Memory Rasa
28 April 2017, MASVINGO – The Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) Masvingo last week called upon stakeholders to join hands and improve parental sex education to their adolescent children as a measure to minimise teen pregnancies.
Speaking during the provincial Adolescence Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH) coordination forum at Chevron Hotel, ZNFPC ASRH manager Kefas Chanana bemoaned the ‘big gap’ between parents and their children.
“Gone must be the days when parents lie to their children that babies are bought at hospitals. Children who get sex education at family level earlier in their lives are the most empowered. Sex is no taboo, so please teach your children,” said Chanana.
Research, Chinana said, showed that 43 percent of adolescents who fall pregnant young have never had any sexuality talk with their families.
Speaking at the same event, ZNFPC Masvingo provincial marketing and communication officer Herbert Chikosi called for girl empowerment through education saying the best contraceptive for a young woman is education.
“Pass rates in some of our districts especially in Mwenezi and Chiredzi are far below pregnancy rates. Let us all work together because adolescence pregnancy has huge psycho-social, economic and health consequences to the nation,” Chikosi said.
The forum dwelt on topics of adolescence fertility study and ASRH strategy with the main vision being that of reducing teenage pregnancy from 24 percent to 12 percent by 2020.
Other stakeholder organisations at the event were Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric Aids Foundation (EGPAF), SayWhat, Zvandiri (AfriCaid); Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisationand Empowerment, Bhaso, Regai Dzive Shiri, Ministry of Women Affairs, Young People’s Network (YPN) among others.health
