Teenage pregnancy increased by one percent to 15% in Oshikoto region during the last 12 months.
Last year teenage pregnancy in Oshikoto stood at 14%.
“Last school calendar year alone, over 500 learners from Oshikoto Region fell pregnant,” said Oshikoto Regional Governor Penda yaNdakolo when he delivered his State of the Region Address yesterday at Omuthiya.
“Therefore there is reason for concern. We need to do things differently as leaders, parents, teachers and the general community and to work hand in hand to protect our young generation.”
The Governor said that the Directorate of Youth Development trained out of school youth in Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) through a project which is funded by the United States of America International Development Agency.
“Sexuality education is very important among young people in curbing the spread of Sexually Transmitted Infections and teenage pregnancies.
“To break the poverty cycle, we must protect the health of our young people both in and out of school youth.”
Ya Ndakolo also stated that “we are still concerned about the threat of HIV and TB infections in the Region.
“A total number of 3,9776 people were tested for HIV and 606 tested positive. The Region experienced a challenge of high death rate among people diagnosed with TB at 11.6% and even a higher rate of 14% for those diagnosed with both TB and HIV.
“These diseases are both preventable, while TB is curable if diagnosed early. Let us therefore adhere to health protocols to save lives.”
In the photo: Teenage pregnancy is high in Oshikoto region (photo by Mustafa Omar on Unsplash).
