Six hundred and eighty (680) girls aged between 10 and 14 were impregnated between January and June 2023.
This was said by the Ministry of Health and Child Care director, AIDS and TB Unit, Dr Owen Mugurungi while speaking at the National AIDS Council (NAC) workshop organized by editors in Chinhoyi on Thursday
During the same period (January to June 2023), 51 376 girls aged between 15 and 19 fell pregnant and went for antenatal care bookings, The Herald cited Mugurungi as saying.
He also said that of the 680 girls (aged 10 to 14 years) that were impregnated, 0,1 percent of them were HIV positive, while in the 15 to 19 age group, 9,7 percent of the 51 376 were also HIV positive.
In recent years, several high-profile cases of child pregnancies have shocked the nation, amplifying calls to outlaw the practice and impose harsher penalties on perpetrators.
In 2021, a 15-year-old girl named Anna Machaya tragically died due to complications during childbirth at an Apostolic sect shrine in Manicaland province.
The man allegedly responsible for Machaya’s pregnancy, Hatirarame Momberume, was arrested and faced charges of murder as well as sexual relations with a minor.
Another disturbing case involved a 9-year-old girl from Tsholotsho who was impregnated by her 13-year-old cousin and underwent a cesarean section to deliver the child.
In May 2022, President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the Marriages Act into law. The law prohibits the marriage of minors under the age of 18.
However, the persistent issues of underage pregnancies and child marriages remain widespread, with courts across the country inundated with such cases.
