Selebi-Phikwe records 422 abortions in a year
Faith Siako | Thursday March 3, 2016 17:08
According to the Selebi-Phikwe mayor, Amogelang Mojuta, the town recorded 422 cases of abortion in 2015.
“We are very worried about abortion cases that were recorded last year as the numbers are very high,” he said.
Mojuta said from the recorded cases, 90 percent of them were suspected to be induced abortions.
He said induced abortion which is often known as backyard abortion, is a dangerous practice that puts the life of the woman who terminates pregnancy at risk.
He said the high abortion cases also do not reflect well in the community.
He added that it indicates that the community is very ignorant and they do not make responsible decisions.
Mojuta said that a total of 1,040 new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were recorded over the same period taking the district STI rate to 24.8 percent. He said HIV/ AIDS will also not be reduced in the town, if people do not make wise decisions on their sexual health.
“It is a clear indication that there is low condom use in our community because women have unplanned pregnancies and later opt to terminate pregnancies illegally,” he said.
He added that the escalating numbers of HIV/AIDS and STIs also indicate that people do not use condoms although they are available in clinics and other facilities.
“There is a lot done by the health department to reach the community on the importance of condoms but people seem not to take the information seriously,” he said.
He said it is worrisome that a lot of people still need to be sensitised on the importance of condoms.
He however, added that the community ought to join hands and fight the battle against unprotected sex.
Mojuta pleaded with various stakeholders to also put an upper hand on encouraging condom use in the mining town to reduce the increasing cases of STIs, HIV/AIDS and abortion.
He also discouraged cohabitation, which is a cause of reported cases of attempted suicide and passion killings mostly among the youth.
He said the youths also need to be sensitised on issues leading to such situations.