NewsWhore
07-14-2011, 11:00 AM
20.6% of Dominican teenagers has either been pregnant or is pregnant, according to new statistics released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The report indicates that poverty, lack of education and job opportunities are reasons for the high teen pregnancy rate in the Dominican Republic that is above the Latin American average.
Angela Polanco, speaking for UNFPA said that the government needs to implement more formal and informal policies to provide more information and access to family planning to youths through government programs, as reported in Hoy. UNFPA advocates more integral sex education in schools and better general instruction. Statistics show that the more educated the person, the less likely the person is to be a pregnant teen statistic.
As reported in Hoy, Jeremy Freehill of the UNFPA says that the DR has 2.7 million people ages 14 to 35 years. Of these about 29% are unemployed.
Freehill praised government programs, such as "My First Job" with the Ministry of Labor that has trained 57,000 youths working closely with the Technical Professional Training Institute (Infotep). Of those, 63% is now employed.
He highlighted that the DR needs to approach social issues in a more proactive way, included addressing gender violence. Gender violence is higher in the poorer regions of the country, with the border provinces of Pedernales, Barahona and Independencia having the higher incidence of crime per capita. The lowest incidence is in the La Romana, San Pedro and La Altagracia region, where employment is relatively high.
"What happens in the country is that after violence occurs we react, and we need to move to actions of a more integral character," he told Hoy. He said that gender violence needs to be discussed in schools the same way as sex education.
Jose Miguel Guzman, chief of the Population and Development Branch of the UNFPA in New York highlighted that the large number of youths that are not studying nor working is a time bomb.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)
Angela Polanco, speaking for UNFPA said that the government needs to implement more formal and informal policies to provide more information and access to family planning to youths through government programs, as reported in Hoy. UNFPA advocates more integral sex education in schools and better general instruction. Statistics show that the more educated the person, the less likely the person is to be a pregnant teen statistic.
As reported in Hoy, Jeremy Freehill of the UNFPA says that the DR has 2.7 million people ages 14 to 35 years. Of these about 29% are unemployed.
Freehill praised government programs, such as "My First Job" with the Ministry of Labor that has trained 57,000 youths working closely with the Technical Professional Training Institute (Infotep). Of those, 63% is now employed.
He highlighted that the DR needs to approach social issues in a more proactive way, included addressing gender violence. Gender violence is higher in the poorer regions of the country, with the border provinces of Pedernales, Barahona and Independencia having the higher incidence of crime per capita. The lowest incidence is in the La Romana, San Pedro and La Altagracia region, where employment is relatively high.
"What happens in the country is that after violence occurs we react, and we need to move to actions of a more integral character," he told Hoy. He said that gender violence needs to be discussed in schools the same way as sex education.
Jose Miguel Guzman, chief of the Population and Development Branch of the UNFPA in New York highlighted that the large number of youths that are not studying nor working is a time bomb.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)