The news that a 10-year old girl from San Cristobal is pregnant has led to a public outcry and demands for action to be taken. In response, the Ministry of Public Health says that its 2016 goal for a reduction in the teenage pregnancy rate is 18%, from the current 22.1% level cited by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) or the 21% cited by the Ministry of Public Health. Ministry officials say that sex education in schools and family outreach programs will make the difference.
The Dominican Republic is fifth on a list of eight nations with the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Latin America, according to the UNFPA. The official figures also show that 18% of girls who get pregnant get pregnant again with a second child in a period of less than a year after the birth of the first baby.
Ministry of Public Health has been running the National Integrated Care Program for Adolescents (Pronaisa), part of the General Directorate of Child and Adolescent Maternity (Digemia) since 1993. The question people are asking, then, is why haven’t pregnancies been reduced significantly?
Pronaisa coordinator Bruno Caro says that adolescents are biologically able to get pregnant and this, combined with family circumstances, is what causes the problem.
He says that they have worked with 5,000 families all over the country over the last five years, with children between the ages of 10 and 14, using a family guidance strategy called “Love and Limits.”
www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2013/08/21/i398834_salud-pablica-proyecta-reducir-embarazos-adolescentes.html