'Of all child deliveries made in 2012, more than half were by teenagers'

•     One of country's worst challenges - Ministry of Health and Social Welfare

Teenage pregnancies and deliveries are among the country’s worst challenges accounting for more than half (55 per cent) of total deliveries in 2012, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has revealed.

An official from the ministry, Philbert Kawemama told The Guardian in an exclusive interview last month that the challenge is much bigger in rural areas than it is in urban centres.

Kawemama, who is the Assistant Commissioner, Family Welfare, Child Welfare and Early Department of Social within the ministry, said the challenge is connected to abuse of vulnerable children (under 18).

“The government is taking steps to end the challenge this includes establishing a five year programme to end children violence that will entail removal of children from vulnerable conditions that increase such cases,” he said.

He noted that according the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) research for 2013, Tanzania is among countries with highest number of early pregnancy cases citing 13 per cent of women in the country were sexually harassed before reaching eighteen years of age.

“Statistics show that for every I million women who conceive, 23 per cent conceive before reaching eighteen years of age,” the health ministry official conceded and noted that UNFPA has warned that the number of girls affected with early pregnancy is still increasing with every 10 women, four been victims of teen pregnancy a situation blamed on poverty.

On December 11, last year, the First Lady, Salma Kikwete, challenged parents to complement teachers’ efforts in providing reproductive health education to school girls in an effort to curb early marriages and child pregnancies.

The First lady, who is also the Chairperson of Women and Development Foundation (WAMA), made the call in Dar es Salaam when launching a new campaign dubbed ‘Jilinde Utimize Ndoto Yako’. 

She said parents should know that they have a role in addressing child pregnancies at a family level through talking and teaching their girls on reproductive health matters.

“Majority of the parents have left this big task to teachers without knowing that they are also responsible,” the first lady noted.

“Child pregnancies and early marriages can be controlled if parents are fully engaged in educating the girls…this can be done by talking and giving them tips on maternal health,” she added.

Speaking at the same occasion, Dar es Salaam Region Commissioner Said Meck Sadick said Dar es Salaam, as many other cities in the country, faces high school drop rates due to early pregnancies. 

Sadick noted that statistics from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare show the number of child pregnancies in Dar es Salaam Region increased from 11,419 in 2012 up to 21,042 in 2013.