KZN Health MEC pleads for greater parental responsibility in combating high teen pregnancy rate
A harsh call has been made for parents to play a more active part in raising their children in an effort to reduce the rising rates of teenage pregnancy as South Africa observes Youth Month.
Nomagugu Simelane, the KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC, made the call during an Operation Sukuma Sakhe outreach event in Verdriet, Dannhauser, area.
According to a national news publication, the engagement came after she visited a nearby clinic and learned that this year, that in April and May seven school-aged girls were pregnant.
“We can talk until we are blue in the face, but nothing will ever change if we as parents and guardians do not take responsibility for raising our children properly,” the MEC said.
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From April to December of last year, KwaZulu-Natal recorded 26 515 pregnancies among girls 10 to 19 years old, 1 254 of which were in 10 to 14 age bracket.
“It’s a disgrace that in this community, more than seven school-age children have become pregnant in April and May. It is a humiliation not for the government but for the parents,” she said.
Simelane also targeted parents who knowingly permitted their underage children to engage in ‘inappropriate activities at home.’ She urged them ‘to go back to basics and be harsher with their children.’
“It is disgusting for a 13-year-old child does not to return home. A 17-year-old boy sleeping with a 13-year-old girl is disgusting and unacceptable. We must never allow such things to take place.”
Simelane recommended that the young people avoid sex and instead focus on their education. She counselled individuals who were unable or unwilling to abstain to at least practice safe sex and use contraceptives.
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