Zimbabwe Reports Major Rise in Teen Pregnancies During Pandemic

HARARE, ZIMABABWE - Zimbabwe's government this month reported a major increase in teenage pregnancies in January and February.  Advocates are blaming the rise from previous years on coronavirus lockdowns and poverty. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare, Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s government says nearly 5,000 teenage girls became pregnant in January and February and about 1,800 entered early marriages during the same period. According to a government report, most of the girls live in poor suburbs such as Epworth, about 30 kilometers southeast of Harare. Here, since 2018, 17-year-old Natsiraishe Maritsa, founder of the Vulnerable Underaged People's Auditorium Initiative, has been teaching her peers about the dangers of early pregnancy and early marriage.