WATCH: Concerns over rising number of child pregnancies in KwaZulu-Natal

According to Stats SA KwaZulu-Natal has the highest number of child pregnancies between 10 and 17-year-olds. An estimated 83 000 children gave birth during 2019 and 2020. KwaZulu-Natal registered more than 18 000 childbirths, 5 000 of which were children between the ages of 10 and 14. Merle Mansfield, Programme Director of the Zero Dropout Campaign, weighs in on the matter, elaborating on the link between pregnancy and dropout. “There is a mutually reinforcing relationship between pregnancy and dropout. Young women who leave school are at greater risk of falling pregnant, and young women who fall pregnant are at greater risk of leaving school,” says Mansfield.