By Janet A. Sesay
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have on joined Ministries and Development Partners to launch the “National Strategy for The Reduction of Adolescence Pregnancy and Ending Early Child Marriage.
This launching took place at the Brookfield Hotel in Freetown, on Thursday, 20th February, 2025. The launching was performed by the Chief Minister, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh.
In his statement, Alpha Ibrahim, the Deputy Representative of UNICEF said the launching ceremony will help end early child marriage in the country, adding that adolescents should be given good education, and on behalf of UNICEF commended Government for enacting the Child Rights Act.
Mr. Ibrahim noted that UNICEF is bringing solutions to addressing teenage pregnancy and child marriage and congratulated the Government of Sierra Leone and Development Partners for prioritizing what he said was “this critical work in ending child marriage and teenage pregnancy.”
He maintained that the strategy provides steps for action in role enforcement like education, social welfare, health, pointing out that its implementation would be done in collaboration with the astute support of parents.
Betty Alpha, Gender and Rights Specialist at UNFPA expressed delight for the launching of the strategy as a means to reduce if not prevent adolescence pregnancy and early child marriage in Sierra Leone.
She revealed that since 2013, UNFPA has been actively supporting the menaces of teenage pregnancy and early marriage, through the collaborative work with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, the Ministry of Local Government and other line ministries.
She assured of UNFPA’s continuous collaboration in that regard and that the organization is always ready to support the Government of Sierra Leone in addressing issues of challenge to children and adolescents and particularly in the implementation of this strategy right around the country.
She mentioned a key success in their intervention that has to do the training of health care workers in health care service delivery to children and adolescents as well as training to teachers involved in the development of children.
In his keynote address, the Chief Minister, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh said the strategy will shape not only the present situation of children and adolescents in the country, but that it will also go a long way at reshaping that category of the country’s demography in the future.
He pointed out that the launching will encourage collective engagements to nurture and target the country’s next generation, noting the pain of seeing children die in pregnancy and during childbirth, asserting that Government is committed at ensuring that active steps are taken to stop such unfortunate happenings.
He acknowledged that the country’s youthful population which is why, he noted, they must be equated with the right services like social and economic services and activities that are essential in ensuring that they reach their fullest potentials. He pointed out that early marriage and teenage pregnancy cannot be the bane of children to navigate their highest potentials in the country.
He said progressiveness of the child is the responsibility of parents, adding that the future of the children mostly lies with them.
He said the launching of the strategy is complementary to the Government’s progressive agenda, adding that all the government is doing is to protect the children, wives, aunty, mothers and boys of the future generation.
He furthered that the government also believes in good health, quality education, justice and development, adding that participation, equity, diversities are all fundamental in working together to end child marriage, adolescence pregnancy and also adolescence security.
He acknowledged that children since 2019 have formed the backbone of their development as they imagine their future.
The Chief Minister furthered that the launching of the strategy is historical because the issues targeted therein have caused negative challenges in the development of children in the country.
He said as a government they have pledged never to allow poverty, customs and traditional legislations that were built in the 1960s to affect children in the further, and called on citizens to learn to recognize good governance systems as core principles for national development.
He continued that government also stands strong in the prevention of children against early marriage by developing the Child Rights Act, stressing that government will ensure continuation on that path of protecting children, women and girls and offering them clear pathways to education, healthcare and economic opportunities.
The Deputy Minister of Health 2, Jalikatu Mustapha in her statement also expressed delight over the launching of the strategy referring to it as a work well done.
She pointed out that in 2022 the country recorded 42,000 teenage pregnancies and that in 2023 there were 2,762 cases of sexual assaults out of which 50% of girl-victims were between the ages of 11-15 years. Among that number, Madam Mustapha explained, 101 of the girls were gang-raped and assaulted by multiple people, 400 got pregnant, and 1,700 were reported having been infected with sexually transmitted diseases.
The Deputy Minister 2 went further that in 2022, they had a report of 2,705 sexual cases and 1,032 of the girl-victims were in JSS, and 827 in primary school and 87 were in Kindergarten and nursery schools.
Doctor Patricia Matu Bah in her presentation on the strategy noted out that the proportion of teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone has decreased from 34% in 2008 to 21% in 2019.
She furthered that the proportion of women aged between 20-24 years who are married or in a union before the age of 18 years has declined from 48.8% in 2008 to 30% in 2019.
Madam Bah went on that the proportion of adolescents treated for sexually transmission infections has increased from 16.8% in 2013 to 44.2% in 2019.
She emphasized that child marriage below the age of 18 years is a fundamental violation of several aspects of human rights which includes the right to make a choice in life, health, safety and security.
She maintained that currently, 640 million girls and women alive today were married before age 18, adding that adolescence pregnancy and child marriage are also closely associated problems.
Madam Bah furthered in her presentation that there are three situation analysis of adolescence pregnancy and these refer to pregnancy in adolescence between the ages of 10-19 years, adding that this is a global public health and social problem that affects both developed and underdeveloped countries.
She said the country formulated and launched the first strategy in March 2013 for the reduction of teenage pregnancy during the period 2013-2015.
She said the second national strategy that was launched included child marriage was developed and launched covering the period 2018-2022.
Others speakers from Irish Aid, Marie Stopes Sierra Leone, Ministries of Local Government and Gender and Children’s Affairs also made remarkable statements.
The National Strategy for the Reduction of Adolescence Pregnancy and Ending Child Marriage was launched by the Chief Minister, Dr. David Moinina Sengeh.