Rwanda plans wider access to contraception against teenage pregnancies

Kigali, Rwanda (AFP) Rwanda is seeking to tackle rampant teenage pregnancies by expanding reproductive health care to girls aged 15 and over, in new legislation presented to parliament this week.

The bill aims to give girls aged 15 and older access to contraception, but is expected to meet resistance in the culturally conservative Central African country and has already been rejected once.

Supporters of the measure, introduced in parliament on Tuesday, claim the current law discriminates against people under the age of 18 by denying them the right to make decisions about their reproductive health.

This is expected to be discussed in the coming days before being voted on.

“We hope it is high time that parliament passed it so that young people are not denied their right to contraceptives and reproductive health,” Aflodis Kagaba, executive director of the NGO Health Development Initiative, told AFP on Wednesday.

“We have provided enough research and facts to show that young people are sexually active, and we must protect them,” Kagaba said.

Opponents of the bill, such as politician Christine Mukabunani, told AFP it could lead to a risk of teenagers being sexually exploited and abused by adults.

But Health Minister Sabin Nsanzimana – who tabled the legislation – argued that denying teenagers access to reproductive health care contributes to the high rate of teenage pregnancies.

“The inaccessibility of sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents, including contraception, results in high rates of unintended pregnancies. That is why we have lowered the age of consent for healthcare services from 18 to 15,” he said.

According to the Ministry of Health, the number of teenage pregnancies in Rwanda is increasing, with more than 10,000 between January and June alone this year.

Abortion is illegal in Rwanda unless it results from rape, incest or forced marriage.