ABOUT 4 478 teenage pregnancy cases have been reported. Each region registered more than 1 000 cases, raising concern over the factors placing adolescents at risk of unintended pregnancies.
The figures were presented by Department of Gender and Family Issues Gender Coordinator Nomzamo Dlamini during a regional conference on anti-teenage pregnancy organised under the deputy prime minister’s office.
She noted that Manzini recorded the highest number with 1 214 cases, followed by Hhohho with 1 182, Shiselweni 1 061 and Lubombo had 1 021 respectively.
The statistics are from January to date.
Dlamini said the figures should not only be viewed as statistics, but as representing young people whose education, health, family lives and future opportunities could be affected by teenage pregnancy.
She emphasised that preventing teenage pregnancy required the involvement of the entire society, including parents, families, schools, communities, government, traditional and faith leaders, development partners and young people.
She said prevention should begin before a girl becomes pregnant. This includes open communication between parents and children, accurate information, life skills, responsible decision-making and creating supportive environments where adolescents can seek guidance without fear, shame or judgment.
She said UNFPA data has also linked adolescent pregnancy to socioeconomic inequality, with early childbearing more common among young women from poorer households and adolescents continuing to face barriers to reproductive health information and services.
While noting that teenage pregnancy could also disrupt a girl’s education at a critical stage of her life, UNICEF has identified teenage pregnancy as a major barrier to girls’ education locally.
However, she noted that the country’s National School Pregnancy Prevention and Management Policy allows pregnant learners and teenage mothers to remain in or return to school.
While families and communities are urged to strengthen efforts to prevent unintended pregnancies, young mothers must also be supported to continue their education and rebuild their futures.
Dlamini’s message was that addressing the problem requires action before young people reach crisis point.
Responsibility beyond girls
The growing teenage pregnancy crisis has renewed calls for stronger accountability of adults and older partners.
With civil society organisations warning that efforts to prevent adolescent pregnancies cannot continue placing the responsibility largely on girls.
One Billion Rising Africa Regional Coordinator for Eswatini Colani Hlatjwako said the country was facing a serious teenage pregnancy crisis, as revealed by findings from a study conducted by One Billion Rising Eswatini and Journey of Hope for Girls and Women in Eswatini.
The study, conducted as part of the Complex Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Triad Study, examines the intersection of gender-based violence (GBV), early unintended pregnancy (EUP) and barriers to post-abortion care (PAC).
According to the findings, 93.3% of pregnancies among girls under the age of 18 were unplanned, while minors accounted for 21% of all pregnancies recorded in the study.
The study further found that 72.5% of unintended pregnancies in urban areas were linked to intimate partner violence (IPV), while 20.7% of unintended pregnancies in rural areas resulted from rape or sexual violence.
Hlatjwako said the figures highlighted the need to address the circumstances surrounding teenage pregnancies rather than focusing only on educating girls about contraception.
She said poverty, gender inequality and entrenched social norms continued to contribute to gender-based violence and unintended pregnancies, while some young women had limited control over reproductive decisions.
“Many young women lack autonomy over their reproductive choices,” Hlatjwako said, noting that decisions regarding contraception could be influenced or controlled by partners and cultural expectations.
She called for intensified engagement with girls both in and out of school, but stressed that prevention programmes must also involve boys and young men.
According to Hlatjwako, young people need meaningful conversations on sexual responsibility, consent, gender-based violence and the consequences of sexual relationships involving minors.
She also raised questions over accountability where adults or older partners engage in sexual relationships with underage girls in circumstances that violate the law.
Hlatjwako said the country needed to examine why men who have sexual relationships with or impregnate underage girls were not held accountable where the law had been breached.
She said addressing teenage pregnancy required more than teaching girls about contraception and reproductive health.
“It also requires stronger attention to the conduct of adults and older partners, the enforcement of laws protecting children and accountability for sexual violence and exploitation,” she said.
Hlatjwako further called for a broader understanding of sexual violence, arguing that awareness campaigns should address coercion, manipulation and other non-physical forms of abuse.
She said prevention efforts should therefore, extend beyond girls to include boys, men, parents, schools, communities and institutions.
The study also highlighted what the organisations described as a complex public health and human rights challenge, requiring interventions that combine education, prevention, protection and accountability.
Hlatjwako said girls should be supported to understand and exercise their rights while society addresses the broader structural factors contributing to unintended pregnancies.
She stressed that responsibility for preventing sexual violence and teenage pregnancy should not fall disproportionately on girls, saying the actions of adults and older partners must also form part of the national response.
