Gender Minister Victoria Kalima has disclosed that teenage pregnancy statistics stand at 29 percent.
Ms Kalima says the Child marriage prevalence rate is at 31 percent, while HIV prevalence is at 8 percent for girls and 6 percent for boys compared to the adult population.
She says the figures are high and need serious attention by all stakeholders.
Speaking when officiating at the SAFAIDS National Sensitization programme on the Transforming Lives Programme, Ms. Kalima says transforming adolescents and young people’s lives to access sexual and reproductive health services requires the commitment of all key stakeholders to implement robust interventions that will bring about the nation’s desired adolescents and young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights outcomes.
In a speech read on her behalf by Ministry of Gender Permanent Secretary, Dr. Auxillia Ponga, Ms. Kalima has since praised SAFAIDS and its partners in various fields of policy development for indentifying the need to transform and address sexual and reproductive health and rights policy and practice gaps in Zambia.
She says the transforming lives programme will contribute towards a more conducive policy environment that enables positive sexual and reproductive health and rights outcomes among adolescents and young people, both in Zambia and the SADC region.
Speaking earlier, SAFAIDS Regional Director, Rouzeh Eghtessad has commended Zambia for making strides in implementing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in the region.
Meanwhile, Muchinga Province permanent Secretary Jobicks Kalumba has appealed to the Education sector in Muchinga Province to sensitise school- going children on the new Policy that allows them to resit for exams or repeat after failing pregnant.
The PS said this yesterday when he visited Kantompwezi Village in Nakonde District of Muchinga Province.
Dr. Kalumba said it was worrying to see many children especially the girl child staying at home because they failed their exams and do not want to go back to a lower grade.
The PS said schools should sensitise pupils and let them know that they can resit for their exams as external candidates without having to repeat.
Dr. Kalumba added that many children have abandoned school for fear of repeating to a lower grade which was worrying.
He lamented that there is urgent need to sensitise them and make them understand the Policy as most of them did not fully understand the contents of the new Policy.
Dr. Kalumba also took time to talk to some parents and encouraged them to send their children who had failed Grade 9 back to School.
Teenage-hood begins at 13 and ends at 20. Marriage age is 18 with parental consent and 21 without parental consent. In the village marriage can be as early as 14 provided the girl is morphologically and mentally of age. Don’t listen to the West. Some teenage pregnancy is good and should be encouraged especially around 18 and 19. We are very few in Zambia and we need to grow the population. This is also a wealthy country if properly managed. Ask kalima herself how old was her mother when she was born? As all ministers who are first borns, how old their mothers were, when they were born. Look at how miserable the west has become because they are too old when they want to attempt child bearing, their sperms are already weak and their eggs weak with family planning. No wonder they have…
Very active teens!
You sound a mad person to me ulubunda,
How can you promote early marriage and teenage pregnancy without considering its many disadvantages…..ulapepa ifyamba!!!!!!
Let your own relatives go into early marriages