More than 90 000 teenage girls gave birth between March 2021 and April 2022 across South Africa, show statistics.
According to Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, Deputy Minister of Social Development, the figures are on an upward trend.
Bogopane-Zulu said most of the teenage pregnancies are as a result of dysfunctional families, saying uncles, fathers and older siblings continue to engage in sex with their girl-child family members.
“The problem has been growing and the figures have been going up. If you could see the 2020/21 figures when all of us were in [Covid-19] lockdown, people would be shocked because we saw a nine-year-old girl falling pregnant, among others,” she said.
She said a social behavioural change programme called ChommY, launched in March 2020, is beginning to show an impact.
The programme is a buddy system that creates a safe space for children and aims to motivate them to speak up about their challenges.
Among its objectives, the programme seeks to educate children about the dangers of alcohol and drugs while assisting them to understand their sexuality.
Bogope-Zulu said in provinces visited by her department, social workers have been identified who will make sure that the programme continues to have an impact.
“Even during lockdown, we had an online ChommY programme where children had conversations between 4pm to 6pm. They had a space to speak to someone who understands and shares their frustrations.
“That is how we picked up a number of children who fell pregnant in their homes by a family members.
“We cannot say such programmes are not working, what is not working in South Africa is the family structure. The family system is totally dysfunctional,” said the deputy minister.
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