By: Mayamiko Phiri.
Soaring of girls pregnancies and unsafe abortions related complications worries Blantyre District Health Office (DHO).
Blantyre district health office has recorded over 2,300 teenage pregnancies between the months of July and September this year.
A situation that has been described as worry some as it is orchestrating unsafe abortions and maternal deaths.
Safe mother hood coordinator for Blantyre DHO Ellida Bvutula said this during stakeholders engagement and networking meeting in Blantyre.
On advancing reproductive justice for pregnant minors and survivors of sexual violence which was organized by centre for human rights and rehabilitation (CHRR) in collaboration with Nyale institute.
Bvutula stated that this year alone, post – abortal care has treated 849 young girls and women who has deliveries and abortion related complications.
She further highlighted that according to statistics 31 out 100,000 are dying due to maternal deaths in Blantyre district alone, while at national level the number is 439 out of 100,000.
In his remarks, CHRR programme officer Dennis Mwafulirwa said that they called up the meeting in order to discuss the challenges young girls faces and ways of addressing them.
“Also we want to build capacity for stakeholders and to generate new ideas.” said Mwafulirwa.
On his part Nyale institute Director Dr Godfrey Kangaude hinted that together with other advocates they are going to re-engage Parliament for support regarding sexually reproductive justice and legal safe abortion.
Kangaude further disclosed that as advocates, they are supporting a court case, whereby a girl is asking a question of whether she can access abortion legally if she is raped.
