High teenage pregnancy rates worry clerics

By Francis Emorut

TOP clerics in the country have decried the high rate of teenage pregnancies as well as child and forced marriages, saying the practice should be tamed.

"Uganda's rate of teenage pregnancy is worryingly among the highest in the world," Pastor John Kakembo the outgoing head of the Seventh Day Adventist church in Uganda told the media in Kampala.

Reading from the statement on behalf of religious leaders/council of presidents of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, Kakembo pointed out that 24% of all teenagers are either pregnant or have already given birth.

The religious leaders were quoting from the statistics of Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) of 2011.

According to UDHS figures, 15% of women between 20-29 years of age were forced into marriage as early as 15 years of age while another 49% were married at 18 years of age.

The council said this trend is worrying coupled with Uganda being ranked as having one of the highest fertility rates (at 3.5%) in the world. This means that averagely, every Ugandan woman produces 6.7 children.

"This astronomical early pregnancy is worrying," Kakembo said.

The religious leaders present included Pastor Joseph Serwadda, Metropolitan Jonah Lwanga the head of the Orthodox Church in Uganda, the Mufti of Uganda Sheik Shaban Mubaje, Archbishop of Church of Uganda Stanley Ntagali and Bishop Joshua Lwere the head of National Fellowship of Born Again Churches.

The clerics also expressed concern about the high HIV/AIDS infection rate which stands at 7.3% prevalence saying the country is losing the battle against HIV/AIDS.

According to a recent Uganda Aids Commission report, 137,000 new infections were registered bringing the number to 1.4 million Ugandans infected with the virus including 190,000 children.

"This scenario is an eye opener that the HIV/AIDS scourge is still with us," religious leaders noted.

They called for concerted efforts to fight the pandemic.

On corruption, the religious leaders called upon government to intensify the fight against graft by prosecuting what they referred to as big shots.

"In many cases prosecution of corruption cases involved small-time corrupt officials, thus letting the 'big shots' off the hook" Kakembo stated.