Interventions by the office of the premier have reduced the number of teenage pregnancies at Nzululwazi Senior Secondary school.
In 2014, the school had about 40 pregnant girls, and currently the figure is zero.
This was revealed at a HIV and teenage pregnancy prevention dialogue for girls held in Mount Frere earlier this week.
The dialogue is an outcome of the provincial young women and girls’ camp, launched by premier Phumulo Masualle during last year’s Women’s Month, in which girls aged 15 to 19 representing all the district municipalities were engaged on different issues that affected them.
Acting on behalf of the premier for the day, MPL Busisiwe Ndlangisa-Nodada said it became clear that pupils were not educated and did not know what they were getting into when it came to sexual activity. They also had limited access to healthcare.
“We realised that one of the problems is that teenagers in rural areas are often not exposed to proper sexual education. Parents do not feel free to speak to their children about sex,” said Nodada.
Last year the Eastern Cape health department teamed up with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and LoveLife to introduce a cellphone app which allowed young people easy access to information about sex education.
Nasiphi Mendela, in Grade 11 at Nzululwazi, said it was important for them to present their story to other schools. “Through the dialogue, we learnt that our challenges are similar,” said Mendela. — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
Initiative reduces teen pregnancies at school
In 2014, the school had about 40 pregnant girls, and currently the figure is zero.
This was revealed at a HIV and teenage pregnancy prevention dialogue for girls held in Mount Frere earlier this week.
The dialogue is an outcome of the provincial young women and girls’ camp, launched by premier Phumulo Masualle during last year’s Women’s Month, in which girls aged 15 to 19 representing all the district municipalities were engaged on different issues that affected them.
Acting on behalf of the premier for the day, MPL Busisiwe Ndlangisa-Nodada said it became clear that pupils were not educated and did not know what they were getting into when it came to sexual activity. They also had limited access to healthcare.
“We realised that one of the problems is that teenagers in rural areas are often not exposed to proper sexual education. Parents do not feel free to speak to their children about sex,” said Nodada.
Last year the Eastern Cape health department teamed up with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and LoveLife to introduce a cellphone app which allowed young people easy access to information about sex education.
Nasiphi Mendela, in Grade 11 at Nzululwazi, said it was important for them to present their story to other schools. “Through the dialogue, we learnt that our challenges are similar,” said Mendela. — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
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