With Child Protection Week coming to an end this weekend, roleplayers have again called on Government to urgently intervene to address the rapid increase in pregnancies recorded among teenage girls.

In 2020 alone, more than 35,000 teenage girls, aged 17 years and younger, give birth in South Africa.

National Executive Director at Child Welfare SA, Dr. Benny Obayi says this is not a new phenomenon in South Africa.

He says what is of concern is the marked increase in teenage pregnancies that have been recorded over the past 2 years.

Obayi says teenage pregnancies have seen a worrying increase since the implementation of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdowns.

He urges the Government to ramp up sex education at schools to help young people make better sexual-health decisions.

Obayi also says the lack of access to social and academic activities during the lockdown has led young people to experiment with sex.

He says being pregnant not only holds physical dangers for teenage mothers but also has other long-term impacts on their social welfare.

Get the latest updates from Child Welfare South Africa here.

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The South African government will continue to work with other African countries to attract more international investment and visitors to the continent.

This, according to Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who yesterday opened the 2022 Africa Travel Indaba in Durban.

Sisulu says challenges, such as xenophobia, unnecessary red tape, and immigration irregularities deter investments and scare off overseas tourists.

She says all African countries have the potential domestic tourism numbers to help their respective tourism sectors rebuild and recover after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The minister says cooperation between African countries, could also help boost intra-continental tourism.

Read Sisulu’s statement here.

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