FRANCISTOWN: A total of 35 young girls aged between 15 and 19 fell pregnant in the last quarter of the year in the Tonota region. The Greater Francistown District Health Management Team (GFDHMT) officer under Monitoring and Evaluation (M&C) Unit, Comfort Ookeditse revealed the statistics at the Botswana Business Coalition on AIDS district consultative forum recently held at Cresta Thapama Hotel. Giving a presentation on the Tonota District update on HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and teenage pregnancy, he revealed that they are concerned at the alarming teenage pregnancies registered by their district annually. Ookeditse said in the last quarter (October-December), the district recorded 35 teenage pregnancies from 10 health posts in the Tonota district under GFDGMT.
From the statistics, the Tonota clinic topped the chart with eight cases registered in three months. He indicated that 20% of the pregnant teenagers tested HIV positive adding that this proves that young people engage in sexually risky behaviours and experiences that can result in unintended health outcomes. Furthermore, the sexual risk behaviours place youth at the risk of HIV infection and STIs, which become a drawback in the country’s fight against HIV prevalence amongst young people, he added. He also shared that the proposition of teenage pregnancy in the same quarter is 11.4% as compared to 17.5% in the previous quarter. According to the GFDHMT M&C Unit officer, the district also recorded a worrying 629 STIs between October and December and only 215 contacts were traced. He said one student was amongst the recorded STI statistics at the Shashe River School clinic. “It is just shocking how a student would contract urethral discharge syndrome; this proves that our children are sexually active and do not use a condom. This calls for intervention to address such issues,” Ookeditse said.
