[LISTEN] What can be done to lower SA’s teen pregnancy rate?

On this thought-provoking instalment of The Talking Point with Cathy Mohlahlana, Merle Mansfield, Programme Director of the Zero Dropout Campaign, discusses the teenage pregnancy crisis in South Africa and its contribution to school dropout.

More than 4,000 girls between 10 and 19 years old have given birth in the Eastern Cape since the beginning of 2024. Of further serious concern is that a report released by the provincial Department of Health revealed that 94 of these girls were between the ages of 10 and 14.

Given the mutually reinforcing relationship between pregnancy and dropout, it is vital to have policy and programmes that support pregnant girls in classrooms as well as home and provide a pathway for them to return to school after giving birth.

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