Religious Leaders have called on the Government to execute tough penalties to perpetrators of teenage pregnancies, as a way of averting the increasing wave of teenage pregnancies in Uganda. The call was voiced during a High-Level Inter-Faith Dialogue on the Health of Adolescent Young People, organized by SRHR Alliance, at Kampala Hotel Africana on Thursday.
Themed: “ Strengthening the Role of Religious Leaders and Faith-Based Organizations in Advancing and Promoting Adolescent Health, For A Sustainable World”, the Religious Leaders said teenage pregnancy causes a lot of problems to families and the Government as it creates a high level of dependency.
Bishop Andrew Lugoloobi, the Secretary General for Born Again Faith, while addressing participants at the dialogue, said the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda should endeavor to handle the issue of teenage pregnancies to realize Uganda’s Vision 2040 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The power of Religious Institutions cannot be underestimated because majority schools in Uganda are faith based, which is why we should use all resources at our disposal to stem teenage pregnancies in Schools”, he said.
He said sexual harassment policy should be mandatory in schools and places of worship to protect Adolescent girls from unwanted pregnancies.
“We have embarked on drafting a Faith based Framework to protect Adolescent girls. When we stand together, we shall overcome the calamities facing our teenage girls,” he added.
Reverent Canon Evatt Mugarura, called for Faith based organizations to work with the Government to intensify Adolescent Education in Schools, in addition to encouraging parenting lessons to teenage children. He said Religious leaders should use the power of the tongue to counsel and give advice to teenage girls about the dangers of teenage pregnancies and the risks of contracting HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Nsamba Saidi, representing the Ministry of Education and Sports, while giving a short lecture on “Emerging Mental Health Issues Among Adolescent and Young People in the Country”, said consumption of illicit drugs, alcohol and other intoxicating substances are root cause of mental cases among teenagers below the age of 18.
He enumerated other causes of mental health anomalies and depression among teenagers to include; addiction to social media platforms, where youth spend many hours of their time chatting on Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram or TikTok among others.
“This renders the youth to lack sleep and resting time needed for their health and results in depression”, he said.
He added that; depression among teenagers also results in cases of committing suicide, adding that suicide incidents are common with youth below the age of 30.
“Sports betting addiction is another challenge among youth and we need to find a remedy to these challenges as Government and religious leaders,”he added.
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