Question NW2919 to the Minister of Social Development

Reply:

1 (a) Teenage pregnancy and childbearing is a serious problem and concern throughout the country. Research has shown that teenage pregnancy increases the vulnerability of young women and has negative health consequences. These vulnerabilities include economic exclusion and inter-generational poverty owing to disruption of education and social stigma. Teenage parenting disrupts family functioning as teenagers may not be ready and equipped to assume parenting responsibilities which, consequently, are transferred to the older members of the family.

(b) In supporting teenage mothers, the Department of Social Development developed and implements teenage parents programme. This programme is aimed at assisting teenage parents to rebuild their lives and live their dreams. The programme addresses various topics that focus on strengthening parental skills, developing character, coaching teenage parents on decision-making processes, enabling them to make the right choices.

The teenage parenting programme is provided in a group setting under the guidance of trained Social Service Professionals. Thorough assessment of the group is done to determine the members’ respective challenges and expectations to ensure that topics that the group discusses are responsive to their lived realities.

Social Service Practitioners in all the provinces have been capacitated on the teenage parenting programme. Notwithstanding, there is still a need to capacitate more Social Service Professionals to ensure that they rollout the programme to more beneficiaries. To this end, the Department will continue to provide this training to additional Social Service Professionals during 2022/23 financial year.

In addressing teenage pregnancy the Department prioritised its interventions in provinces with high teenage pregnancy rate, namely KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West. The Department adopted an integrated multi-sectoral approach, working with the Departments of Basic Education and Health.

One of the critical issues that is being given attention are the modalities of reporting cases of youth and child pregnancies by all the stakeholders. Most importantly is the coordination of efforts in addressing teenage and youth pregnancy. The following interventions have been implemented:

1. Dialogues were collaboratively conducted by DSD, DoH and DBE in EC, KZN, LP and GP to enable teenagers and stakeholders to engage on issues that affect them and make recommendations for the development of the action plan to address the matter.
2. In addition, and in partnership with Provincial DSD and stakeholders, the Department facilitated roundtable discussions and dialogues to assess gaps in service provision and deliberate on interventions that are required to address teenage pregnancy. These were held on 24 March 2022 in EC, OR Tambo District, Ngquza Hill Local Municipality Lusikisiki, and 16-17 March 2022 in Zululand District, Ulundi and King Cetswayo District Municipality. Key stakeholders in these dialogues were children, parents, community members Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, National Prosecuting Authority, South African Police Services, Non-Profit Organisations, Traditional Leaders and Religious Leaders.
3. Ezabasha dialogues strengthening Integrated School Health Programme were also held in Vhembe District.
4. Both the Minister and Deputy Minister of Social Development engaged children who fell pregnant. These engagements were designed to communicate messages of encouragement to the young people, and were focussed on urging them to build a better life through education. These took place during the commemoration of the 2022 Child Protection Month and Child Protection Week in Lusikisiki and uMfolozi Local Municipality.
5. Department of Health committed to bring to school mobile clinics to ensure access to reproductive health and contraceptives to school.
6. These dialogues culminated in the development of an Integrated Community Based Intervention Plan that addresses the issues that emanated from the dialogues. A monitoring plan is attached to the plan.
7. The department continues with massive media campaign through television, national and community radio stations to educate communities about teenage pregnancy, contributory factors and measures to take when children are exploited and sexually abused.
8. Profiling and assessment of children who fell pregnant was done with psychosocial support services provided, linking pregnant teenagers and their families with available resources within their respective communities.
9. The Department continues to implement prevention and early intervention programmes and plans to upscale the provision of social behavioural change programmes. These programmes include:

• 1. Ezabasha Reproductive Health dialogues and programme;
  2. RISIHA- Community Based Prevention and Early programmes; and
  3. ChommY and You only live once (Yolo) for children between the ages of 10-14 and 15-24 respectively.

      10. Intergenerational dialogues on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, as well as training on Intergenerational Communication on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Training is also conducted on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) for out of school youth; and

        11. Advocating on the replication of Nzululwazi Model to promote sexual and reproductive health in schools identified by Basic Education schools that has higher learner pregnancy.

(2) The Department acknowledges that NGOs are a critical partner in the delivery of social development services. The Department strives to work harmoniously with the NGO sector as they have a common goal of improving the lives of the South Africans. It is against this backdrop that the Department strives to have a healthy relationship with NGOs and provide the requisite support to enable them to render prevention and early intervention services.