By Juliet Nabulime
Child rights experts have attributed the surge of child mothers during the Covid-19 pandemic to peer pressure and lack of family interaction.
In Uganda, the impact of Covid-19 led to a number of learners, especially in urban and rural areas getting unwanted pregnancies.
Since parenting as a teenager has serious consequences, including stigma and discrimination, experts say, teenage mothers, require supportive structures to survive.
When Sixteen-year-old, Oliver Abua, unfortunately, got pregnant during the total lockdown, little did she know that having a child comes with so many responsibilities.
“I have a challenge of supporting my child, especially when she falls sick. Because my mother, Josephine Abonyo is financially constrained, getting money for treatment, baby clothes and adequate food is a tug of war,” narrates Abua, a primary seven pupil at Wii- Aworanga primary school in Gulu district.
Abua realized that she was four months pregnant after her mother forced her to have a pregnancy test. Unfortunately, Alex Okello, aged 35 years, a tailor and father of Abua’s child disappeared after she gave birth.
She is a resident of Bar-dege Layibi Municipal, Wii-Aworanga cell in Gulu district.
“Before I got pregnant, I often spent time playing and mingling with my friends in the neighborhood. However, after giving birth, everything totally changed. Currently, I face difficulties in sleeping when the baby cries at night,” reveals Abua.
Additionally, Abua says, “For instance, looking after the baby when she cries uncontrollably, breastfeeding the baby in the wee hours, and washing her clothes after defecting has not been easy. Sometimes, I feel depressed when the baby starts crying.”
Because Abua was interested in returning back to school after giving birth, when the government lifted the ban on schools, she went to a new school to avoid stigma and discrimination among her classmates.
“I am going to utilise this second opportunity to work hard and pursue my dreams. In the future, I want to become a nurse and support child mothers who are in need. If you want to achieve your dreams, avoid free gifts and focus on your education,” Abua advised teenagers.
Following the closure of Education Institutions in March 2020 by President Yoweri Museveni due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ministry of education and sports designed a Preparedness and Response Plan for Covid-19 focusing on continuous learning and ensuring safety and protection of learners while at home.
In Uganda, reading materials worth sh48 billion were distributed to students across the country.
According to United Nations Population Fund, (UNFPA), In Uganda, a total of 354,736 teenage pregnancies were registered in 2020, and 196,499 in the first six months of 2021.
The Chief of Party of the United States Agency for International Development, (USAID) Integrated Child and Youth Development (ICYD), Eileen Mokaya, says, the future of this country is among the youth, and the teenage girls must be at the center. Adding that, a fourteen-year-old girl is the face of Uganda.
For child mothers who are willing to go back to school, Mokaya says, under accelerated education, as ICYD, they are committed to give 30% slots for programs. The accelerated education is specifically met to benefit learners who have been out of school for more than two years and are interested in coming back to the formal program.
Mokaya underscores: “Part of our education work is not just to focus on those who are not in school but is also to provide opportunities for those who want to go back to school. As ICYD, we made a deliberate effort, 30% of those slots are for our teenage moms.”
In addition, Mokaya explains that “we encouraging our schools to make sure that when our teenage mothers come to school, they are supported to settle in so that they feel comfortable within the school environment.”
She advised parents to encourage their children to return back to school. Adding that, they are many reasons why teenage girls become pregnant. Largely, it is because of ignorance, and poverty-rated issues. Teenage girls don’t get pregnant knowingly or intentionally.
According to the police report, 4,442 cases of defilement were reported between January and April 2020. The SAUTI (116) toll-free line reported 800 cases of sexual abuse between January and May 2020 including increased cases of teenage pregnancy.
“Through our positive parenting program, where the teenage mothers come with their mothers, we are able to talk about the difficult conversations. For instance, we encourage parents not to throw away their children by branding them that you are already pregnant, good for nothing,” explains Mokaya.
According to her, when you slide, it does not mean that your future is over. We need to collectively encourage these girls and look for those viable opportunities for them to come to school.
Margaret Namubiru, a parent says, most teenage mothers have declined to return back to school because they don’t have supportive parents to look after their children. Besides, schools also don’t have gazette structures where teenage mothers can breastfeed their children.
Namubiru advises all parents to support their children. “Giving birth is not the end of the world. We all know what it means to give birth at a time when you don’t even know what you are carrying in your body. Morally and spiritually, it is not acceptable. Once it has happened does not mean life has come to an end.”
To support teenage mothers, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Education and sports, Dr Dennis K Mugimba says, they have put in place guidelines for the prevention and management of teenage pregnancies. The revised guidelines released in 2020 allow for the re-entry of pregnant learners back to schools. It also provides for learners to be accepted by the management of the schools.
Mugimba notes: “one of the challenges we always had was school administration didn’t want these people in their place. However, having these guidelines in place has made it easier. It also allows learners to find counseling services. These counseling services are not provided by the government, they can be volunteers amongst the staff and communities.”
According to Mugimba, the government has not put up infrastructure because it is capital intensive.
Since most of our schools are from religious founded foundations, Mugimba confesses, “Some people who were not comfortable with this approach said we should not allow these learners back in school. We should let them first give birth, settle, and when a child is about six months or one year, they can now go back to school. Allowing the pregnant girl to be in school with all the challenges of pregnancy, is very unfair to the learners and teachers.”
However, other people say, by the government encouraging this approach, they are going to indirectly promote lack of self-control and promote a culture where people think you can become pregnant and come to school anyway.
“There is a significant proportion of the public that is not accepting our guidelines. We put the guidelines out and as a ministry, we are saying, let us give these people an opportunity. Currently, we are waiting for the cabinet to make the final pronunciation of the matter when the Minister of Education and Sports, and First Lady, Mrs Janet Museveni table the matter in the cabinet for it to be discussed.” Concludes Mugimba.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Juliet Nabulime and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
