The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) has approved a strategic plan to reduce the number of teen pregnancies in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean by a minimum of 20% by 2015.
It is estimated that a large percentage of girls have had a child by the age of 15 while at least 40% of Caribbean women have had one child by the age of nineteen, reports state. Scientific data suggests that girls who become pregnant by 15 or younger are likely to experience perinatal mortality and health problems with newborns, premature delivery, low birth weight and other issues.
Dr Morella Joseph, programme manager for human resource development at the CARICOM Secretariat said, “The strategy is the culmination of a series of consultations involving a broad range of stakeholders including high level decision makers, adolescents and youth. The various inputs received at all stages were taken into consideration and informed the final version. We are satisfied that it reflects the realities and perspectives of the people of the region and as such, represents an effective multi-faceted approach to achieving the objective of reducing adolescent pregnancy in the region.”
According to reports, the plan was developed by a multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary regional task force led by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in conjunction with the CARICOM Secretariat.
COHSOD commissioned the development of the strategy after the Caribbean Cooperation in Health (CCH III) identified the reduction of teen pregnancy as a priority issue to be addressed by CARICOM and other territories. In light of the information, COHSOD and the CCH believe that young pregnant women are prone to unsafe abortions with possible death or other health issues and that educational prospects are interrupted and dreams and goals remain unfulfilled.
Sheila Roseau, director UNFPA sub-regional office for the Caribbean, said UNFPA was delighted to be a part of a seamless results-based strategy for the reduction of adolescent pregnancy in the region.
“The strategy will allow adolescent girls to fully exercise their rights including to reproductive health, education and security; to grow to their full potential and to contribute to the development of the region. Since the process of developing the strategy was a collaborative one, I hope countries will implement it with the urgency the issue demands,” she added.
Reports say that CARICOM will “monitor the implementation of the strategy; identify and coordinate country and regional level needs for technical assistance. CARICOM will also serve as knowledge broker for South-South cooperation, sharing of best practices on addressing adolescent pregnancy and in identifying high level technical expertise. Select international organizations, including UNFPA will collaborate with CARICOM on these activities”.
