Celani Sikhakhane
Teenage pregnancies in KwaZulu-Natal have been on the rise in recent years, increasing from 18,000 in 2019 to 21,000 in 2021.
The National Freedom Party (NFP) Youth Movement has called on the government to establish a commission to investigate the main cause of the growing number of teenage pregnancies.
According to Stats SA, more than 5,500 children aged from 10 to 14 gave birth in KZN, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo and the Western Cape in the 2019-20 financial year.
The shocking statistics have prompted the KZN Department of Social Development and Health, traditional leaders along with child protection agencies and police to investigate the matter.
The interim president of the NFP Youth Movement, Mlungisi Mncube, revealed that there were many attempts that were made to fight this scourge but they seem to be failing.
“We have a problem with the family structure that has collapsed. Children find themselves growing up in a toxic environment where parents are no longer present in the lives of those teen children.
“That is why we believe that government intervention is seriously needed to deal with this crisis. For example the employment of social workers in schools can assist in helping those teenagers to have someone to talk to.”
The NFP Youth Movement believes that the establishment of a commission of inquiry to investigate this crisis might also help the government to come up with proper solutions because the distribution of condoms in schools seems to have failed.
Traditional leader Inkosi Nne Mpungose from the Mpungose Traditional Council in Ulundi said it remained parents’ responsibility to guide their children on health and reproductive health.
“Community members do not care anymore about children. They shift the blame to the government,” he said.
“It is believed that teenagers engage in their sexual debut without protection, and this factor leads to a high rate of new HIV infections among teenagers.”
Bishop Moses Sibiya from the Zululand Local Community Forum said teenage boys should be taught about using protection whenever having sex.
