The
Gambia has joined the rest of the world on Thursday to commemorate World
Population Day on the theme ‘Investing in Teenage Girls’.
Speaking
at the commemoration held KMC ground, Jaja Cham, KMC director of
administration, said in The Gambia, reports has shown that the teenage girls
represent quite “a very important percentage” of the population which makes it
“very important and worthy it to invest on them”.
He
said the society needs to play a vital role in the development of girls by
giving them the right education and not to expose them to things that will
interrupt their transition from teenage to adulthood.
Kanifing
Municipal Youth Coordinator Adama Sabally said investing in teenage girls for a
greater future is as complex as it is controversial because it follows the
transition from childhood to adulthood.
He
noted that discussions that centred on the welfare of teenage girls will help
to facilitate behavioural and greater change and reduce the misconceptions
surrounding the use of contraceptives.
Mr
Sabally said today, the population is faced with problems confronting young
people in Africa such as teenage pregnancies, unwanted teenage motherhood and
sexual transmitted infections.
United
Nations Population Fund country representative Kunle Adeniyi said this year’s
theme for the commemoration of World Population Day is to raise awareness of
the plight of teenage girls around the world.
The
commemoration was to also bring to the fore the greater challenges girls
encounter compare to their male counters and the need to address such
challenges.
“Teenage
girls face multitude of challenges compared to their male peers and in many
countries a girl who reaches puberty is ready for marriage with the resultant
teenage pregnancies and childbirths,” the UN diplomat said.
“Many
girls who are given out for marriage are prone to many diseases and it is also
a denial of the girls’ fundamental human rights.”
Deputy
Mayor of KMC Momodou Jaiteh said teenage girls without education have little or
no chance in controlling their marriage life.
“We
all knew from the society that those who got married early finds it difficult
to really control their family sizes,” he said.
