Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children Affairs, (MSWGCA) Moijue Kaikai has decried teenage pregnancy in Hangha Town, Nongowa Chiefdom in the Kenema District and appealed to parents and guardians to ensure the safety of their children from early pregnancy.
He said giving the hands of girls in marriage when they are between the ages of 13 to 20 years is tantamount to undermining the economic and social potentials of these girls which their community can benefit from in the long term. He referred to early marriage as “addressing needs of parents in the short term” noting that such acts have long term negative consequences on both the family and community.
Minister Kaikai suggested the age of 21 for girls to get pregnant or go into marriage if they chose to. He described children as future leaders of communities and the nation and went on to describe children as “banks for their parents, friends and communities.”
The Minister made these remarks, as he commissioned a new health centre at Hangha constructed by the Kenema District Council with support from UNCDF, UNDP, UN WOMEN and the government of Sierra Leone.
He says teenage pregnancy and early marriage is a crime and government wants it stopped in the country.
He warned all to be very careful not to fall foul of the law in this regard, noting that the law is no respecter of persons regardless of his or her status or stature in the community.
He also cautioned the people against gender-based violence especially that which are perpetuated against girls. He also warned against settling of gender-based violence crimes in homes and by traditional authorities, stating that once such incidents get to the knowledge of law officers, those involved would be “severely dealt with according to the prescribed laws”.
Hon. Kaikai called the people to take full ownership of the health centre noting that it belongs to them as a community.
He donated the sum of Le 1, 000, 000 (one million Leones) to the Chairman of the Kenema District Council (KDC), Dr. Senesie Mansaray for the first 10 full-grown women to give birth in the centre. “Those women must be well above 21 years,” the Minister insisted.
He appealed to senior medical Doctors at the Kenema Government Hospital to ensure the regular supply of free health care drugs to the health centre so that it can cater for its own category of pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five.
Kalilu Bah, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, chaired the ceremony. Cultural performances climaxed the commissioning ceremony.
By Saffa Moriba
August 09, 2013
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