Guyana has the second highest rate of adolescent pregnancy in the Western hemisphere, Public Health Minister Dr George Norton said yesterday, while adding that 97 out of every 1,000 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth annually.
Delivering the feature address at the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association’s (GRPA) 42nd annual general meeting at the Cara Lodge, he bemoaned the fact that little has been done to address the issue of adolescent pregnancies through the school system. He advocated that the taboo regarding sex education needs to be done away with in order for any progress to be made.
He proclaimed that the health ministry was willing to work with other sectors as well as with the GRPA to address the current crisis. He emphasised the importance of providing youth-friendly services and easy access to accurate information regarding sex education, while further noting that the ministry has already developed several strategies to battle the high rate of teenage pregnancy, namely:
To create and implement public policies and strategies for the reduction of adolescent pregnancy.
Provide age-specific gender and culture-sensitive information and education and sexual and reproductive health for adolescents.
To undertake comprehensive sexual education, contraceptive access and developmental programmes through school health clubs and peer educators to help young people make choices that can protect them from unintended pregnancies.
To work with mass media to disseminate preventative measures while providing details to young people of how to seek and get help.
Noting that teenage pregnancy is a global crisis, Norton stated that more than seven million teenage girls in poor countries give birth annually before the age of 18. Regionally, he said, Guyana ranks second in the Caribbean for the highest rate of adolescent pregnancies.
The minister, in closing, said that this is a problem we are all affected by and implored members of the audience to take action, rather than just sit on the fence and condemn.
The AGM, which was held under the theme, ‘Be Proud! Be Responsible! Be Protective!’ was focused on reducing teenaged pregnancy in Guyana, which is one of the mandates of the organisation.
