WHO Seeks Prohibition Of Teenage Pregnancy, Child Marriage

THURSDAY April 24, 2025 |
By thenewsdesk.ng

In a renewed push to improve girls’ health and end child marriage, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has released a new guideline aimed at preventing adolescent pregnancies and their severe health complications.

The guideline, launched yesterday, underscored the need for rapid and coordinated efforts to reduce early pregnancies, a leading cause of death globally among girls aged 15 to 19.

WHO, which emphasised that addressing this issue goes beyond health interventions alone, highlighted the importance of ending child marriage, extending girls’ access to education, and improving the availability of sexual and reproductive health services and information.

The root causes of early pregnancy, WHO explained, are often interrelated, stemming from gender inequality, poverty, lack of opportunity, and limited access to sexual and reproductive health services, adding that nine out of 10 adolescent births in low- and middle-income countries occur among girls who were married before the age of 18.

The health organisation, therefore, recommends a holistic approach, including strengthening girls’ education and employment prospects, offering financial incentives like scholarships or stipends to help them complete their secondary school education, and enforcing laws that prohibit marriage under 18 in line with human rights standards.

Meanwhile, the guideline also stressed the need for adolescent-responsive sexual and reproductive health services, including access to contraception without requiring adult consent, which is a common barrier in many countries.

In addition, it called for respectful maternity care and safe abortion services where legal, to protect the health of young mothers. Director of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at the WHO, Dr Pascale Allotey, noted that early pregnancies often reflect deep-rooted inequalities that limit girls’ autonomy.

“Tackling this issue, therefore, means creating conditions where girls and young women can thrive by ensuring they stay in schools, be protected from violence and coercion, access sexual and reproductive health services that uphold their rights, and have real choices about their futures,” she said.