A sharp increase in teenage pregnancies sees the City of Cape Town’s Health Department expressing concern over the number of girls between the ages of 12 and 17 seen for their first antenatal visit across its health districts.
Compared to 335 teenage girls who visited a clinic for their first antenatal visit between July 2021 and June 2022, just over 630 visits were recorded between July 2022 and June 2023.
Also read: Health Department still concerned about teen pregnancy rate
At the same time, the City’s health department saw a decline in clinic visits for contraceptive services.
During the 2022/2023 financial year, the number of female condoms distributed dropped to 451 271 compared to 671 488 the previous year, while male condom use dropped from 29 086 050 to 19 259 681.
This represents a decrease of more than 30% in the use of condoms.
‘Besides the detrimental impact on growth, productivity, communities and families, a teen pregnancy disrupts the young mother’s education and puts her future at risk,’ says MMC for Community Service and Health Councillor Patricia van der Ross.
‘Our girls have a bright future, and I want to encourage them to do everything they can to make healthy and informed choices.’
In light of Pregnancy Education Week and Condom and STI Awareness Week – both in February – the health department held a pregnancy awareness event in Wallacedene
‘While the aim of the week is to reduce pregnancy-related complications and encourage women to visit a clinic, we cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that our girls are sexually active and there is an increase in teen pregnancies,’ added van der Ross.
Condom and STI Awareness Week is an important initiative, according to the City, that aims to raise awareness about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and promote safe sexual practices.
‘It’s an essential reminder of the importance of practising safe sex through proper and consistent condom use,’ said Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee for Community Services and Health Councillor Ronel Viljoen.
‘Not only do they prevent pregnancy, but condoms play a role in preventing the transmission of STIs and encourage open conversations around sexual health.’
Further health data from the City shows the number of people who started on Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) as an HIV prevention strategy more than doubled from 3 266 to 6 796.
Since implementing PrEP at City health facilities two years ago, more than R12 000 people have started treatment at the 67 facilities offering this service.
Also read:
Children having children: Over 600 girls aged 9 and 10 are moms as of 2020
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