The Acting Regional Administrative Secretary of Songwe Region, Mr. Vansca Kulanga, has urged government officials to closely collaborate with development partners, including UNICEF and others, to reduce teenage pregnancies and child marriages.
He made these remarks today while inaugurating a review meeting on the upbringing project and the reduction of teenage pregnancies and child marriages (Furaha and Iposa) in Songwe region, which took place at the Tunduma District Council hall.
He urged government officials to seize this opportunity to collaborate with these partners to facilitate the task of educating the community on teenage pregnancies and child marriages in the region, as Songwe region has one of the highest rates of child marriages and teenage pregnancies with an average of 44.7% compared to the national figure of 22%.
Expressing gratitude on behalf of UNICEF, Penina Sangiwa, an education trainer-Unicef , thanked the leadership of Songwe region for their reception and collaboration in achieving the goal of reducing teenage pregnancies and child marriages along with upbringing.
“We, as UNICEF, request that we collaborate together with all stakeholders to reach the community, especially the youth who are the nation’s future,” said Penina.
She added that UNICEF’s goal is to uplift young people through life skills, entrepreneurship, education, and various other means to reduce teenage pregnancies and child marriages in order to have a better future generation.
This comprehensive project is a significant effort to strengthen social services for children in Songwe region and aims to ensure that children have better opportunities for growth and upbringing, as well as protection against any potential risks they may face.
Earlier, explaining the implementation of the Iposa and Furaha interventions, Christina Kyaruzi, an officer from UNICEF Mbeya, said that this comprehensive project covers three councils, with each council having two wards: Tunduma wards include Uwanjani and Mpemba, Ileje includes Sange and Chitete, and Mbozi includes Idilili and Mlowo wards.
Christina explained that the Furaha intervention focuses on positive upbringing with the aim of promoting better parenting and improving communication between children and their caregivers, while the Iposa intervention aims to assist out-of-school youth by providing them with skills and life skills training to become economically independent.
The three-day meeting, which began on May 6th and ended on May 8th, involved the Government, UNICEF, TADIO, BBC Media Action, CRS, and other stakeholders.
News article:Bakari Khalid