By Hamu Madzedze
Stakeholders in the health sector are calling for a multisectoral approach in addressing the high number of adolescent pregnancies in the country .
According to findings from the National Assessment on Adolescent Pregnancies in Zimbabwe twenty one percent of antenatal care bookings were among adolescents aged 10-19 years.
In a press statement from UNFPA stakeholders who attended a workshop on Integrated Framework to address adolescent pregnancies in Harare this week said there is a need for greater investment towards ending the high number of adolescent pregnancies in the country which is impacting negatively on young women and girls as most of them end up leaving school after falling pregnant.
"There is a need to also strengthen family systems and positive parenting strategies since a dysfunctional family system can be a contributory factor to adolescent pregnancies " said the stakeholders.
They also called for the enforcement of the marriage act to prevent child pledging and early marriages and also scale up tailored inclusive age appropriate access to Sexual Reproductive Health Rights(SRHR) information and services.
"Actively involve communities through Child Protection community structures for the purpose of prevention and response",they said
The stakeholders also highlighted the importance of investment in interventions that support a second chance to learning for girls which include affordable community-based day care while the young mothers continues with her education.
Adolescent pregnancy rate in Zimbabwe is high with nearly 1 in 10 adolescents giving birth every year and about 50% of these pregnancies are unintended and quarter of them result in illegal and unsafe abortions increasing the risk of childbirth complications and maternal mortality.
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