ZAMBIA has been grappling with the thorny issue of teenage pregnancies and early marriages for a long time now.
This scourge has had a devastating impact on the welfare of young girls as it is a major factor to the increasing number of girls dropping out of school.
The situation has ultimately sparked high poverty levels and HIV/AIDS prevalence among girls in the country.
However, several interventions by Government and other stakeholders have been put in place to arrest this scourge which has reached alarming levels.
Zambia will not achieve anything if issues affecting the girl child are not put into perspective and adequately addressed.
Recently, President Edgar Lungu called on traditional leaders to partner with Government in protecting the girl child from negative vices that hinder their success in life.
President Lungu urged traditional leaders to help fight early marriages and teenage pregnancies in their chiefdoms and encourage girl child education at all costs.
Zambia can only develop if the girl child is given the same opportunities the same way as their male counterparts.
The President said he was committed to bringing girls out of the oppression and suppression of society.
There have been calls on stakeholders to invest in programmes aimed at raising the welfare of the girl child to address the negative impact that teenage pregnancies and early marriages have had on the development of the girl child.
Indeed such concerted efforts from all stakeholders are welcome and greatly needed to combat the scourge and safeguard the future of the girl child.
Therefore, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth $60,000 between First Quantum Minerals’ (FQM), Kansanshi Mining and the Zambia Interfaith Networking Group (ZINGO) aimed at fighting the vice is a welcome development.
This MoU is meant to build capacity of communities to respond to challenges of teenage pregnancies and early marriages in Kyafukuma and Mbonge areas of Solwezi.
It will also entail facilitation of social behavioural change among the in-and-out of school young people of school-going age by December next year.
In this MoU, FQM will financially support ZINGO – a network of different faith groups who together share a common vision of a Zambia free from the threat of HIV/AIDS.
FQM will be bankrolling the project every two months in six installments to facilitate the strengthening of linkages between communities, stakeholders and benefactors.
As for ZINGO, they will be expected to facilitate the utilisation of available platforms to deal with the root causes of teenage pregnancies and early marriages.
This kind of partnership plus other initiatives will be crucial in fighting this scourge.
Parents and guardians also need to work out measures that will give self-esteem to their girl children for them to break the traditional myth that makes them apologetic and look at themselves as second class citizens.