A senior government assistant minister has joined the call for a total ban on pornography in Fiji as he expressed concern about the rising rate of teenage pregnancies in Fiji.
Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa linked the cases of teenage pregnancies to the exposure of young people to explicit content.
He said Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva recorded the highest number of teenage pregnancies so far this year, with 171 cases, followed by Lautoka Hospital with 110 cases, and Labasa Hospital with 64, from over 490 teenage pregnancies recorded in the first six months of 2025.
Mr Ravunawa said the figures were alarming and should serve as a wake-up call for communities, families and policymakers.
“It depends on what they feed their brains,” he said.
He also stressed the need for awareness and more educational programs on safe sex practices in villages.
“The media also needs to talk about this illness more, and the education system needs to be more vigilant.”
He said protecting young girls and ensuring their future must be a national priority and called on stakeholders to work together to address the root causes of early and unwanted pregnancies.
The Minister for Information, Lynda Tabuya, while in Opposition in 2020, had called for a ban on pornography and had renewed the call while in Government.
A taskforce had been set up, but to date, no real progress has been made.
