Concerning statistics have been released by the Health Ministry’s Health Information Unit (HIU), which show an alarming rate of teenage pregnancies within the iTaukei community.
The Ministry says the statistics on teenage pregnancies were gathered from 2018 to 2021, with a particular focus on children between the age of 13 to 19 years of age.
They say during this period, the statistics revealed that 1,057 teenagers were of iTaukei descent, 178 Fijians were of Indian descent, and 44 from other races fell pregnant.
It says majority of these teenage pregnancies within the iTaukei community were from the Central Division, recording 636 cases, the West recorded 350 cases, the North recorded 60 cases, and 11 cases in the Eastern Division.
Health Minister, Dr Atonio Lalabalavu says the statistics are indeed alarming, and it will take a whole Government and community approach to nip these social problems in the bud.
He says along with the increasing cases of HIV/AIDS in the country, which he revealed in Parliament last week, the Ministry will increase its community outreach and awareness programmes.
