By Sukoluhle Ndlovu
Community-led interventions are helping to curb teenage pregnancies in Umzingwane District, Matabeleland South Province, with traditional leaders and child protection committees taking a more active role in tackling social ills.
The district recorded 222 teenage pregnancies between January and June this year, down from 238 during the same period last year.
Umzingwane District AIDS Coordinator Mduduzi Ngwenya attributed the decline to interventions such as the “Not in My Village” campaign, which allows communities to identify problems and develop solutions suited to their areas.
“Initially, programming was being done from the top down, where partners were coming up with solutions and implementing them on the ground,” said Ngwenya.
“The ‘Not in My Village’ campaign is built around letting communities themselves lead the interventions. We want them to identify the problems within their communities and proffer solutions.”
He said the campaign had placed traditional leaders at the centre of efforts to address teenage pregnancies, child marriages, school dropouts, drug abuse and gender-based violence.
“Each community or village is unique and, therefore, interventions should be tailor-made to suit the particular area. We are focusing on localised programming,” he said.
Umzingwane recorded 438 teenage pregnancies in 2025, down from 505 in 2024.
Ngwenya, however, said more work was needed, citing poverty, family dynamics and cultural norms among the factors contributing to teenage pregnancies.
The National AIDS Council is also implementing the “Sista2Sista” model, which targets adolescent girls and young women aged 15 to 24. The programme is complemented by the Behaviour Change Community Mentors programme, which targets males.
The “Not in My Village” campaign is being implemented by the Government in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Young People’s Network on Health and Wellbeing, and the National AIDS Council (NAC).
