Cape Town – The City of Cape Town said on Sunday is was winning the battle against teenage pregnancies and was focused on expanding its programme to reach more young people in a bid to reduce the teenage pregnancy figure further.
In a statement released on Sunday, the City said the rate of teen pregnancy in the city had dropped from 5.3% of births recorded in 2006 to 4.4% in 2013 – well below the provincial and national averages.
The City of Cape Town’s Health Directorate planned to expand its network to try and reach more young people on matters around sexual and reproductive health in order to help reduce the number of teenage pregnancies even further it said.
The directorate hosted a workshop on 7 May 2015 where participants devised ideas to expand the City’s outreach to young people, particularly outside the clinic environment.
“According to statistics, there were 3 316 babies born to mothers 18 years or younger in Cape Town in 2013, which accounted for 4,4% of all births recorded for that year,” the City said.
“The teen pregnancy rate in Cape Town has slowed in the last eight years from 5.3% in 2006 to 4.4% in 2013 and compares favourably with the Western Cape average (6.3%) as well as the national average (7.8%).”
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Health, Councillor Siyabulela Mamkeli, said: “The percentages are encouraging, but we are still talking about more than 3 000 babies born to very young women. Having a baby not only has a financial impact on the family, but also a massive emotional and psychological impact on the young mother and her ability to parent effectively. There is also the risk that young mothers drop out of school, reducing their chances of economic opportunities, but also compromising her child’s future and well-being.”
City Health already had a number of interventions in place to reduce teenage pregnancy, including a network of 79 clinics, seven community day centres, and 22 satellite clinics providing reproductive health services like contraception, family planning advice, pregnancy testing, counselling and referrals for termination of pregnancy as well as screening and treatment for sexually transmitted illnesses and HIV/Aids.
There was also ongoing training to sensitise staff about attitudes towards young people seeking sexual health and reproductive services, as well as clinics that were specifically designed to cater to the youth.
“Teen sexuality is a sensitive subject in many communities and it presents a number of challenges. But the reality is that young people are having sex and sadly, too many are having unprotected sex. Some may be critical of this approach, but we are duty-bound to inform young people of their rights and responsibilities and to let them know that help is available to prevent unplanned pregnancies. With this ramped up education drive, we want to focus on the parents too and hopefully change perceptions and attitudes within their generation as well,” said Mamkeli.
City Health had decided on a number of interventions to reach more young people outside its facilities.
This included persevering with engagements with principals and school governing bodies to allow access to schools, teaming up with other City departments who run programmes for young people (like Sport, Recreation and Amenities, and Social Development), and hosting education and awareness programmes at local libraries.
“We realise that there is room for improvement within City Health. We will therefore continue to train staff at our clinics to treat young people without judgement and be sensitive to their health needs. We will also look to fast-track adolescents attending our facilities through the use of queue marshals and we will make more educational materials available in our waiting areas, including appropriate audio-visual content,” Mamkeli added.
City Health would investigate the introduction of more stand-alone youth facilities, particularly in high traffic areas like public transport interchanges or near schools, modelled on the successes already achieved at the Site B and Site C Youth Clinics in Khayelitsha. - ANA