GAUTENG Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa said teenage pregnancy in Tembisa was out of control.
During a visit to the Ekurhuleni kasi yesterday, the MEC said the department would tackle the problem by making an implant available which prevents pregnancy for three years.
She said girls who got pregnant as teenagers were missing out on opportunities to improve their lives. Ramokgopa said they had been working with the education department to educate high school pupils about teenage pregnancy but they planned to extend sex education programmes to primary schools as well.
When asked about the side effects of the implant, she said she had not received any negative feedback. She said some people believed users would struggle to fall pregnant after they removed the implant but this was not true.
She said they wanted men to play a role in dealing with issues such as teenage pregnancy.
Ramokgopa interacted with patients at Esangweni Clinic. She said her department had planned to build another hospital and health centre to take the pressure off Tembisa Hospital.
