Exploring the intersections between teenage pregnancy and poverty in Uganda

Abstract

Teenage pregnancy is a major social and public health problem globally. The major objective of this essay was to explore the intersections between teenage pregnancy and poverty in Uganda. Poverty and teenage pregnancy in Uganda intersect. This is because poverty is a key predictor and outcome of teenage pregnancy in Uganda. However, several other individual, interpersonal, and societal factors contribute to poverty in the country. Among these are; challenges in growth and development, lack of adequate SRHS information, substance abuse, peer influence, family and household information, childhood experience, breakdown of communication, change in the family structure, cultural norms, modernization and technological advancement, corruption, limited birth registration and limited access to education. Teenage pregnancy poses many effects on the victim, the child, and the country as a whole and there are international, national, and community-specific strategies put forward to address the problem. Overall, poverty and teenage pregnancy intersect in Uganda. Poverty is a cause and an effect of teenage pregnancy in the country. Integrated interventions must therefore be developed to address the problem of teenage pregnancy in Uganda.