Numbers Don’t Lie: Campaigns Lead to Less Teen Pregnancies

Thailand has reduced the number of teenage mothers aged 15-19 by half over the past decade.

“We have set a new goal of less than 15 teen childbirths per 1,000 female population aged 15-19 by the year 2027 and are also promoting quality births and upbringing of children by young mothers to ensure they contribute a quality population to society,” says Thailand’s public minister of health Somsak Thepsuthin.

An extensive campaign to lower the number of teenage mothers was brought to the forefront of Thailand’s public health agenda when 53.4 cases per 1,000 females were recorded back in 2012. The campaign simultaneously targets sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers, notably syphilis, which has risen to 91.2 cases per 100,000 people as of 2023. Sex education and condom advocacy are also part of the ministry’s project. Attention will now turn essentially to disease prevention as numbers reveal a positive trend in the prevention of teenage pregnancies since the campaign’s beginning over a decade ago.