By. Our reporter
The programme officer at the national population council, John Ampaire is attributing the continued increase in early teenage pregnancies to the huge information gap among the youth on sexual reproductive health.
Giving a key
note address at the 5th annual inter-generational dialogue today in
Kampala, Ampaire revealed that the
failure by those in authority to listen and act on issues that affect the youth
continues to worsen the problem which in the long run will affect Uganda’s
development.
He further
highlights the burden between urban and rural women when it comes to getting
pregnant and on this note he decries the rate at which rural adolescent females
get pregnant.
Meanwhile,
the programme officer Reach A hand Uganda, Winnie
Watera expresses worries that the country is likely to have a huge
population which it cannot easily manage to take care of.
However,
they ask govt to consider creating more youth friendly corners in health
centers to handle youth health issues.
Reports from
national population council indicate that one out of three female adolescents
get pregnant and out of these, 44% pregnancies are unwanted.
The worrying
figures are coupled with these youths not having better skills to sustain their
livelihoods.
But the insufficient
information on sexual reproductive health among Ugandan adolescent is a great
burden that need to be handled at all fronts by all Ugandans.
END