Childhood in the Dominican Republic continues in crisis. And it is that, the National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Day finds the country with a total of 14,527 minors who gave birth until the month of August of this year.
However, compared to the year 2021, when there were a total of 15,180 pregnant adolescents to date, the figures have decreased with a difference of 653 girls who gestated.
According to statistical data from the National Health Service (SNS), a total of 559 children under 15 years of age procreated between January and August 2022. The records also reveal that 13,968 adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age reproduced on the same date.
On August 22, the Cabinet for Children and Adolescents (GANA) and the Ministry of Education analyzed the activities that will be carried out in schools within the framework of the Prevention and Care Policy for Teenage Pregnancies and Early Unions.
At the meeting, led by the first lady Raquel Arbaje, in her capacity as president of the Cabinet, together with the Minister of Education, Ángel Hernández, Alexandra Santelises, coordinator of the Cabinet and director of the Rectory of the National Council for Children and Adolescents ( CONANI).
The first lady, honorary president of the Cabinet for Children and Adolescents, has put these evils into context, which she assures constitute a moral issue that also obliges the whole of society.
Raquel Arbaje cited among the factors that affect pregnancy in adolescents and early unions, poverty, lack of comprehensive sexual education, the social culture that naturalizes motherhood and the history of physical, psychological and sexual violence in the home.
There are also other worrying aspects, such as those that cost the country billions of pesos and maintain intergenerational poverty.
September 26 National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Day
In the Dominican Republic, on September 26 of each year, the National Day for the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy is commemorated, in compliance with Law 295-11, and within the framework of the International Day for the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy.
The objective is to sensitize the population in general and decision makers about the impact of this public health problem, on health, and on the social and economic development of the country.
Adolescents have the right to receive timely information and comprehensive services that include sexual health, reproductive health, and access to contraceptive methods.
