KUCHING: Teenage pregnancy cases in Sarawak for 2016 showed a decrease with 2481 (6.4 per cent) cases compared to 2909 (7.7 per cent) cases recorded in 2015.
Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing Minister, Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said that there was a decrease in the number of teenage pregnancy in Sarawak in all divisions last year except for Sarikei which increased from 125 cases in 2015 to 134 cases in 2016..
“However, Kapit division showed the highest percentage with 14.1 per cent although the number of cases also showed a decreasing number from 261 (15.2 per cent)cases in 2015 to 232 (14.1 per cent) cases in 2016 compared to other divisions,” Fatimah said during a press conference after One Stop Teenage Pregnancy Committee (OSTPC) meeting at Merdeka Palace Hotel, here yesterday.
She said with the decreasing number of teenage pregnancy cases recorded last year, OSTPC has achieved the target of 10 per cent reduction for last year and successfully achieved a total of 14.7 per cent reduction of cases.
“Meanwhile, in terms of the percentage of pregnant teenagers in Malaysia, Sarawak has the highest teenage pregnancies compared with a national percentage of 3.5 per cent to 4.1 per cent in the period from 2011 to 2015,” she pointed out.
Fatimah stated in 2016, 1293 cases or 52 per cent of recorded cases for teenage pregnancy are teenagers who are between 15 to 17 years old while a total of 1084 cases or 44 per cent are teenagers between 18 to 19 years old and 10 cases or four per cent are teenagers between 10 to 14 years old.
“ In terms of schooling status for the pregnant teenagers, the state recorded a total of 94.3 per cent of the teenagers are not schooling anymore.
“The rates are at a worrying level as from 2012 until 2016, percentages of pregnant teenager who are not in school are between 90.2 per cent and 95.4 per cent,” she stressed,
Fatimah said for the marital status of the pregnant teenagers, 54.1 perscent of the total recorded cases in 2016 are not married and shows an increase of 5.6 per cent compared to the year before.
“To facilitate OSTPC operation, a workshop creating standard operating procedure (SOP) was held in 2016 and the results of the workshop, a flowchart was issued for the purpose of monitoring the activities to run more smoothly.
She added that the SOP book will be distributed to all committees of OSTPC Division and community leaders as a reference and guide.
“There is no clear instruments used previously for the purpose of solving the problems of teenage pregnancy, particularly in the determination of the case is completed or not,” Fatimah said.
She added therefore, the Secretariat has held a monitoring instrument on divisional level for a more organised and regular process and Sarawak OSTPC Management Card for Pregnant Teens (Kad Pengurusan Remaja Hamil OSTPC Negeri Sarawak) has been established for this purpose.
“Therefore, our hope is we want to see Sarawak shows further decrease in the number and percentage of teenage pregnancies and together we can do it. This includes cooperation from all quarters, including the parents, religious bodies, OSTPC and other agencies,” she disclosed.
