(Feature image credit: AFP)
As people around the globe mark the World Sexual Health Day 2023, with the theme, ‘Consent!’, Hadiza Ibrahim takes a look at how secrecy surrounding sexuality is contributing to teenage pregnancies in Nigeria.
In recognition of everyone’s right to sexual well-being, the World Health Organisation (WHO) set aside every September 4 to mark the World Sexual Health Day. Recognising the importance of consent and mutual respect when it comes to sexual encounters, the foremost health organisation emphasises that people should have complete and accurate information so they can make informed choices when it comes to their sexual and reproductive health.
But in Nigeria, access to complete and accurate sexual and reproductive health is largely inaccessible, with so much secrecy surrounding sexuality. It is, therefore, no surprise that there is a high number of pregnancies among adolescents, otherwise known as teenage pregnancies, in the country.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), adolescents are young people between the age of 10 and 19 years, and they constitute about a sixth of the world’s population. WHO describes adolescence as a time when young people engage in increased risk-taking behaviour that exposes them to many health risks. One of such risks is sexual and reproductive health (SRH) risk, which is a global public health concern. This is because sexual activity of adolescents has been on the increase in many countries around the world.
According to a survey conducted in 2022 by BMC on the Socio-economic inequalities in teenage pregnancies in Nigeria which cited figures from the National Population Commission (NPC), about 400,000 unplanned births occur annually in Nigeria, and half of these births are to teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 19 years.
Adolescents are poorly informed about how to protect themselves from pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with those in developing countries experiencing greater challenges. In Nigeria, a significant population of adolescents is sexually active (with nearly half [48.6%] of adolescents aged 15–19 years being sexually active), according to the National Library of Science, and involved in unprotected sexual activities with multiple partners, exposing them to negative reproductive health consequences.
In the northern region of Nigeria, girls marry at a much younger age (15.8 years) as compared to the national average of 19.1 years. Sexuality matters are not discussed freely because of religious and cultural restraints which regard sex as sacred and for the married only.
In schools, sex education was integrated into the national school curriculum in 1999, but the topic has not gotten the type of open conversation needed to make an impact. Perhaps, this is because some religious and cultural beliefs hold that sex education encourages young people to experiment with sexual activity.
Indeed, certain factors are to be blamed for the rise of teenage pregnancies. These factors include rape, lack or improper sex education, illiteracy, poverty and child marriage.
Low Self-esteem Forcing Young Mothers to Drop out From School
Miss Damilola Olasunkanmi, a psychologist, speaking with African Health Report (AHR), noted that pregnant teenagers usually experience low self esteem as they mostly feel like they have failed and their future may not be bright anymore.
She said pregnant schoolchildren are often victims of ridicule in school, leading them to drop out, even before the school authorities expels them for their condition. On the way forward, she called for support for young mothers, saying “the best thing they can get is a support system made of individuals that won’t judge them and will assure them that they can still achieve their dreams.”
Impact on Public Health
According to the 2018 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey, the high rate of teenage pregnancy (106 adolescent births per 1000 population) is a major concern for the government and other stakeholders because they lead to unplanned increase in population, school drop out rate and increase in poverty.
Way forward….
Mrs. Rakayat Oluwaseun Chinonso, a school teacher who also works as an Inclusive Specialist for Sesame Square Nigeria and the Head of Centre for Intellichild TLC, a school in Abuja, advocates for more open conversations about sex to provide more information to teenagers or adolescents to help them make the right choices.
“Adding sex education and also getting parents well informed about sex education would help in curbing teenage pregnancy,”she stated. ”For me, I think we should not wait for the school before giving out sex education to our children,” Mrs Chinonso said.
She also stressed the fact that teenage pregnancy is a big issue, there should be a lot of conversations about it but people tend to shy away and keep it behind closed doors. ”The problem of low sensitisation on teenage pregnancy leads to the dire situation we have in the country,” she stated.
Speaking further, she said: ”In order to bring an end to this societal menace, there is a need for targeted intervention (i.e. increased girls’ enrolment and completion of high education), especially in the northern geopolitical zones of Nigeria where there is a high number of out of school children. This may help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty that makes teenagers susceptible to unintended pregnancy.
”Economic and education empowerment is recommended, as empowered girls/women are better prepared to handle reproductive health issues. Moreover, religious bodies, parents, and schools should provide counselling and guidance that will promote positive reproductive and sexual health behaviours to teenagers.
”Furthermore, there should be a fast-track implementation of Child Rights Act across states in the nation, and there should also be an inclusion of sex education in the educational curriculum of schools around the country.”
