Sarawak determined to reduce teenage pregnancy - Fatimah

Sarawak Ministry of Welfare, Women and Community Wellbeing through the one-stop teenage pregnancy committee at state and divisional level will ensure a continuous downward trend in teenage pregnancies cases in Sarawak.

Its minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said the committee - comprising relevant government agencies, NGOs and religious bodies - had seriously conducted various educational and awareness programmes statewide concerning teenage pregnancies since it was set up in 2014.

"Teenage pregnancies have decreased in Sarawak since 2015, a 14.4 per cent drop to 2,909 cases from 3,401 cases in 2014 and last year it declined again to 14.7 per cent, which is higher than the percentage targeted by the committee.

"This happens because of the great commitment shown by the agencies, NGOs, media and community leaders," she said at the launch of the Girls' Voices: Speaking Up Against Child Marriage, photo exhibition officiated by Canada High Commissioner to Malaysia Judith St George here Friday.

She said statistics provided by various departments - the National Registration Department (NRD), Sarawak Religious Department (for Muslims) and Sarawak Native Customs Council showed that child marriage and teenage pregnancies had dropped by more than 10 per cent.

Record of child marriages under the civil marriage from the NRD showed that from Jan to Nov 2016 there were 832 cases of marriages below aged 21, while there were 331 cases of marriage under aged 16 registered with the Sarawak Native Council during the same period.

As for marriage registered with the Sarawak Religious Department under the Syariah Law, the record showed that a total of 130 marriages of girls, aged 16 and below were recorded in 2015. There was no record for 2016.

"Comparing with the states in Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah rank among the highest (teenage pregnancies) and we are determine to reduce the number of cases in Sarawak," added Fatimah.

--BERNAMA