FOSA calls for crisis declaration on teenage pregnancy

SOCIAL justice and human rights activist group, Forum for South Africa (FOSA), has made a demand to the government to officially declare the country's teenage pregnancy rate a national crisis.

- SIPHO JACK

FOSA were alarmed at the revelation made by the Social Development and Health Department that 21 children were born to teenagers aged between 15 and 19 years in the Eastern Cape on New Year's Day. The organisation's call for urgent action was further exacerbated by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) recently reporting that mothers aged 19 and younger gave birth to over 100,000 children between January 1, 2024, and February 28, 2025. Their leaders argued that the perception of "young mothers" as bearers of "blessings" must be challenged, as these pregnancies often indicate a grim reality requiring urgent societal intervention.