It has emerged that the majority of young people and youths in Neno district are failing to access Youth Friendly Health Services due to Covid-19 restrictions and some cultural beliefs discouraging use of contraceptives among this age group.

Neno district Youth Friendly Health Services Coordinator, Antony Sandiyang'ane, said Tuesday there is a growing need for civic education in the area to stop the vice.

The antenatal register at Neno district hospital alone, shows that there have been over a thousand teen pregnancies since Covid-19 struck the district six months ago.

“These young people need urgent help. Their very lives are at stake,” Sandiyang'ane says.