11 Jun 2017

Kgosi Thomas Modiro of Zoroga has expressed worry at the high rate in which young girls were falling pregnant in his village.

Welcoming the Minister of Health and Wellness, Ms Dorcas Makgatho in a kgotla meeting June 8, Kgosi Modiro said they were seeing a high number of teenage mothers in the village who end up running away and living their parents to care for their babies.

He said he had observed the trend among teenage girls that had failed their junior certificate, and were now idling in the village with nothing to do.

He said they have also noted that the girls were impregnated by their peers who were treated as children and under parental care, adding that they could not take responsibility for the new addition in their families.

He highlighted a recent case in which a teenage boy had impregnated a primary school pupil, and that the pupil had to drop out of school as a result.

He further decried that despite the young girls realising that they were pregnant, they did not go to health facilities to register for antenatal care until the last days of their trimesters.

He appealed to the minister to facilitate the upgrading of their health post to a clinic which would operate 24 hours and help nurses to attend to the situation in his village.

He added that because they did not have a maternity wing, their nurses go through hardship taking expecting  young mothers to Gweta Primary Hospital.

Kgosi Modiro said when the road was closed due to the recent floods, the situation was so bad that they felt sorry for the nurses who had to ensure that they saved the lives of both newborns and their mothers.

Commenting on the kgosi’s outcry, minister Makgatho said they had hoped to have upgraded all health posts to clinics, but that due to financial constraints that had not been possible.

However, she promised that they would do as they had promised whenever funds become available.

The minister also said  upgrading health facilities was not the solution to teenage pregnacies, and that they should work together to sensitise young people on issues of health, in particular consequences that may arise as a result of engaging in unprotected sexual activities at a young age.

She added that it was important for young people to understand that education came first, and that they would plan their family lives thereafter.

In addition, she urged parents to talk about sexual issues with their children, and to ensure that where there was need to take their children for family planning preventative methods, they did so to protect the future of their children.

Furthermore, she highlighted that in their research at the ministry they had realised that it was not often that teenagers were impregnated by their peers but by their elders.

She added that research had also shown that girls infected by the HIV virus between the ages of 18-25 had similar percentages to those of men aged between 25 to 35 years, and unlike those of young men of the same age group.

She said it indicated that men in the age group 25-35 years were the ones eyeing young girls.

She urged parents to protect their girls at all times. ENDS