Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Victoria Kalima – Gender Minister
Gender Minister Victoria Kalima has disclosed that teenage pregnancy statistics stand at 29 percent.
Ms Kalima says the Child marriage prevalence rate is at 31 percent, while HIV prevalence is at 8 percent for girls and 6 percent for boys compared to the adult population.
She says the figures are high and need serious attention by all stakeholders.
Speaking when officiating at the SAFAIDS National Sensitization programme on the Transforming Lives Programme, Ms. Kalima says transforming adolescents and young people’s lives to access sexual and reproductive health services requires the commitment of all key stakeholders to implement robust interventions that will bring about the nation’s desired adolescents and young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights outcomes.
In a speech read on her behalf by Ministry of Gender Permanent Secretary, Dr. Auxillia Ponga, Ms. Kalima has since praised SAFAIDS and its partners in various fields of policy development for indentifying the need to transform and address sexual and reproductive health and rights policy and practice gaps in Zambia.
She says the transforming lives programme will contribute towards a more conducive policy environment that enables positive sexual and reproductive health and rights outcomes among adolescents and young people, both in Zambia and the SADC region.
Speaking earlier, SAFAIDS Regional Director, Rouzeh Eghtessad has commended Zambia for making strides in implementing Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in the region.