IT takes a village to address teenage pregnancies, says Education Minister Aseri Radrodro.
Speaking to the media in Nadi this week, Mr Radrodro called on every stakeholder of the community to work with the Education Ministry in addressing the issue.
“The Ministry of Education has its own policies in addressing these particular issues, but I would like to reiterate that it takes a village and a community to raise a child,” Mr Radrodro said.
“We are doing our part, but we also urge our community, the parents, guardians, our stakeholders like the school management, the tokatoka, mataqali, yavusa, the vanua and the lotu to all put their hands together collectively.
“In a manner that we will all advocate towards lifting the quality of education in Fiji, and also look after our children in the education system.”
Earlier this week, the issue of teenage pregnancies was highlighted by Assistant Health Minister Penioni Ravunawa, who revealed a total of 489 teenage pregnancies were reported to the Ministry of Health within the first six months of this year.
He said out of the 489, eight cases were below the age of 15.
He said these figures highlighted the critical need for increased awareness to safeguard young girls and reinforce family values.
Mr Ravunawa said teenage pregnancies posed serious health risks as young girls were not physically developed to carry a child.
