Department Of Education Hopes To End Teen Pregnancy By 2030

The Department of Basic Education's (DBE) Head of Communications, Elijah Mhlanga, is mediating a meeting on a report and analysis into South Africa's acceleration to end the rising concern of teenage pregnancies by 2030.

During August this year, the spokesperson held a discussion online about the steep figures surrounding young girls becoming pregnant in South Africa. 

Mhlanga called the figures "a shocking statistic to read," stating that between January and March of this year, 17 855 babies were delivered in the country. From April to June 2022, the Department of Health recorded 22 000 deliveries, therefore in total, 38 863 babies were born between January and June of this year. 

Many times, these pregnancies involve minors impregnated by older perpetrators, especially due to South Africa's prevalent culture of "blessers" and "sugar daddies" which contributes to the manipulation tactics older men use to prey on vulnerable school girls, which can lead to the high rates of teen pregnancies South Africa is currently facing. 

What is particularly worrying, according to Mhlanga, is that now we have a steep number of potential cases of statutory rape, which go unreported by parents, guardians or neighbours on behalf of the vulnerable girls impregnated. 

Government introduced the Basic Education Pregnancy Policy in December of 2021 in order to deal with the growing number of girl children pregnant while still in school. The Policy requires schools to report girls to the police if they are under the age of sixteen and pregnant, and if the father of the baby is older than sixteen.