By Kadijatu Bangura, Reporter, Daily Scope
The international non-governmental organization Marie Stopes Sierra Leone has issued an urgent appeal for a coordinated national response to the escalating crisis of underage pregnancies in the country. Recent reports indicate alarming trends, with adolescent pregnancies affecting girls as young as eight years old.
During a media training session held at Wharf Road, Deep Eye Water, in the Western Area Rural District, Sandy Massaquoi, Advocacy and Outreach Manager at Marie Stopes, highlighted the need for a new approach to safeguard young girls. “We are no longer just talking about teenage pregnancy; we are witnessing adolescent pregnancies in children as young as eight,” Massaquoi stated. “This demands immediate action.”
The organization also raised concerns about the stigma and discrimination pregnant adolescents face in healthcare facilities, warning that such mistreatment could deter them from seeking necessary medical care, exacerbating the nation’s health crisis.
Marie Stopes is actively addressing this issue through its Youth for Health Project, launched in June 2022 and set to run until June 2025. The initiative aims to reach 12,000 adolescent girls in Port Loko, Kambia, and the Western Area Rural District, utilizing school clubs and training healthcare providers to improve reproductive health education and combat teen pregnancy.
Victor Karim, Communications Admin Specialist at the National Secretariat of Teenage Pregnancy, emphasized the troubling statistics surrounding adolescent pregnancies. He noted that while global rates are declining, Africa continues to report some of the highest numbers. He pointed to a direct link between early pregnancy and child marriage, citing global data revealing that 640 million girls and women were married before the age of 18.
Karim also shared alarming national statistics: a 2019 report indicated a significant rise in adolescents treated for sexually transmitted infections, increasing from 16.8% in 2013 to 44.2% in 2019, reflecting growing reproductive health risks for young girls.
Marie Stopes Sierra Leone is calling for immediate, coordinated action to protect the nation’s girls from escalating health and social challenges and to implement more inclusive health policies.
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