The Youth and Children Affairs Minister, Balaam Barugahara, has revealed that teenage pregnancies are still alarming in Uganda because parents and communities have failed on their responsibilities to raise focused children in societies.

Barugahara said on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, while in an interview with journalists that without deliberate effort toward nurturing of children, countries will be headed for doom, an issue a country like Uganda should never have.

He added that societies and parents have given less time to children, not provided them with enough diligent emotional support, failed to support them in making focused decisions, and haven’t taught them about the bad effects of early pregnancies.

“My appeal is combating this bad vice of early pregnancy, or teenage pregnancy, through concerted efforts between leaders in government, society leaders, community leaders, and the ministry of health,” Barugahara said.

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According to Dr. Richard Mugahi, a Commissioner in Charge of Adolescent Health, high early pregnancy incidents in 40 districts, including Lamwo, Budaka, Kamuli, and Kole, among others, across the country are attributed to parental neglect.

“For us, we want to amplify our focused attention on 40 districts of high burden because we are not doing it alone but together with the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Ministry of Gender Labor and Social Development,” he said.

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National Institutes of Health (NIH) statistics indicate that 21 million girls aged between 15 and 19 years and two million girls less than 15 years become pregnant every year. About 16 million of these girls give birth each year, mostly 90% in low-income countries at 25%. Uganda has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in sub-Saharan Africa.