Mabuza expresses concern after 34 000 SA girls fall pregnant

DEPUTY President David Mabuza has lamented the statistics revealing that over 34 000 girls, 688 of whom were under the age of 10, gave birth last year calling this a blight on the moral standing of society which is barbaric and condemns the children to lifelong trauma and scars.

Mabuza, in his capacity as chairperson of the South African National Aids Council (Sanac), was addressing the second day of Sanac’s extended outreach programme just days before World Aids Day on 1 December.

“There is a concerning and shameful development of teenage pregnancies in our country. For instance, Statistics South Africa released a report on the 11th of this month showing that more than 34 000 teenage girls gave birth last year, of which 688 were younger than 10 years of age.

“It stunts their development and ruins their future. The long-term economic, social, psychological and legal effects of these statistics are disturbing. We must act now.

“Sanac and all its sectors, should be at the forefront of raising awareness of this scourge and pronounce itself strongly in ensuring that those committing these sexual crimes face the law,” Mabuza said.

He said that their programmes should focus on raising awareness, and forging collaborative efforts across society to ensure that they address poverty, gender-based violence, patriarchy, and all other behavioural and social determinants

of HIV and Aids.

A huge part of Mabuza’s message over the two days of the outreach programme in Durban was centred around the fight and response against Covid-19, particularly in the face of the new variant B.1.1.529 that is now in the country.

The increasing numbers due to the new variant has seen the National Coronavirus Command Council meeting which had initially been scheduled for today, brought forward to yesterday as government clamours to curb the spread of new infections.

“Already, our country is on a red alert list by some countries when it comes to international travel. We cannot afford to be complacent and drop our guard and reverse the gains we have achieved.

“Our Covid-19 vaccination programme continues to offer hope that with more people vaccinated, we will save more lives. Of course, we have to deal with the challenge of vaccination hesitancy from some quarters.

“It is now clear that Covid-19 will remain with us for a while, therefore it is critical to integrate our delivery systems and platforms in such a way that the fight against HIV and Aids continues to receive our attention within the broader context of our Covid-19 response,” Mabuza said.

In an engagement with interfaith leaders on Friday, Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla called upon faith leaders and civil society to assure people that the Covid-19 vaccines had been tested, are effective and save lives.

Phaahla said that although it was still early days the new variant had shown that it may be spreading much quicker and even catching younger people.

However, he said that the country’s scientists endorse the fact that vaccination was still the best way of fighting against the virus.

“Even this one can catch you if you are vaccinated, you are less likely to be very sick and end up in hospital and end up in ICU,” Phaahla said.

Phaahla added that the tried-and-tested safety methods such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, managing the number of people in gatherings and making sure that people sanitise were still the best forms of fighting against the virus.