By CHRISTINE MWAABA in Mungwi –
A SIGNIFICANT reduction in teenage pregnancies and early child marriages has been recorded in some schools in Northern Province, following the implementation of the Girls Education and Women
Empowerment and Livelihoods (GEWEL) programme by Government, in collaboration with the World Bank.
This came to light when World Bank Social protection specialist Emily Weedon toured three schools in the province, namely; Chisali and Saint Anthony secondary schools’ and Kanyanta primary school all in Mungwi this week.
The three were among learning institutions selected as beneficiaries of the GEWEL, a programme aimed at keeping 14,000 girls countrywide in school.
Chisali Secondary School head teacher David Mubanga said the learning institution recorded a reduction from more than six cases of early pregnancy, some of which resulted in marriage in 2016, to only a single case of an early pregnancy and another of child marriage last year.
Mr Mubanga said the GEWEL programme also contributed to a reduction in the number of school-girl dropouts on the pretext of the inability of their parents to pay school fees.
“Before the GEWEL project, many girls ended up as victims of early pregnancy and marriage because their parents could not afford paying school fees due to economic hardships. This resulted in most girls being married off,” he said.
Mr Mubanga’s sentiments were echoed by Saint Antony Secondary School head teacher Davies Katungo, who said the school also recorded a reduction in early pregnancies from more than seven in previous years to only two last year.
“A lot of brilliant girls end up getting pregnant or married off because there cannot afford school fees, but with the implementation of GEWEL, most girls are being empowered to remain in school,” he said.
Ms Weedon said the institution would sustain the programme to ensure that more girls were given the ability to stay in school and contribute meaningfully to national growth.
Meanwhile, Northern Province Permanent Secretary Elias Kamanga said the GEWEL project was uplifting the lives of people in the province, especially the girl child.
He said this when Ms Weedon called on him at his office in Kasama on Monday.