DURBAN – Minister of Economic Planning and Development Dr Thambo Gina says Government will work with UNFPA and other development partners to “facilitate the implementation of population interventions that contribute towards ensuring that young adolescent girls are kept in school for as long as they can.”
According to Eswatini Government twitter page, he was speaking at the regional launch of the State of the World Population Report 2022 in Durban, Republic of South Africa, today, under the theme “SEEING THE UNSEEN: The case for action in the neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy.”
Minister Dr Gina said that these interventions include the provision of sexual and reproductive health related information and services that are age appropriate and culturally sensitive in order to bring about positive behaviour and reduce unplanned pregnancy and other sexually transmitted infections including HIV.
“The ultimate objective is to empower adolescents to make wise choices in the face of negative influences and circumstances including; poverty, peer pressure and media influence,” said Minister Dr Gina.
“During a recent engagement with student teen moms on unintended pregnancy in Eswatini, we learnt that they come across challenges as they juggle between the roles of being a mother and a student. They have to go an extra mile to balance the two roles,” added the Minister.
