Jaipur, February, 2020. The month-long Zero Teenage Pregnancy campaign initiated by the Population Foundation of India (PFI) in Rajasthan on January 12 has been extended after the overwhelming response the campaign receiving. The campaign was flagged off by Cabinet Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Raghu Sharma on National Youth Day, and since been backed by Ministers, MLAs, Sarpanch, Senior Bureaucrats, government officials, celebrities, ground-level workers and members of the media. So far more than 70 people have shared their support for the campaign by posting their picture with the placard reading 'Zero Teen Mothers' and posting them on social media. 

The campaign, as envisioned by Population Foundation of India is a step towards bringing commitment of key stakeholders/influencers for the issue. As per the NFHS-4 data, 35 percent of girls in Rajasthan were married before the age of 18, 6 percent teenage girls either had children or were pregnant at the time of the survey. The #ZeroTeenMothers campaign, therefore, is a means of creating discourse and raising voice to eliminate teenage pregnancies in the state.

A highlight of the campaign has been the credible support received from senior medical health professionals who are actively witnessing the issue of teenage pregnancy in the state including Dr. Tarun Patni, Pediatrician and Neonatologist; Dr. Vinita Patni, Gynaecologist, and Obstetrician and Dr. Shallu Kakkar, Gynaecologist, Jaipur. "I have joined the #ZeroTeenMothers campaign not only to prevent teenage pregnancies in Rajasthan but also to highlight the need for us to have conversations with adolescents around the issue", said Dr. Amita Kashyap, Head of Department, Preventive & Social Medicine, SMS Medical College. "There is a dire need for good parenting today. We cannot expect good adolescent health without proper counseling and reaching out to the community especially teachers and parents about how to address such issues in a friendly and non-judgemental way.”, Kashyap added.

Looking at the support this campaign is receiving, Population Foundation of India plans to extend it further to amplify the campaign amongst influencers, stakeholders and community.