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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. 

In the sixth of 12 stories, Godfrey Ojore looks at how the problem of teenage pregnancies is being addressed in the Teso sub-region.

Both the political and cultural leadership of the Teso sub-region are up in arms over the rampant teenage pregnancies in the area that are ruining the future of adolescents. 

Although the legal age of consent for marriage is 18 years, it is common for girls to be married off before that age in Teso, a sub-region that comprises 11 districts in eastern Uganda. 

Soroti district, the mother district of Teso, recorded 1,286 cases of child marriages in 2020, with Gweri sub-county leading with 225 cases.

Statistics released by district senior probation officer, Amos Oluka, paints a grim picture that has raised concern from both political and cultural leaders in Teso. 

“It is painful to have such a number and we call on local leaders to report these cases so that the culprits are apprehended,” Oluka said. Statistics from Gweri Health Centre III in 2020 indicated that 449 girls below 18 years got pregnant. 

The situation is not any different in Kumi district, where authorities. The district community development office report indicates that teenage pregnancies and early marriages stood at 31% above the national average of 25%. 

The leading sub-counties were Mukongoro (26.2%), Atutur (24.4%) South Division in Kumi municipality (21.9%) and Kanyum (21%). 

“It is a serious issue as girls below the age of 15 get pregnant. This is worrying as children are having children,” Alex Okiria, the district community development Officer, said. 

According to the Police Annual Report of 2022, the category of children between the ages of 15 and 17 were mainly victims of defilement due to cultural norms, where girls who have developed breasts are considered ready for marriage. 

Police statistics from Teso indicated that the region had 665 defilement cases. That was half the number reported in one sub-county (Gweri) that the district authorities had reported in 2020. 

In Amuria district, the Annual Police Crime Report 2022 indicated that 98 sex-related cases were reported. 

Last week, the LC3 chairperson of Asuret sub-county in Soroti district, Thomas Alimu, expressed concern over the rate of girls dropping out of school due to pregnancy. 

“My office records on average one case per month of a teenager becoming pregnant and we have established that it is those above 18 who lure the girls with gifts such as panties, sweets and pocket money,” Alimu said.

Factors fuelling teenage pregnancy in Teso 

Illiterate parents, who force their adolescent daughters into marriage so that they can get dowry, is one of the reasons for the high teenage pregnancy rate in Teso. 

Teenage girls are married off to get two cows in most cases; six goats and sh50,000 which is far below the dowry for a mature woman, where a groom has to pay a minimum of 10 cows and millions of shillings. 

Child marriage violates the basic rights of girls and boys and the realisation of socio-economic transformation of communities. 

It marks the beginning of frequent and unprotected sexual intercourse, leading to a greater risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Married young women had 50% higher rates of HIV prevalence compared to unmarried sexually active girls, according to the United Nations Programme on HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS). 

The problem of teenage pregnancy is reported to be rampant on the shores of Lake Kyoga.

“Marriages involving teenagers in many times have not survived for years as they separate due to poverty in the home,” Justine Egudu, the clan chairperson of Iiyai Icomai, noted. 

Such marriages are conducted in secret and clan leaders are not informed or if they are, they are advised to report to the authorities, according to Egudu. 

Police agree with Egudu’s remarks as most defilement cases are settled in the villages. 

“Most cases we get are those from parents who fail to agree with the defiler, but if they agree, they settle the issue,” Oscar Ageca, the Police spokesperson in Teso noted. 

He added that some cases that leaders report have always failed to pass the test of courts due to lack of evidence. 

“The current generation do not take advice from parents and their leaders,” Gweri County MP Tom Julius Ekudo said. 

Teenage pregnancy is also rampant in fishing communities, according to the state minister for fisheries, Hellen Adoa, who is also the Woman MP Serere district. 

Adoa, who is one of the sponsors of girl-child education, noted that the problem is rampant due to the nature of landing sites where drinking joints are many. 

“Since girls are sometimes used by their mothers to help them in bars or restaurants, they get access to fishermen having money who defile them and runway to other landing sites,” Adoa noted.

“As a leader who represents people who live on the shores of Lake Kyoga, the practice is common. I have engaged cultural leaders to talk to their people about it,” Adoa said. 

She expressed concern of the health of the teenage mothers who end up getting fistulas since most of them fear going to deliver from health facilities. 

Ngora County MP Juliet Achayo (left) talking to Adoa during a function recently. Adoa says the problem of teenage pregnancies is rampant in landing sites.

Fistula problem 

Medical personnel explain that these teenagers are exposed to getting fistulas since they conceive at the time their bodies are not ready to carry babies. 

Half of fistula cases recorded are from defilement victims, according to Alice Emasu Seruyange, the executive director of a fistula hospital in Soroti. 

She added that 60% of the patients on admission are minors, who delay going to the health facility where medical workers would have attend to them on time.

“They fear because of their age and opt to deliver at home, but when they fail, they are taken to the hospital late,” Emasu noted. 

Obstetric fistula is a hole in the birth canal caused by obstructed labour and once not attended makes a woman leak urine or faeces in some cases.

Domestic violence  

Domestic violence was another push factor for the teenagers to go for early marriage, explains Rose Atim Arimo, the head of child and family protection unit at the regional Police in Kyoga East. 

“Although the situation is improving, the push factor of domestic violence in our homes must be addressed. I implore cultural and religious leaders to intensify the campaign,” Atim said.

The Internet  

Given that we are in the digital age, the exposure of children to the Internet is another factor leading to teenage pregnancy, according to the councillor representing Tubur sub-county in Soroti district, Bob Owiny.

“Many children are able to access the Internet, where they watch pornographic material that push them to engage in early sexual activities,” Owiny said. He added that parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet.

What next?  

The high rate of teenage pregnancy has awakened the leadership who are now innovating strategies of ending the crime. 

A nurse helping a teenage mother breastfeed her baby at Soroti Hospital

“Teenage pregnancy is still a challenge, but we are trying to engage several stakeholders to sensitise communities. We hope the practice will be reduced. We call on everyone, including the media, to design programmes to sensitise the masses on the dangers of teenage pregnancy,” Elizabeth Amuge, the acting Amuria district probation officer, said. 

During events, such as burials, Church services and market days, local and religious leaders preach against teenage pregnancies, according to Tom Julius Ekudo, the MP for Gweri County. 

“We tasked cultural leaders at clan level to ensure they formulate bylaws against teenage pregnancy and early marriages,” Christine Apolot (Kumi Woman MP). 

Though there are national laws that prohibit the vice, Apolot said the bylaws set tough punishments for offenders.

Apolot has initiated village meetings with parents, local and religious leaders to save teenagers. Cultural leaders have also been offered airtime on Saviour Radio to educate masses about the dangers of teenagers getting involved in early sex. 

The radio belongs to the works state minister, Musa Ecweru. The radio talk shows address the aspect of the lack of parental involvement in discussing teenage pregnancies with their children.

“Parents have no time for their children as they are too are busy in their businesses,” Amuge said.

Vocational skills 

Soroti district woman MP Anna Ebaju has opened vocational institutions in all the sub-counties where teenage mothers are given life skills free-of-charge. 

“Many have graduated with skills in hairdressing, tailoring, catering, building construction and mechanics,” Ebaju said.

Ebaju explained that the technical institutions she opened help all teenage parents to look after their families.

Such mothers usually end up single-handedly raising their children as the men who made them pregnant runway since they demand basic needs. With these skills, teen mothers are able to survive in their homes. 

“The project does not only support the teenage mother but also the teenage father to get skills in carpentry, building and driving,” Adeke said. 

Teen mothers that are treated at the fistula hospital in Soroti have also benefited from courses, such as making handicrafts. 

“We have experts in crafts, who teach them as they undergo treatment. Once they heal, they return empowered with skills that enable them to earn a living,” Emasu noted. 

Soroti City Woman MP Joan Alobo said the problem in the city is big and she is yet to launch a campaign to fight the vice. 

“I buy mama kits as they wait to give birth, but I have noticed that the problem cannot be solved that way and now I am in the final stage of launching a programme to fight teenage pregnancy,” Alobo said. 

The Rev. George William Olugu of Aukot parish has also joined the fight, urging religious leaders to preach against domestic violence and teenage pregnancy.

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 or the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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