Talk about teenage pregnancies and other Issues that affect the youth in Uganda

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OPINION

By Anna Adeke

Today, Uganda joins the rest of the world to celebrate International Youth Day, a day celebrated annually commemorated to highlight the unique issues faced by youth internationally and celebrate the potential of youth as important conduits to drive global social, economic and political transformation, as the demographic that has a crucial stake in the future.

This year’s celebrations are in Soroti district under the theme: “Skills development for enhancement of youth opportunities,” an apt theme given that in the Ugandan context, the majority of the population is classified under the category of youth.  

According to the recently concluded Population and Housing Census 2024, 81.4% of Ugandans are below 35 years. Therefore, they should not only be celebrated, but their challenges are confronted and addressed.

The GenZs (ages 12-27) have recently caused a problem in the region and here locally through advocacy to address leadership and other social inequities.

It is, therefore, not surprising that the global theme for this year "From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development," recognises the fact that the digital world is a key determinant of not just the socio-economic outcomes of the lives of young people, but also their health and wellbeing.

As a former youth leader, I want to raise an alarm about a ticking time bomb that has for long remained a threat to the young people, we can call them “GenZ” to meet their full economic and social potential in Uganda.

From the daily reports in the media, to the government data, we see evidence of the unmet need for comprehensive sexual reproductive health services for the youth, whether it be information, services and even legal and other social justice responses to the drivers of these negative sexual reproductive health outcomes.  

Soroti, also very notably, the district I currently represent as Member of Parliament the host of this year’s celebrations for example, reported 1,286 cases of child marriages in 2020, with Gweri sub-county leading with 225 cases, according to New Vision of July 26, 2023.

Uganda has one of the highest child marriage and teenage pregnancy rates in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2016, 34% of young girls are married before the age of 18 and 7.3% before the age of 15 and close to before their 18th birthday resulting in about 32,000 pregnancies recorded per month. All these statistics speak of a difficult future for these girls.

A report by UNFPA in 2020 showed that although progress has been made to end child marriage, the practice still affects nearly half of all girl-children in Uganda, with 43% of women 25-49 years report having married by 18 years. Further, there is a high prevalence of defilement, disproportionately inflicted upon girls.

According to the Uganda Police report 2022, a total of 12,780 victims were defiled in 2022, of whom, 12,470 were female juveniles and 310 were male juveniles.

Beyond the social impact of early marriages and teenage pregnancies, the often-overlooked impact is the economic weight this has on the country, hindering the national efforts to achieve development goals. Per capita expenditure for minor healthcare of a child per episode is estimated at sh29,645 ($8). Families of all teenage mothers in 2020 spent sh1.28 trillion ($290 million) on SRH services and the estimated health facility expenditure on teenage mothers was sh246.9b ($70m). Collectively, this is equivalent to 43% of the Ministry of Health 2019/20 budget.

Teenage mothers will have a lower income level that eventually affects their standard of living and contribution to productivity (UNFPA, UNICEF 2022). Many young girls are, therefore, trapped in a cycle of poverty because of limited opportunities for employment and income.

Unfortunately, teenage pregnancy and the solutions to address it are mired in traditional and moral complexities that hinder substantial progress in tackling this problem. For example, early marriages are rooted in traditional beliefs that once a girl child has started growing breasts, they are deemed ready for marriage and in many cases, are also used by their parents to collect dowry and bride price further entrenching this terrible practice.

The perpetrators are not only the parents of the children, but also the traditional and political leaders that preside over these ceremonies.

On a political level, the interventions to address teenage pregnancy continue to be dictated by the traditional and cultural values of times past, whereas the society has moved on. The age of sexual debut is as low as 12 years in rural areas, according to UBOS, the influence of media and digital era has led to early exposure to sexual content and  with it sexual behaviour of young people, weak social safety nets owing to absence of both or one parent in homes have left children to their own devices, equally selective implementation of the laws pertaining to sexual violence, including a poorly funded JLOS has left many sexual predators roaming the streets and inflicting harm  and havoc on the lives of many young people in Uganda.

All is not lost! There is evidence to support practices that can address some of the challenges above, for instance, Sierra Leone’s parliament enacted landmark legislation to ban child marriage through the Prohibition of Child Marriage Bill 2024 that makes marriage for anyone under 18 a criminal offense. Together with this are stringent punitive measures in place to ensure everyone that participates is brought to book. This includes jail time not only for the offender/groom, but also for all the guests at the wedding. These sorts of measures are what will deter not only the practice, but repeat offenses that put the girl child at risk and I call upon the Government of Uganda to emulate this example.

There is proven benefit in advocating for improving enrollment and retention of children in school as another way to address this issue. Not only does school safeguard their future, but studies also show that the longer girls stay in school, the less likely they are to be married off at a young age. 

According to findings from the report “The Power to End Child Marriage – UNICEF New York 2022, “If all girls were to complete secondary school, the level of child marriage would likely fall by two-thirds (66%). If all girls continued on to higher education, the level would drop by more than 80%”.

Considerable progress has been made by the Government of Uganda towards addressing child marriage and teenage pregnancy as provided in the National Strategy to End Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancies 2022/23 – 2026/27.

Lastly, and more important is for us as a country to take a pragmatic and science-based approach to dealing with the teenage pregnancies just like many States that have dealt with this problem. This requires that the Ministry of Health not only develop policy to address the drivers of teenage pregnancy, but also make access to contraceptives that have been proven to be effective, accessible and high-quality solution to preventing pregnancies even among young people more accessible.

The principle of evolving capacity relied upon in both courts of law recognises that as children acquire enhanced competencies, there is diminishing need for protection and a greater capacity to take responsibility for decisions affecting their lives.

It, therefore, follows that where decisions about their health and well-being are concerned, young people should be given more room to benefit from scientific progress so that they can live better quality lives and achieve their full potential, not to mention the contribution to the overall economic and social wellbeing of the nation.

To protect girls, the Government must address the socio-economic factors that often lead to families being unable to keep their girl children in school leading to early marriages and teenage pregnancies.  Programmes like Emyooga we hope will be put to good use to increase the capacity of social structures like the family, to provide girls with safe and quality education and other ways to address the financial barriers that keep girls out of school. Other measures include giving adolescents comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education to enable them to be knowledgeable and make positive decisions.

This year as we celebrate International Youth Day, my challenge to all of us is that we must set aside all other basis for evaluating and addressing the real challenges that face our youth and undermine their potential to compete locally and globally. Teenage pregnancies and their drivers have for long become normalised with religion and culture being used as basis for little or no action. It is time for real talk, and if the young people have taught us anything, is that they don’t want to be passengers in the shaping of their future, they want to be active participants and they are ready to act, if the opportunity is availed to them. Happy International Youth Day and Welcome to Soroti District.

The writer is the Soroti District Woman Member of Parliament