According to a study by UNICEF, Prevention of Teenage Pregnancies 2011, the Dominican Republic is in fifth place of Latin American countries with high levels of teenage pregnancies with a rate of 92 per thousand women between the ages of 15 and 19. This figure is higher than Haiti with 69 per thousand women.
The average in the USA is 74 pregnancies per thousand teenage women and 49 at a global level.
Those provinces in the country with the highest teenage pregnancy rates are the poorest and with the lowest levels of education – Pedernales, Azua, Elias Pina, Bahoruco and Barahona, and the whole of the border region, with between 27 and 37 percent of pregnancies being registered among teenage girls.
In response to the situation, President Danilo Medina has formed an inter-institutional commission to coordinate and implement a National Teenage Pregnancies Prevention Plan.
The commission includes the Vice President, the First Lady’s Office and the Ministries of Women, Public Health, Education, Youth and Economy, Planning and Development.
The National Council of Childhood and Adolescence (CONANI), the National HIV and AIDS Council and two NGOs that work with women, adolescence and youth are also taking part.
http://enlacedigital.com.do/index.php/component/k2/item/334-embarazos-quinto7-lugar-adolescentes-republica-dominicana