Silence about teenage pregnancy is catastrophic to Uganda’s future. Raise your voice against Teenage Pregnancy today through all means in your power.
On “their vulnerability is a message that they need help, support, counsel and guidance and not a call for exploiting them for selfish desires and prospects” 20th March, 2020, the government of Uganda declared a nationwide lockdown which didn’t spare all learning institutions in the country. So the lockdown, parents and children have been finding ways to cope up with studies while at home. Despite the many evils that have befallen families and communities due to the economic crisis in the country, some people have used the vulnerability of many young children as an opportunity to exploit and use them. As they are burdened to cope up with their studies amidst the lock down, teenage girls in our communities are being preyed on and the country seems to remain silent. Many, having been denied the right to speak in their families have been forced into marriage at such a tender age. The facts about teenage pregnancy are inordinately unbearable to be accepted and yet are true.
According to child study survey report 2019-2020 by UNICEF, approximately 12 million girls aged 15–19 years and at least 777,000 girls under 15 years give birth each year in developing regions. At least 10 according million unintended pregnancies occur each year among adolescent girls aged 15–19 years in the developing world. Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death for 15–19-year-old girls globally. Of the estimated 5.6 million abortions that occur each year among adolescent girls aged 15–19 years, 3.9 million are unsafe, contributing to maternal mortality, morbidity and lasting health problems. Adolescent mothers (ages 10–19 years) face higher risks of eclampsia, puerperal endometritis, and systemic infections than women aged 20 to 24 years, and babies of adolescent mothers face higher risks of low birth weight, preterm delivery and severe neonatal conditions.
What we see on the public scene is just a tip of the iceberg. How many young girls out there have been sexually abused and remain silent because they have no one to talk to about the matter? Many teenage girls may not continue with school because they have been impregnated however, are we willing and ready to pay the price of uneducated mothers raising children that shall have to cope up with a rapidly developing Uganda? The fact remains that the children going through all these issues today are the future of Uganda and all the great things we build today shall crumble in their hands unless immediate action is taken to support them today.
For the sake of our sisters, daughters, mothers and the future of Uganda, I call upon every individual, the government and stakeholders in their different capacities to take on the mantle and join in the fight against teenage pregnancy. Remaining silent as the future of many young girls is devastated is a choice too. Today choose to stand up and speak for the silent. Dear parents we urge you not to act brutally when the children go astray but rather counsel, guide and nurture them not to repeat the mistakes they did. We cannot leave the battle for the females alone because we have daughters , sisters and many loved ones. Dear fathers, protect your children from such inhumane acts that destroy the future of many young girls.
Remember comrade, what hurts one the most is not the injustice carried out by his adversaries but the silence of those who call themselves his or her friends at the time when the injustices are being carried out. Countrymen speak out lets save a generation, a future.
