Over 31 000 girls aged 10–19 fall pregnant in KZN

Teen pregnancy crisis: Over 31 000 girls aged 10–19 fall pregnant in KZN

Zuko Komisa

Over 31 000 KZN schoolgirls fell pregnant in one year, including 610 aged 10 to 14, according to a shocking report by the Health Systems Trust.
The crisis is being labelled a “savage indictment” pointing to statutory rape, and the DA is demanding a task team for better tracking and prosecution.
Social factors like poverty and poor parenting are cited, alongside the failure to enforce policies on reporting pregnancies involving minors.

The Health Systems Trust (HST) reveals over 31 000 KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) pupils fell pregnant in a single year, including 610 girls aged between 10 and 14.

The KZN Department of Social Development cites poverty, poor parenting and absent fathers among contributing factors.

The HST’s Phakama Digest report indicated that 31 088 girls between the ages of 10 and 19 gave birth in KZN between April 2023 and March 2024. The figures have been recorded at KZN’s public health facilities only.

“Between April and December 2022, 26 515 pregnancies occurred among girls aged 10 to 19, and 1 254 of those new mothers were 14 years old or younger.

“Pregnancy among girl children is ‘a savage indictment of South African society’, noting that each of these pregnancies is clear evidence of risky, coerced and unprotected sex, and in many cases, of statutory rape.

“They highlight that sexual and gender-based violence, the economic insecurity of families, as well as inadequate health education, life skills and access to health services, are key challenges to address,” the report stated.

The report also stated that between April 2020 and March 2023, almost 11 500 babies were born to girls aged 10 to 14.

“Despite the Department of Basic Education (DBE) having gazetted a policy in December 2021 obligating schools to submit a police report if a pregnant girl is younger than 16 and the father of the child is older than 16 , prosecution of these crimes is not entrenched practice,” the report further stated.