Uganda: Regional Experts Call for Rethinking Age of Consent As Uganda Struggles With Teenage Pregnancies

What the report says

Regional sexual and reproductive health experts are urging Uganda to take a fresh look at age-of-consent rules and how they affect adolescents’ access to care, amid the country’s persistent teenage pregnancy problem. The discussion took place during the fourth webinar in Reach A Hand Africa’s LINK. LEARN. ACT. series, held on August 25 with the involvement of Uganda’s health, gender, and education ministries, according to AllAfrica’s report.

Participants from Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and Rwanda compared approaches to adolescent health policy and argued that legal age thresholds should not be treated as the same issue as consent to sex or marriage. They said barriers at health facilities, fear of being judged, and limited information can keep young people from getting contraception, HIV services and other support early enough to prevent unintended pregnancies.

The article cites Uganda Demographic and Health Survey data showing that 23.5% of girls aged 15-19 had begun childbearing in 2022, a level that has changed little for more than 15 years. Speakers used regional examples to suggest that reform alone is not enough: Rwanda’s reduced age for independent reproductive health consent, Kenya’s school re-entry measures for adolescent mothers, and Zambia’s broader focus on poverty, child marriage and service gaps were all presented as lessons for Uganda.

The webinar ended with calls for clearer guidance for health workers, more youth-friendly services, better access to contraceptive information and supplies, stronger sexuality education, and school re-entry support for young mothers. The broader point, participants said, is that Uganda’s teenage pregnancy challenge will require both policy changes and practical support across health, education and social systems.