One hundred and six school girls, among them a 13 year old grade three pupil, have fallen pregnant in Chadiza District of Eastern Province. ZANIS reports that the girls with age range from 10 to 18 were reported pregnant between the months of June and September this year.
Chadiza District has also recorded 187 cases of sexual transmitted related diseases among the children between the ages ranging from 0-14 years.
According to the health authorities sexual transmitted related cases may have been transmitted without sexual contact.
This was disclosed during the District Adolescent Technical Working Group on Adolescents Sexual and Reproductive Health meeting.
And Chidiza District Commissioner George Phiri has been angered by the damning statistics of child pregnancies and non-sexual transmitted diseases among children.
Mr Phiri has called for the arrest and prosecution of a man that defiled a 13-year-old Grade 3 pupil.
“Unfortunately, these girls who are falling pregnant, 99.9 percent are not impregnated by their peer, it is you the civil servants and other members of the community who are impregnating our pupils,” he said.
The District Commissioner has also has directed the Ministry of General Education to make a follow up on all the girls that have fallen pregnant and trace the males that are responsible for the pregnancies so that they face the law.
“We have by-laws in the district to ensure that a girl who falls pregnant before the age of 21 is punished together with the boy that has impregnated her. And also issues of defilement are straight forward police issues, so we need to arrest the perpetrators,” he added.
And Chadiza District Health Director Webby Chisala has bemoaned the increase in cases of teenage pregnancies and sexual transmitted diseases among the adolescents.
Dr Chisala disclosed that the district had in the second quarter of 2020 recorded 187 cases of sexual transmitted diseases among the age group ranging from 0-14 and 129 cases in the age group ranging from 15-24 Years respectively.
He also revealed that the cases of unsafe abortions have also risen with Chadiza Day secondary school topping the list with 12 cases followed by Kathantha basic School with 10 cases of unsafe abortions.
Dr Chisala observed that there was under-utilization of condoms by the young people leading to the rise in the pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
He has since called upon school authorities, traditional leaders together with parents to intensify sensitizations on the dangers of teenage pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
“The number of teenage pregnancies is increasing especially the age group ranging from 10 to 18. There is need for us to do more community meetings because these pregnancies and unsafe abortions come with complications,” he stressed.
Now I don’t know what to be appalled about- the fact that a young pupil has been impregnated or the fact that she is 13 and still in grade 3. This gives sad reading for me as parent. I will personally look into this issue and get the president on board.we are tired
K Z your relatives are making future voters what a shameful eastern practice. Am disappointed with the east
Shift daily corona briefings, start combating $ex outbreak, even the parliament is debating it now.
This is one of the signs of a crumbling economy. There are no economic activities in the area as the such the adage ‘lazy mind is the devil’s workshop’ applies. Please vote out the MP for that area.
Kaizar is amazing, are you sleeping or what, this is part of the failure of the government and president you support. You can not be appalled when kids are impregnated or difiled, where are your laws , you also wonder a 13yrs old is in grade 3, did your government since 2011 put meaningful measures that kids are in the right grades at the right time?. Your government has their priorities elsewhere important like catching thieves that store Zambian money during privitization of the 90z. Lastly why are your civil servants in eastern province nyengaling our children
Young people know nothing about protecting themselves least about engaging in safe sex. Someone suggests that we introduce sex education, the govt religious minister and some christians fumes at the idea because they are dirty minded and all the thinking about is the notion of sexual positions. The signs are there to see that young people need to be educated on the aspect of sex and its implications. Let us not wait until our own in the house contract ntenda and pregnancies! What a shame and irresponsible *****ts making children pregnant!
Proof that comprehensive sexual education is needed. Our young people are already having sex, help them do it safer.
It’s a slippery slope down hill!
Of course, there will be pregnancies, because, most young people don’t realise that beyond puberty, the female body is primed for reproduction! Any sexual activities without protection, will result in pregnancy. So, be warned young people – no willy-nilly, sex!
But, Government could prevent unplanned pregnancies by giving pubescent boys & girls, sex education in schools. It’s not about teaching them to have sex, it’s about making them aware of the consequences. In any case, they are likely already doing it because a friend has told them it’s ok to do it. Therefore, burying one’s head in the sand and hoping it won’t happen, is silly.
We hv a problem, a serious problem. Zambia is no longer the country Godfridah Sumaili thinks it is or wished it was. This nothing new in human affairs.
Sexual laws need not be gender biased but be applied equally to end this calamity by introduction of prohibitive laws for the girl child
There is no correlation between economic development and one being a sick defiler. These defilers are sick in the head. They are actually worse in countries like the UK. We even had many foreign mostly British men who were implicated in Kenya and other countries for defilement and touching little boys especially. So please you sound f00lish blaming this on a government which is hard working like ours.
Such incidences can be connected to particular environments – whether you mention the reasons for the same in the UK or not, we have to look at the underlying cause in Zambia. Poverty – it has an economic base, whether you like it or not. The young and desperate in this socio-economic quagmire are taken advantage of by adults of all ages. School girls needing basic resources in their lives, that their parents can no longer afford to provide, full prey to people who dangle the same in exchange foe sex. It’s not just about ‘finding and jailing’ the culprits – it’s about social and economic empowerment for families.
The truth be told, this is happening country wide.
The authorities must follow through and bring these civil servants to book.
It is totally disgusting behaviour that is happening in 2020 under the leadership of Chagwa. No fear of the rule of law or respect for the vulnerable.
You can’t stop it; the body was designed to get laid! Just educate them about the consequences of unprotected sex.
@Kaisar Zulu…I’d be very disappointed if the leader of the nation got involved in such trivial issues. There are bigger issues for him than some horny 13 year olds getting knocked up.
This is an embarrassment to the nation and the continet in general. If 99.9% of the girls are impregnanted by adults, it shows that we have a very barbaric culture and these children are not safe. You can not go and start teaching a 10 year old safe sex. Teach those grown men to have self contol and keep it in their pants. This is violation of girlchild rights. How does a nation develop?
The problem is not the girls! its adults having sex with children. Shame on those thinking that 13 year olds want babies for Christmas or birthdays. Look yourslef in the mirror and imagain that was your child or little sister.