Pacific teenagers missing out on proper family planning: New Zealand legislators

New Zealand lawmakers on Monday called on Pacific island governments to implement modern family planning programs to help curb the high rate of teenage pregnancies.

The New Zealand Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development (NZPPD) called on Pacific governments to prioritize sexual and reproductive health (SRH) as they plan how they will implement the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Pacific had some of the highest unmet need for contraception in the world, as well as some of the highest rates of teenage pregnancies in the world, said the NZPPD.

In the Marshall Islands, teenage pregnancies were the highest in the region at 85 in every 1,000 teenage women becoming pregnant, compared with 24 per 1,000 in New Zealand and 14 per 1,000 in Australia.

Teenage pregnancies are also high in Nauru, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands at 60 to 80 per 1,000.

"We know that access to modern family planning methods has improved in many Pacific countries, but there is still much more that can be done to make sure that young Pacific women are fully able to realise their sexual and reproductive health and rights," NZPPD chair Barbara Kuriger said in a statement.

The Sustainable Development Goals required universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.

Investment in SRH services meant women were supported to decide if they wanted children and if so, how many and when to have them.

When girls and women had access to SRH services, they stayed in school longer, earned better incomes and reported better health outcomes for themselves and their children.

"While this requires a careful consideration of how funds are being prioritized, we know that investing in SRH is a cost-effective approach to development with both immediate and long term benefits," Kuriger said. Endit