By A Correspondent- The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) regional director Julitta Onabanjo is unhappy with the rate at which the number of teenage pregnancies continue to rise in Zimbabwe.

Onabanjo’s comments came in the wake of a recent Unesco report which revealed that 6 159 girls dropped out of school last year due to early unintended pregnancies.

Speaking to the media during a tour of Tariro Clinic in Hopley, Harare on Monday, Onabanjo emphasised the urgent need for the Zimbabwean government to intensify the fight against the problem that is cutting the future of young girls short.

“We always say one teen pregnancy that is unplanned and unwanted is just simply one too many. So, we really have to do more to ensure that young people have the information and ability to access the services that can ensure that they can make the right choices as to when they can have a baby,” she said.

The government last year revealed that Hopley has a population of 200 000 of which 65 000 are youths. Of that number, 21 percent of the girls have had teenage pregnancies, while 18 percent were in child marriages.

Onabanjo said the Hopley youths have to be assisted with more information on how to avoid teenage pregnancies and make the choice to be involved in sexual relationships at the right time.

“This community is brilliant and indeed it is a community of hope, but when I see how many young girls are here with little babies, you can tell that the prevalence of teen pregnancies is far too high.

“These young girls should be in school; they should be waiting to be able to have a real relationship. We can’t have children having children, not only is it a risk in terms of the outcome of the pregnancy, but also the deaths.

“A lot of the maternal deaths that we see are amongst young girls and this we can’t accept,” the UNFPA regional director added.

Meanwhile, the 2019 Multiple Cluster Indicator Survey (Mics) results have shown that over 100 000 women aged between 20 and 24 years fell pregnant before turning 18 in the country in the last five years.

According to the updated 2012 population census projections report, the country has a total of 734 742 women aged between 20 and 24.

The Mics report conducted between 2014 and 2019 said about 176 338 of those women fell pregnant before celebrating their 18th birthday.

“Twenty-four percent of women aged 20 to 24 years have had a live birth before age 18. One in four women aged between 20 and 24 years had a live birth before age 18,” the report said.-DailyNews