Title: The reproductive health situation for adolescents in Ethiopia
Course: Adolescent and Youth Reproductive Health - Ethiopia (Full)

The reproductive health situation for adolescents in Ethiopia

According to the Census conducted in 2007, Ethiopia has a population that is predominantly young (40% below the age of 15) and rural, with a high level of fertility (5.4 children per woman), early age of marriage (16 years) and a low level of contraceptive use (14%). This signifies the potential for considerable population growth for the coming years.

Young people, aged 10 to 24 years, constitute 32% of the total population, which was estimated to be around 27 million in July 2010. Ethiopia has one of the highest population growth rates in the world (2.6% per year), which has put substantial pressure on the health sector to meet the needs of the population. Projecting from the 2007 census, around 62% of the Ethiopian population were estimated to be less than 25 years of age in 2010.

Close to half the Ethiopian population (47%) lives below the poverty line, earning less than one US dollar per day. Unemployment is high, the young accounting for the majority of job-seekers.

In Ethiopia, girls have their sexual debut (first sexual experience) on average at the age of 16 years - around 5 years earlier than boys. Most girls (94%) have their sexual debut within marriage. Over a quarter of pregnant young women have unwanted pregnancies and there are therefore high abortion rates. Studies indicate that girls in late adolescence (aged 15-19 years) are twice as likely to experience obstetric fistula (explained in Study Session 5) compared with other women of reproductive age. Over half (54%) of pregnancies to girls under 15 are unwanted compared with 37% for those aged 20-24.

How would you explain the high rate of unwanted pregnancies for girls under 15?

Show answer

Limited knowledge and access to reproductive health information, early marriage, limited use of contraceptives, and girls' limited power over their sex lives all contribute to the high rate of unwanted pregnancy.