Teenage pregnancies: Inaction not an option

In 2017, the World Bank undertook a study that projected Uganda would be able to save more than $3 billion by just ending child marriage and reducing teenage pregnancies. By then, it was projected that just by delaying child bearing and increasing school completion rates, the earnings of child mothers would rise by an exponential $500 million.  That alone should have spurred us on more to ensure that we protect more children from falling into the trap of child marriage and child bearing.

In 2021, the cost of inaction due to teenage pregnancy alone had risen to almost Shs2 trillion. According to data from a joint study by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and National Population Council (NPC), families of teenage mothers in 2020 spent Shs1.28 trillion on sexual reproductive health services and the health facility expenditure on teenage mothers was estimated at Shs246.9 billion.

Teenage pregnancy alone is said to contribute to 18 percent of new births in Uganda. Beyond the money, the cost is equally enormous. For instance, data shows that 28 percent of maternal mortality and 20 percent of infant mortality is linked to teenage pregnancy.

The cost of inaction is higher and more dangerous than the cost of action. For instance, if Uganda acted and reduced the prevalence of teenage pregnancy from one in four children (25 percent) to one in 10 children (10 percent), it would translate into health care saving of Shs592 billion. In short, just reducing the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in the country would free up money that can be used to avail essential social amenities to the people of Uganda.

But this begins with us agreeing that as a nation, we can no longer afford to look on as our children are deprived of their childhoods because someone somewhere cannot keep their sexual urge in check or because we commodify children and look at marrying them off as a source of income.

In the short-term, we need to ensure that children who have fallen prey to the scourge of child marriage and teenage pregnancy do not fall off the social radar. We should ensure that these students remain in school. This would call for increase in the capitation grant so that more facilities to support them are in place. Lest I be misunderstood as promoting promiscuity, all I am saying is that we cannot afford to condemn the victims of our failed society to eternal damnation. Had we protected them better, we would not be in the ditch we find ourselves in.

In the medium and long-term, the popularisation and implementation of the National Strategy on Ending Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy should be of central focus. Parliament should allocate funds to ensure its implementation. This would require setting up the requisite institutional and legal framework to mitigate and prevent the incidence of child marriage and teenage pregnancy. Institutionally, the recruitment of the probation and social welfare officers for the 20 percent of districts that do not have them, training and recruitment of child and family protection units, among others would go a long way in tackling this scourge.

I would also argue for a law that criminalises child marriage. The current legal regime is shrouded in ambiguity as far as child marriage is concerned. Above all, mindset change to eliminate harmful traditional practices and norms is something that we need as a country.

The author is a public policy specialist