Durban - The reality faced by some South African children is a concern to the Department of Social Development, especially teenage pregnancy.
Speaking in KwaMbonambi in Richards Bay on Monday at the official closing of this year’s Child Protection Week Education and Awareness Campaign, Minister Lindiwe Zulu said it was one thing to have a very good Constitution with all the necessary protection, but it was another when they went into communities and saw what children faced.
“Today we are closing the week which was opened in the Eastern Cape, and the message in particular is one of where we have to deal with what can we do as government, as societies and as communities to deal in particular with teenage pregnancies?” she said.
Zulu said it was a difficult situation where children as young as 10 find themselves pregnant.
“My view is that there’s no 10-year-old boy that makes a 10-year-old girl pregnant. It is clear that it’s adults that are abusing young girls. Here today I am also going to be meeting pregnant teenage girls and I was told the youngest is 15,” said Zulu.
She added that of particular importance was that the department went throughout the country before Child Protection Week, engaging with parents and children.
“They also engaged traditional leaders as well as NGOs and NPOs to basically talk about what is it that we can do as government, as civil society, as teachers and religious leaders, to ensure that children grow under a protected environment, as is clearly stipulated in the Constitution of the country.”
The Social Development Department said the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in the national lockdown to limit the spread of the virus, amplified the need to scale-up targeted interventions to address sexual and reproductive health and rights of teenagers.
It said that since the onset of the pandemic, South Africa experienced a spike in the rate of teenage pregnancy, with reports suggesting an increase of over 60% in some parts of the country.
According to the Department of Health’s National Adolescent and Youth Health Policy, last year alone, KwaZulu-Natal had 269 girls aged between 10 and 14 years who gave birth.
Daily News