East high teenage pregnancy levels worrying

Dear editor, EASTERN Province recently recorded more than 4, 000 pregnancy cases among the teenage girls. The alarming figure comprises the school girls and those who are not in schools.

The government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), churches and some chiefs among others are fighting the scourge of early marriages and teen pregnancies.

These teenagers fell pregnant during the last quarter of last year and the large number of girls falling pregnant is worrying and surely something must be done about it.

However, the high incidences of teenage pregnancies can be attributed to mostly lack of parental guidance. Poverty and peer pressure among these girls can be cited as some of the contributing factors to high levels of teenage pregnancies.

These girls who fell pregnant can still go back to school after giving birth. They can take advantage of the "Go back to school policy" which was introduced by the Ministry of General Education some years ago.

The Go back to school policy” is aimed at affording an opportunity to school girls who fall pregnant to return to school and continue pursuing their education. There is a saying, "When you educate a man, you educate an individual and when you educate a woman, you educate the nation. Hence the need to promote girl-child education.

All said and done, there is need to intensify the fight against teenage pregnancies and early marriages. In this vein, all stakeholders must be fully involved in the fight against these vices. ELEMIYA PHIRI, Lusaka.