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Health Minister Alexandru Rafila believes that the number of teenage mothers in Romania can be reduced only if they go to school and health education becomes a fixed subject matter, told Agerpres.
"Access to education and sex education are the main problems. And we should avoid staying confined exclusively to this area, sex education. We have a new minister of education and I am convinced that we will be able to find a solution so that health education may become an age-appropriate fixed subject matter, part of the curriculum. But we cannot do health education if these children do not go to school. It is clear that the problem is related to a cultural background; they often belong to minorities, vulnerable groups that traditionally marry illegally at extremely young ages and as a result have children," Rafila told a Senate debate on Monday after the release of a Save the Children Organisation report on teenage pregnancy in Romania.
Rafila said that, regarding access to medical and social services, it is possible to step in under a partnership with the local administration where there are many communities where the percentage of teenage mothers is high.
"At the Ministry of Health, the health of the mother and the child is a priority. We have re-established, after a very long time, a department to deal with the health of the mother and the child. The information related to contraception is important. I think we can work together moving forward and we need to integrate policies in this area to prevent teenage pregnancy through education, health education and facilitating access to medical services," added Rafila.
