empower individuals to make informed decisions regarding their sexual well-being,” said Patricia Van Der Ross.
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee for Community Services and Health Councillor – Ronel Viljoen said that it is an essential reminder of the importance of practicing safe sex through proper and consistent condom use.
Chairperson Viljoen added, “Not only do they prevent pregnancy, but condoms play a role in preventing the transmission of STIs and encourage open conversations around sexual health.”
The health data shows the number of people who started on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) which doubled from 3,266 to 6,796.
PrEP and Post post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) are HIV prevention strategies. The facilities for PrEP were implemented two years ago at City Health Centre, where more than 12,000 people have started treatment at the 67 facilities offering the service.
Considerably, PrEP is not a life-long treatment that can be safely discontinued by the clients, when their HIV risk is no longer high or as per their preference.