Over 4000 teenage pregnancies registered in Gulu within 18 months

Up to 4,477 cases of teenage pregnancies have been registered in the twelve sub-counties constituting Gulu district and the two divisions of Gulu City, within a period of eighteen months.

According to statistics from Gulu City and district probation departments, the cases were registered between January 2020 and June 2021.  

In a report compiled by Jessica Anena, the Probation Officer of Gulu district, 2,932 teenagers were impregnated in 2020 while 1,545 got pregnant between January and June 2021.   

Gulu City registered 1,768 cases of teenage pregnancies in 2020, and another 922 cases this year, while Gulu district registered 1,165 in 2020 and another 629 cases in January and June 2021.  
Anena decried the alarming teenage pregnancies in Gulu, and attributed it to poverty, lack of parental care and guidance, domestic violence, lockdown, moral decadence and closure of learning institutions.  

Gulu District Health Secretary Ballingtone Ongwech, noted that the district and city leadership have resorted to strengthening awareness creation and sensitization against sexual abuse.    

Gulu District Field Officer for Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) Brenda Aromorach says that the numbers of teenage pregnancies are alarming.

She called on stakeholders to join hands and fight early pregnancies which not only endanger the health of the girl, but also subject them to poverty.