MIRI: Sarawak is currently ranked number two behind Sabah for teenage pregnancies in the country.
Minister of Welfare, Women and Family Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said thousands of such cases were reported in the state annually, and her ministry was implementing measures to alleviate the problem. For instance, she said a ‘One-Stop Teenage Pregnancy Committee’ had been established for the purpose.
“Our ministry is collaborating with agencies under the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS). The agencies include Health Department, Education Department, Islamic Religious Department, Resident Office, National Registration Department and NGOs.
“The purpose of this committee is to assist out-of-wedlock pregnant teenagers in terms of taking better care of themselves, the newborns’ citizenship registration, adoption programme (if they wanted to give up the babies) and financial assistance,” she told a press conference here yesterday. For young mothers who wished to go back to school but were too shy to do so, she said the committee would help them complete their education.
“Each and every case will be brought up and discussed by the committee. Action will be taken according to each situation. We strongly believe that by looking into each case, we can understand the situation better and able to solve the problem as fast as possible.” Fatimah said other measures included organising training courses to educate the target group about the consequences of indulging in active sexual activities.
“We want our youths to be able to communicate and express their feelings, voice out their worries, queries and curiosity. All details and information will be kept confidential.”
In addition, Fatimah said more training centres offering skills courses to single mothers would be built in other parts of the state, other than in Kuching, to let young mothers to improve themselves. On statistics, she said in 2013, the state recorded its highest number of teenage pregnancy cases – about 4, 000 cases (those giving births in government hospitals).
“Though the number is slightly reduced in 2014, there are still a lot that we have to do to reach out to the high risk group (those aged 13 to 16).
“There are cases whereby couples married too young, had kids, and when they encountered problems, they might not be matured enough to handle. Worse come to worst, they could end up in divorce.
“This is a domino effect that will lead to social problems. Through the committee, we want to make sure young girls are educated enough to understand the consequences of their own action and be responsible.”
Fatimah urged all parties to stop finger pointing as teenage pregnancy was the society’s responsibility and everyone must take account for it.