He blames the problem on the high school dropout rate and child prostitution.
Wandwasi says more than 20 percent of children living in urban centers in Mbale district are involved in commercial sex. According to Wandwasi, a recent survey by the district health department established that about 10 percent of young people in Mbale get involved in sex before the age of 15 year.
He says the survey indicates that only 8 percent of children involved in sex know how to use contraceptives correctly. Wandwasi also blames parents for neglecting their children.
John Baptist Wanaiye, the Mbale District Health Officer says teenage mothers constitute the biggest number of assisted deliveries in most health facilities in the district.
He explains that the adolescents are twice likely to die or develop health complications while giving birth because their bodies are not prepared to have children.
According to the African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect -ANPPCAN, sexual exploitation among children is responsible for the increase in teenage pregnancies.
Deogratius Yiga, the ANPPCAN executive director says each day, many girls are defiled and made pregnant. He notes that sexual exploitation of children is a vice that threatens the moral fiber that binds our communities.
With a 25 percent rate of child mothers, Uganda is among the countries with the highest teenage pregnancies in Africa.
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