UNFPA reports say 46, 000 Namibian teenagers fell pregnant in 2013

A UNFPA report said more than 46, 000 teenage girls fell pregnant in Namibia in 2013.

The United Nations Population Fund released the report on Monday in Namibian capital Windhoek during the World Population Day.

According to the report, 20, 000 teenage girls aged between 15 and 19 fell pregnant daily worldwide, while in Namibia about 157 conceived per day in 2013.

Rural areas, the report further said, are hardest hit because most of the teenage girls only have a primary education.

"This makes the girls vulnerable to pregnancy and the risk of HIV infection if they do not have the information and the means to prevention," the report states.

Poverty and peer pressure have also been cited as some of the causes of teenage pregnancies.

"Adolescent girls often face peer pressure from their boyfriends and social networks to engage sexual intercourse," the report added.

Apart from peer pressure, some teenage girls may not have knowledge of conventional methods to prevent pregnancies as they may be embarrassed or frightened to seek such information.

"Furthermore, health facilities and health workers are not always equipped to provide the needed services and information," said the report.

The World Population Day this year was celebrated under the theme Investing in Teenage Girls. Endit