Africa-Press – Uganda. More than 1,300 girls of school-going age have conceived in Rukungiri District in the last seven months, statistics indicate.
The assistant district health officer-in-charge child and maternal health, Sr Christine Komuhangi Kakuru, says the data collected from different health centres in the district between January and July this year shows that 1,346 girls below the age of 19 visited health units for their first antenatal care.
Sr Kakuru says the girls, some as young as 15 years, confessed they were in school before last year’s Covid-19 lockdown,
“The biggest worry is on those who have not come to health centres and they are there. One other challenge is that all these say they were going to school before lockdown. Twenty percent of these were impregnated by their relatives,” Ms Komuhangi says.
According to the data, Buyanja Sub-county had 9 pregnant girls, Buyanja Town Council had 64, Bwambara Sub-county had 97 and Eastern Division 129. Others are Southern Division (50), Western Division (06), Kebisoni Sub-county and Kebisoni Town Council (176), Nyakagyeme Sub-county (62), Nyakishenyi Sub-county (105) and Nyarushanje Sub-county (230). Ruhinda Sub-county had 129 pregnant girls, Rwerere Town Council had 30, Buhunga Sub-county 60, Bugangari Sub-county 94 and Bikurungu Town Council 109.
Ms Komuhangi says the general district statistics show that less than 80 per cent of the mothers go to health centres for the first antenatal visit.
The district education officer, Mr Jackson Turyahumura, notes that the number of pregnant girls represents at least 3 per cent of the entire school population, which is a cause for worry.
“The challenge is that as educationists we now have no control over the situation, many students and pupils have lost hope and they are getting married. Others are being forced into relationships while the rest are having incest affairs. It’s hard for us to control this. Ours is only sensitisation,” Mr Turyahumura says.
At least 52 per cent of the pregnant girls were in primary school while the rest were in secondary according to the statistics presented by Sr Komuhangi.
She says the district health department is looking at a multi-stakeholder approach to make sure all the pregnant teenagers access hospitals for care but also to sensitise parents on protection of the teenagers after giving birth.
The resident district commissioner, Mr Stephen Nsubuga Bewayo, says the district officials shall continue sensitising communities against child marriages.
“But also the prolonged lockdown has brought issues. We blame parents on allowing children to degenerate, how can you allow children to go and come back at night and you open for them? We advise those pregnant to continue antenatal, don’t abort, that there is chance of going back to school,” Mr Nsubuga says.
