​The number of underage mothers in Romania can only be reduced if they go to school and medical education must become a permanent discipline in schools “which must be part of the curriculum”, Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said on Monday, during a debate in parliament. dedicated to the presentation of the Save the Children report on the situation of underage mothers in Romania.

Oleksandr RafilaPhoto: AGERPRES

“Access to education and sex education are the main problems. And we should avoid limiting ourselves exclusively to this area of ​​sex education. We have a new Minister of Education and I am convinced that we can find a solution to make health education a permanent discipline, adapted for all ages, 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 cultural origin, they often belong to minorities, to vulnerable groups that traditionally marry illegally at a very young age and as a result give birth to children,” says Alexandru Rafila, quoted by Agerpres.

“Mother’s and child’s health is a priority at the Ministry of Health. After a very long time, we have restored a structure that takes care of the health of the mother and the child. Important information about contraception. I think we can work together in the near future, and we must integrate policies in this area to prevent pregnancy among minors through education, medical education and facilitating access to health services,” added the Minister of Health.

One in three underage mothers in Romania is also born to an underage mother, and 8 out of 10 mothers or pregnant women under the age of 18 are no longer in school, according to a study by Save the Children released on Monday. debate.

In addition, 45% of births registered among girls under the age of 15 in the European Union come from Romania, the country that ranks first in the EU for this indicator.

The study was conducted on a sample of 260 young women from 46 disadvantaged rural communities, within the framework of which the NGO “Save the Children” implements the project “Integrated model of providing access to medical and social services for pregnant teenage girls and teenage mothers from disadvantaged categories.” rural areas of Romania and the Republic of Moldova”.

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