The 2016 State of the World Population report which was launched recently, received swift reaction from First Lady of Guyana, Mrs. Sandra Granger, who expressed concern for the high rate of teenage pregnancy in the Republic and called for these mothers to be equipped with tools to succeed.
Granger said teenage mothers must be given the opportunity to become agents of positive change in their communities, after the report was introduced to Guyana collaboratively by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Office of the First Lady and the Ministry of Social Protection.
Under the theme “Investing in 10-year-old girls is the key to sustainable development,” Granger stressed that teenage pregnancy impacts the development of health, education, social and economic well-being of adolescent girls according to the Government Information Agency, (GIA).
Granger is passionate about investing in the re-integration of young mothers into society for them to become productive adults. She said it is a matter of greater concern that Guyana has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the Commonwealth Caribbean.
She is concerened that young girls are at grave rist of cervical cancer, the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in Guyana, in addition to other sexual transmitted infections and diseases, even though there is a reported decline in HIV / AIDS, and a zero rate of mother-to-child transmission of the disease in CARICOM countries.