Zimbabwe Reports Major Rise in Teen Pregnancies During Pandemic

Zimbabwe's government this month reported a major increase in teenage pregnancies in January and February.  Advocates are blaming the rise from previous years on coronavirus lockdowns and poverty. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare, Zimbabwe.Zimbabwe’s government says nearly 5,000 teenage girls became pregnant in January and February and about 1,800 entered early marriages during the same period.According to a government report, most of the girls live in poor suburbs such as Epworth, about 30 kilometers southeast of Harare.Here, since 2018, 17-year-old Natsiraishe Maritsa, founder of the Vulnerable Underaged People's Auditorium Initiative, has been teaching her peers about the dangers of early pregnancy and early marriage.“I have realized that child marriages deprive the girl child of her rights,” she said. “And I have seen young girls diagnosed with fistula, I have seen young girls sink deep into poverty, I have seen young girls being abused because of child marriages. So, I realized that I had to stand up and fight for this noble cause.”She thinks karate lessons, among other activities, keep girls in this poor suburb occupied, including during the lockdowns.Seventeen-year-old Natsiraishe Maritsa, founder of the Vulnerable Underaged People's Auditorium Initiative, teaches her peers about the dangers of early pregnancy and early marriage and keeps them busy with martial arts. (Columbus Mavhunga/VOA)She was disappointed with the government report’s findings.“It made me realize that there is still a lot that still needs to be done,” she said. “This is not a one-man’s thing. Stakeholders out there should join the campaign and hold marathons, fun runs, campaigning for a nation that is free from early pregnancies and early marriages. We have to spread the wings and counter the effects and causes of children marriages. Because the more we speak out, the more we campaign against it, it is the more cases of pregnancies and early marriages decline.&