About 644,955 pregnancies were recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown in Uganda, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Figures from the agency indicate that since March 2020, when COVID-19 hit the world, an estimated 354,736 teenage pregnancies were reported following the closure of all schools in the country for at least eight months. An additional 290,219 pregnancies were reported between January and September 2021.
The number of recorded pregnancies is five times higher than the number of cumulative COVID-19 positive cases that have been reported since 2020.
The figures were revealed during the launch of the National Campaign to address Defilement, Child Marriage, Teenage Pregnancy and Promote Positive Parenting that took place at the Kololo Ceremonial Independence Grounds on Friday.
Some of the districts that recorded the highest number of teenage pregnancies were Wakiso with 10,439 cases followed by Kampala with 8,460. This was followed by Kasese with 7,317 cases, Kamuli with 6,535 cases, and Oyam with 6,449. Other districts that recorded many cases were Mayuge, which had 6,205, and Mukono with 5,535 cases of teenage pregnancies.
Angela Nakafeero, the commissioner in charge of Gender and Women’s Affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, said, “The increase of teenage pregnancies is due to negative social norms, beliefs and practices.
“During the lockdown, some cultural norms like female genital mutilation that prepare girls for marriage increased since children were out of school. It seems most parents had lost hope.”
Dr. Mary Otieno, the country representative of the United Nations Population Fund, said the COVID-19 pandemic created another pandemic that targeted girls in their homes.
“During the pandemic, many of our girls have been forced to get married to take on the responsibility of motherhood that they are not ready for,” she said. Parents have not played their roles of talking to their children on the sexual reproductive issues.
A study carried out by the Makerere University School of Public Health in 2020 showed that the number of teenage pregnancies in the country rose by 28% during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.
Children experts and religious leaders say that more needs to be done to address the issue of teenage pregnancies as schools prepare for the reopening in January 2022.
The commissioner in Charge of Maternal and Child Health at the Ministry of Health, madam Jesca Nsungwa, said both female and male teenagers need reproductive health knowledge to be able to bring down the numbers.
“We pay a lot of attention to the girl child but the boys are left out,” she said. “The boys, who at times are responsible for these child mothers or are brothers to these girls, are left out. They are not talked to about such issues. I think we need to change this. The boys need to know more about their sexuality and the effects of teenage pregnancies.”