Over 300 children aged 10 to 14 gave birth in the Eastern Cape between July and December 2021.
Health Mec, Nomakosazana Meth said during her budget policy speech on Tuesday that this is an issue of grave concern.
According to AlgoaFM, an additional 9,396 girls aged 15 to 19 gave birth at health facilities over the same six months.
“There is no way a 10-year-old can legally consent to sex, so let’s protect the innocence of our children from sexual abuse,” said Meth.
The City of Tshwane raised the alarm in January about the high rate of teenage pregnancies after its public health facilities recorded nearly 10,000 deliveries to young moms in two years, TimesLIVE reported.
There were 9,922 births by teenagers between July 2019 and June 2021.
Of these, 674 were girls were between the ages of 10 and 14.
Sources: MSN, The World News
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