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New Vision is highlighting the challenge of teenage pregnancy in Uganda, with a view to finding a solution to the problem that costs Ugandan taxpayers up to sh250b a year in healthcare. 

George Bita looks at how boys get tormented by teenage pregnancies.

Although teenage pregnancies are usually looked at as a girl thing, with females being the main victims, boys, too, are affected. 

Take for example the case of Mukose, 17, a resident of Bugweri district, who is a father of two children he has had within two years. Mukose  was in Senior Two when he made Kataike, 16, pregnant.

The two left school and moved in together as part of an amicable settlement between their families.

“I am in love with my wife and that is why I have to be with her to make a family. My father gave me two acres of his land and we set up our own home,” he reveals.

The young couple now engages in subsistence farming, to take care of their family.
Othieno, 19, an adolescent father in Pallisa district, says he was not ready to start a family when he got intimate with his classmate, Atim, 18. 

“She conceived and told her parents that I was responsible for the pregnancy. Our parents agreed that I take care of her. So, I now ride a bodaboda to feed the family,” he narrates.

Byamukama, 20, of Kamwenge district says he spent four weeks in jail over impregnating a girl. 

“It wasn’t until our parents came together and reached an agreement that I came out of prison. I did not go back to school since I had to start taking care of my young family,” he testifies.

These scenarios shed light on the reality that boys are not indifferent to teenage pregnancy matters as may be widely perceived. 

A number of adolescent boys are now working to support families in rural areas, according to Dennis Kamali, the Igombe LC1 chairperson in Jinja district.

“The boys one sees atop sugarcane-carrying trucks or in fields cutting canes are young fathers running families often composed of teenage mothers,” Kamali says.

Some of these young men, Kamali adds, even come home to chop firewood or fetch water on bicycles, to enable their wives and children to live comfortably.

Complications resulting from conceiving at an early age affect both boys and girls, explains Dr Nelson Naisye, the Kikuube district health officer .

“In instances when the pregnancy involves an under-age couple, many challenges arise, including pressure from the girl’s family, as well as finances. The result is stress, which can cause mental breakdown towards the delivery,” he says.

It is a common cultural belief in several societies in Uganda that parents should marry off their children before they become sexually active and get ‘spoilt’.

“Due to traditional beliefs in some sections of Busoga sub-region, girls are supposed to get married when young. As soon as they develop breasts, then they are told to marry,” Kamali says.

The same applies to a boy who is meant to leave his father’s house and live in his own; hence the status quo leads to an exodus of teenage boys from school to married life, adds Kamali.

“On average, out of the 500 boys that start in Primary One in local schools, almost 50 of them reach Primary Seven as young fathers. In some societies, they are treated as heroes,” Moses Basalirwa, the headteacher of Baitambogwe Primary School in Mayuge district, says.  

However, even if parents encourage early marriages, more boys remain in school than girls, according to Sabino Ocan, the Bishop of Arua Diocese in West Nile.

On the other hand, in cases of adolescent parenthood, Basalirwa says, unlike the girl who rarely resumes studies, some boys may attend lessons while undertaking husband roles after school.

“The parents take most of the blame. They look at their girls in terms of bride price and can give them away at a tender age for material gains,” Kamali said.

Sad statistics

The 2022 Ministry of Health data indicates that 25% of the nine million Ugandan teenagers become pregnant by the age of 19.

Close to half are married off before their 18th birthday.

A total of 354,736 teenage pregnancies were reported in 2020 countrywide. The data translates to over 32,000 teenage pregnancies every month.

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) 2021 data shows that globally, 115 million boys were married before the age of 18. In Uganda, an estimated 13.5% of boys joining Primary One do not make it to Primary Seven after leaving school to look after their young families.

Just like child brides, the child grooms are tasked with adult responsibilities of taking care of families for which there has been no preparation. This affects their livelihood at times, with lethal consequences caused by ill-preparation.

According to the 2018 Uganda Health and Demographic Survey, worldwide, Uganda features among the countries with high maternal mortality rates, with 18 mothers dying every day during pregnancy or during and after labour. 

The death of under-age mothers leaves young fathers with the burden of caring for the babies, argues Dr David Muwanguzi, a health officer in Iganga district.

Challenges cited

The union of a young father and an underage wife means additional economic implications as far as domestic needs are concerned. 

The boy involved in teenage pregnancy is constrained as far as access to education is concerned, notes Apollo Mulinde, the Kamwenge district education officer.

“That may mark an end to his opportunities for career development. He may immediately be relegated to dropout status,” he says. 

Underage fathers also suffer more from depression, isolation and parenting stress, according to Dr Peter Waiswa of Makerere University School of Public Health.

“Their shelter, education and employment may be uncertain. This causes them general discomfort and they may experience stigma,” he says.

Juveniles jailed 

The Children’s Act section 2, stipulates that a child is anyone under 18 years of age.
According to Police sources, defilement or having sex with girls below the age of 18 features among the most common causes for which juveniles are jailed. 

For example, in West Nile, on average 100 defilement cases are registered every six months with not less than 30 under-age boys taken to court according to Josephine Angucia, the Police publicist. 

The gender ministry’s annual statistical report of 2019 on remand homes, rehabilitation centres and reception centres shows that the boys face the wrath of the law more than the girls.

The Ugandan law defines defilement as having sex with a girl under 18.  In that year alone, the total number of admissions to the countrywide remand homes was 1,388, comprising of 1, 259 boys and 129 girls.

The records showed that 217 cases contributing 15.6% were a result of aggravated defilement. These young men strain the taxpayer to feed them in prison, lose out on education and some turn into hardcore criminals on release. 

Getting boys involved

Parenting stress can be lessened if boys learn to help girls out earlier in life when it comes to doing work at home, says Dr Waiswa.

“Most boys often just dash out of the house to go and play with peers. So, when they are finally isolated in an early marriage, they face the challenge alone,” he asserts.

One such sharing role is the ongoing arrangement where boys in the area are involved in menstrual hygiene campaigns, explains Eria Kisambira, the Jinja district inspector of schools.

According to Kisambira, the male contribution to the campaign emphasises the need for the boy to understand what girls go through.

The involvement of boys, who often tease girls about menstruation, in making reusable pads is a step in the right direction in making them partners.

Kisambira believes that there is nothing wrong with a man making a reusable sanitary pad since once men embrace the awareness, the negative attitude and teasing may be brought to an end.

“As men, we have sisters and friends. If we learn how to make reusable pads, for example, it would be easy to assist a sister to cope,” he asserts.

This story was produced with support from WAN-IFRA Women In News Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusive (GEDI) grant.

However, the views are not those of the sponsors.

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