The ever-increasing rate of teenage pregnancy in the country calls upon parents to take responsibility and work with teachers to tackle the scourge.
The problem also calls for the government to work tirelessly in eradicating poverty, especially in African communities as this is directly linked to young people falling pregnant.
Recently, teenage pregnancy statistics were released by KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Health Nomagugu Simelane.
The shocking figures indicated that 26515 girls aged between 10 and 19 fell pregnant between April and December last year, with 1 254 of those girls being 14 and younger.
Simelane said the figures marked an increase of 7965 compared with information released by Statistics SA, which recorded that KZN registered 18550 births for children aged 10 to 17 during the 2019/20 financial year, with 5500 of them aged 10 to 14.
In the Western Cape, 3997 children aged 10-19 have delivered babies within just five months of this year.
Last year alone, the figure was 10686 births over 12 months, 11157 in 2021, and 11690 over the same period in 2020 for the same age group.
These statistics are a clear indication that teenage pregnancy is a national crisis, and an integrated approach has to be implemented by all pillars of the state and civil society to see a reversal of this trend.
As a country we cannot get on top of this problem if we keep shifting responsibility, while children are getting pregnant.
Parents can’t blame this on teachers as they also have a role to play to teach their children about the dangers of having sex at a younger age.
What is clear is that the days of finger-pointing are over. It is also true that the phenomenon of sugar daddies, where older men with financial resources are preying on underage girls, has fuelled this scourge.
The government has to stop paying lip service and be deliberate about eliminating poverty so that young women don’t engage in sexual intercourse for money.
It cannot be denied that among the reasons why children are getting pregnant at a younger age is poverty.
The high levels of statutory rape, as the statistics suggest, mean that we should all hang our heads in shame.
Poverty reduction programmes and parental involvement can go a long way towards reducing the rate of teenage pregnancy in the country.
Cape Times