In northern Uganda, refugee girls as young as 12 carry sexually transmitted infections, most of which have no symptoms but carry serious health risks.
This health situation portrays the trauma girls endure as they come to terms with early pregnancies, forcing, them into early marriages leading to the high school dropout in this war-torn region where child-mothers are common.
Amuru is the most affected district where child pregnancies among IDPs have crippled the government efforts to fight illiteracy as Ms Concy Aciro, the area Woman MP explains, "We have many child-headed families here. They have dropped out of school because of early marriages and we are losing the war to combat this social evil."
Ms Aciro added, "Other children get pregnant because their parents abandon them in camps where shrewd men take advantage of their situation. This is common in Amuru where most of these children succumb to dangers of unwanted pregnancies and forced marriages in the process."
Health officials in the district told Saturday Monitor that of the pregnant children living in IDP camps of Anaka, Kochgoma and Alero among others, more than half were ignorant carriers of Sexually Transmitted Infections.
An official who refused to be quoted for personal reasons says some of these destitute girls have contracted HIV/Aids in the process, while others had a range of infections including gonorrhea, trichomoniasis and bacterial vaginosis. They are pregnant but unable to go for treatment and checkup because they are ignorant and even with free education many have dropped out of school in the process."
Although most of the victims [of early pregnancies] are not aware and seldom seek medical attention, sexual transmitted infections could lead to pneumonia and eye infections in new-born babies, and could cause ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammation and infertility in the mother.
Signs of social breakdown in the camps include high levels of promiscuity, girls opting for early marriages, and an increase in the number of child mothers. With no income-generating activities to occupy them, youths in the camps have become idle, left to self-destructive practices like drinking, unprotected sex, and early marriages.
Mr Peter Okumu is the head teacher of Alero Primary Seven School in Alero Sub-country and explains how early pregnancy among IDPs' children is crippling access to education and he fight against poverty in the region.
For instance, out of the 13 pupils who failed to sit for the last year's Primary Leaving Examinations even when they had registered at Alero Primary School, nine were girls and the problems has been attributed to early marriages and unwanted pregnancies.
"We cannot develop when we still have the problem of child marriages and pregnancies. It's poverty that forces some parents to condone such social evils for quick financial benefits," Mr Okumu said. "Children don't come to school even when there is some peace in the region; we need social workers to help our people change their stance towards education."
Apart from the high school dropout, cultural attitudes, poverty and weak enforcement of existing statutes are partly to blame in a country where 6,000 teenage girls die annually from pregnancy-related complications.
With children and the youths the main target of LRA abductions, the memories of rebel atrocities will take generations to disappear. Saturday Monitor tour of the affected areas reveals harsh realities of abandoned villages and crippled society of the former LRA abductees in the north, who have now resorted to sports teams under the auspices of Birmingham University as a tool for reconstruction and recovery.
Using sports to avert the early pregnancies and the problem of child mothers in this war-torn region, Ms Aciro said, "We want to restore hope among our children especially the vulnerable girls. We want to engage them in sports as we continue to wait for government assistance."
For IDPs, the camps mean a life of abject poverty: scarce food and water, no sanitation, inadequate clothing, no bedding, no healthcare and no schools. Their poor living conditions are made even more unbearable by their inability to walk even a kilometre outside the camp due to fear of rebel attacks.
According to area MP, Ms Aciro, the camp life has played a role in eroding some the Acholi people's cultural traditions.
The continued stay in the camps is slowly destroying the little that is left of the peoples' dignity, with many Acholi elders in Amuru seen occupying themselves with drinking, while others are suffering from mental illnesses with girls trooping to Gulu town for prostitution as a means for survival.
To show the extent of the early pregnancies, the region is said to have both the highest HIV infection rates and fertility rates in Uganda, estimated at 31 per cent and 71 per cent respectively for Gulu District alone.
Statistics show that 82 per cent of female and over 50 per cent of male spouses in the region are illiterate.
Source: Monitor
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