BECOMING a mother before becoming an adult seems to be a growing trend in South Africa where teenage pregnancy is on the rise.
In a country where the HIV prevalence amongst 15-19-year-old girls is 9 percent, teenagers continue to take the risk of having unprotected sex.
According to national statistics 72 000 schoolgirls cited pregnancy as a reason for not being in school in 2005. Figures from the Society for Family Health (SFH) indicate that 17% of 15 - 24-year-old females are HIV positive. What makes this statistic even more shocking is that only 21% of 15 - 24-year-olds have been tested, which is lower than the national average for testing of 30%.
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