Cape Town — The African National Congress (ANC) is outraged at the case of a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly impregnated by a 17-year-old boy.
The 12-year-old girl gave birth to a baby at the Frontier Hospital in Komani on Wednesday and the ANC said urgent interventions were needed to fight against teenage pregnancy in South Africa, SABC News reported.
“Teenage pregnancy is an emotional matter that needs to be addressed by society at large, as it is broader and also a multifaceted problem that requires a comprehensive intervention,” ANC provincial spokesperson Gift Ngqondi said.
Ngqondi said conversations regarding teen pregnancies and sexual education were important to turn the tide and save the children, especially the girls, as they carry the consequences of falling pregnant.
The Eastern Cape Health Department says it will keep a 12-year-old mother who gave birth at the Frontier Provincial Hospital in hospital until a consensus is reached on the way forward. The father of the newborn is 17. @Sipha_Kema reports.
Watch: https://t.co/aw2YIbumER pic.twitter.com/ArAslBBcaB
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) January 1, 2025
According to DispatchLIVE, Ngqondi said teenage pregnancy was a ‘grave concern’ and encouraged various departments to intervene and help those families affected by teenage pregnancies.
“We are calling on all social partners, including the departments of basic education and social development, to urgently come on board to decisively deal with this social ill and provide support to both the victim and her family,” Ngqondi said.
He added that the country had a Prevention and Management of Learner Pregnancy policy in place that meant teenage pregnancy cases were meant to be reported.
“Section 110 of the Children’s Act, 38 of 2005, makes provision for reporting suspected cases of abuse for purposes of triggering immediate response and measures to assist a child whose life is at risk,” Ngqondi said.
Clinical psychologist Dr Khosi Jiyane says the pregnancy of the 12-year-old Eastern Cape girl exposes the moral decay of society. Jiyane believes that the child has been let down.https://t.co/g5ECigv1nz pic.twitter.com/CDx2ZhfSaX
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) January 2, 2025
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Pixabay
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Matthew Petersen
