Underage Pregnancies & Unsafe abortions On The Rise In Zimbabwe

By Staff Reporter

Manicaland is witnessing a disturbing rise in underage pregnancies and unsafe abortions, a trend that has alarmed health professionals, educators, and child rights advocates alike. Reports indicate that school-going girls are increasingly falling prey to unscrupulous kombi and private taxi operators who lure them with promises of transport, small gifts, or temporary employment, exposing them to sexual exploitation and the high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.

Many of these cases go unreported, hidden from the eyes of authorities, parents, and community structures meant to protect them. Medical staff, confronted with desperate situations, are reportedly prescribing abortion-inducing medications or performing clandestine procedures, often under conditions that lack proper oversight. These interventions, while aimed at alleviating immediate crises, raise serious concerns over safety, legality, and long-term health impacts on these young girls.

Underlying the crisis are harsh socio-economic realities.

Most of the affected children live in families where parents, whether single or both, struggle to make ends meet. Survival often depends on informal trading or vending, leaving children unsupervised for long stretches and vulnerable to exploitation.

The combination of economic hardship, lack of adult supervision, and predatory behavior by transport operators has created an environment where underage pregnancies and unsafe abortions are increasingly normalized yet remain largely invisible to authorities.

While others suffer the effects of unsafe abortions, majority of both you and adult girl are taking morning after pills, according to a pharmacist in Rusape who disclosed the increase in purchasing of the pills than condoms, negatively showing the increase of people exposed to unprotected sex.

Community activists and educators warn that the situation is a ticking time bomb.

“These girls are growing up in circumstances where education, guidance, and protection are limited. They are forced to navigate adulthood prematurely,” said one social worker in Mutare.

“We are seeing a generation at risk, not just physically, but emotionally, socially, and economically.”

Health experts emphasize that this trend is not just a local problem; it reflects broader national challenges in protecting children’s rights, expanding access to sexual and reproductive health education, and addressing the socio-economic inequalities that drive vulnerable populations into dangerous situations. Without urgent intervention, the lives, health, and futures of these girls remain in jeopardy.