Minor pregnancies up 10.4% as lawmakers dither
PREGNANCIES among Panamanian girls aged from 10 to 19 years old reached 9,086 in the first 11 months of the year according to the Ministry of Health (Minsa) while a bill dealing with sex education in schools remains stalled in a National Assembly committee
The figure reflects an increase of 859 cases or 10.4% compared to the same period last year when 8,227 teenage pregnancies were reported.
Panama is the province with the highest incidence (3,883) followed by the Ngäbe Buglé (1,133) and Chiriqui (1,106).
The remaining 2,964 cases are distributed among the other provinces.
Minsa data does not include the reports of pregnant young women seeking care in the Social Security system (CSS )or in private clinics in the country. The Dr Arnulfo Arias Madrid CSS hospital alone in Panama City minors dealt with 319 minors in the first 1o months of 2017.
The Ministry of Education created an inter-institutional commission in September 2016 in order to select information to create a “pedagogical instrument” that addresses the particularities of each age group in Panama’s education system
However, a year has passed and few advances are known, reports La Prensa.
In addition, in January of this year, the members of the Work, Health and Development Commission of the National Assembly decided to suspend the discussion of Bill 61, to adopt public policies of integral education, attention and health promotion.
At the time it was reported that the objective was to reach consensus outside the commission, for later resumption of the discussion.
For Rossana Uribe, president of the Panamanian Association for Family Planning (Aplafa), the situation is due to the fact that there are no public campaigns aimed at young people to treat the subject.
Aplafa began a social media campaign in which young people can ask for advice and help because the State does not provide them with the necessary tools on the topic of sex education.
Churches are strongly opposed to sex education in the school system
