Rubanda District registered 1,570 teenage pregnancies out of 9,970 pregnancies recorded in the past year, raising concern over school dropouts, alcohol abuse and inadequate protection of the girl child.
The Rubanda District Health Officer, Dr David Mporampora, said the figures show that adolescents accounted for more than 10 per cent of all pregnancies recorded in the district during the period.
“Out of 9,970 pregnancies that we registered in the last year, 1,570 were adolescents. So that’s quite a big number,” Dr Mporampora said.
He said a significant number of the affected adolescents had dropped out of school, while others were living on the streets or working in bars, exposing them to circumstances that increase their vulnerability to early pregnancy.
Dr Mporampora identified alcohol and substance abuse as some of the key drivers of teenage pregnancies in the district, saying Rubanda has one of the highest levels of alcohol consumption in the country.
He said alcohol consumption is no longer limited to men and young boys, but has increasingly spread to women and girls.
“Parenting is another issue. If a mother and father from morning to evening are drinking, how are they expected to convince the girl child that alcohol is bad?” he asked.
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Dr Mporampora also linked poverty and alcoholism to school dropout, which he said subsequently increases the risk of teenage pregnancy.
He further raised concern over reports indicating that more girls in boarding schools are becoming pregnant compared with those in day schools.
“We are asking ourselves: Do these schools have the required facilities? Do they have what it takes to take care of the girl child in school?” he said.
He called for closer collaboration between health and education officials, alongside district leaders, to strengthen systems for protecting girls in schools.
Dr Mporampora said boarding schools should have appropriate mechanisms and facilities to safeguard girls and provide them with a conducive environment to concentrate on their education.
“The girl child is vulnerable, so we must pay attention to them and provide the right environment for them to remain focused,” he said.
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