Mbale leaders grappling with early child pregnancies

EARLY PREGNANCIES   EARLY MARRIAGES

MBALE - Authorities in Mbale district are battling with early child marriages and pregnancies among under-aged girls, which they say have significantly contributed to the high school dropout rates.

About 45% of girls dropped out of school in Mbale district in 2018 due to early marriages and teenage pregnancies, according to a study from education and community department.

According to records from Uganda Youth and Adolescents Health Forum(UYAHF) indicate girls between 13 and 24 years are already mothers, pregnant or at risk of getting pregnant.

The Mbale District chairman, Bernard Mujasi acknowledged that many girls are dropping out of school in Busiu, Busano, and Busoba among other sub-counties mainly due to early marriages and pregnancy.

Mujasi noted that the district is working with development partners UYAHF and Hunger Project Uganda to fight the vice.

Mujasi cautioned parents and the local government to ensure that girls complete the education cycle without any hindrance. 

Teenage mothers talking to medics during an outreach organised by Hunger Project in Mbale. Photo by Paul watala

Dr. Jonathan Wangisi Mbale District Health Officer (DHO) blamed early pregnancy and early marriages to increased school dropout as a result of parents failing to raise fees for their children's education.

"Parents don't have money and so, when a child is sent home for fees, it is the end of that child's education. We are starting programmes in schools where these girls will be sensitized about the dangers of early sex," he said.

"We are going to engage members of the public to report cases of early marriage and pregnancy to police," Wangisi said, "

Patrick Mwesigwa an independent researcher and leader of Uganda Youth Adolescents Health Forum said early marriage and pregnancy were a consequence of dropping out of school.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the rate of dropout in Uganda shoots up to claim roughly half the class before the girls finish primary school.

The Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, 2016 showed that the teenage pregnancy rate in northern Uganda was at 145 per 1000 girls. The survey summarized that about 61 percent of Ugandan children below the age of 18 years had been married or were living in some form of union.

Mwesigwa revealed that quite often many teenage mothers and pregnant girls are less likely to visit health facilities for ante- and postnatal care.

"Stillbirths and newborn deaths are 50% higher among infants born to young mothers than among infants of mothers between the age of 20 and 29 years," Mwesigwa added.

Uganda population secretariat indicates that out of the 1.2m pregnancies recorded in Uganda annually. 25% of these are teenage pregnancies.