According to the WHO:
Approximately 16 million women between ages 15 and 19 years deliver babies yearly, and this constitutes about 11% of all births globally.
95 per cent of the said deliveries take place in low- and middle-income countries.
It's also been found that, the average adolescent birth rate in middle income countries is more than twice as high as that in high-income countries, with the rate in low-income countries being five times as high.
Teenage pregnancy still constitutes a major public health burden in Subsaharan Africa as greater than 50% of global births during adolescence takes place there, with Latin America and the Carribeans constituting 18% and China a mere 2%.
[WHO : Maternal, child and adolescent health :
http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/maternal/adolescent_pregnancy/en/]
The teenage years are one of the most exciting years in the life of the girl child, at the same time one of the most delicate seasons.
Her choices or the choices made on her behalf, at this slippery and interesting season may affect in no little way the results and outcomes she has in life eventually.
On the other hand, the question arises as to wether or not a large percentage of girls in the developing world are allowed to take informed decisions about their reproductive health?
The answer often times is no, especially in rural Africa, where it is a taboo to discuss sexual matters.
In some rural African communities the female child is still being marginalized, she is to be seen but not heard, she probably does not have a say as to wether or not she deserves an Education or should be married off at age 14 or 15 years to an elderly toothless man with several other wives already.
It's the 21st century and a lot has changed. The percentage of girls who now attend school has increased, however a lot still needs to be done to liberate the girl child from the claws of an unfriendly world.
The issue of early marriage substantially contributes to the burden of teenage pregnancy.
Due to religious and cultural reasons, girls are a times given away in marriage as soon as they attain menarche.
This often times ends the girl's education and eventually makes her end up as a teenage mother.
This is not without consequences though; as the girl's body is usually not prepared for the burden of pregnancy, labour and delivery some of these girls become maimed in the process and are eventually abandoned by the so called husbands for other women.
Apart from the physical challenges a teenager is usually not ready for the emotional and psychological impact of motherhood.
It's quite interesting that a times when the issue at hand : teenage pregnancy is discussed the focus often times is largely on the female child!
Unfortunately in lots of situations it's been found that the girl in question does not even have a say in the whole matter.
Let's take a look at Northern Nigeria
which is said to have one of the highest rates of the child bride in the world.
In North west Nigeria about 48% of girls are said to be married by age 15 and 78% by age 18.
27% of these girls are also said to be in polygamous marriages.
Let's note that the situation in this region of Nigeria is peculiar and different from what obtains in the country in general.
[ UNFPA : http://nigeria.unfpa.org/nigeirachild.html]
These early marriages are often tagged by domestic violence, male autonomy, poor socio economic circumstances, maternal and fetal under nutrition and lots more.
The question currently is how do we stop this menace : " the child bride"
In Nigeria for example, The child act law of 2003 has not been able to curb the issue of early marriage due to a level of "state autonomy" in the country.
Efforts to end the menace has also resulted in terrorist attacks from Islamic religious groups and several socio political and religious crisis . . . To be continued
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