One Million Teenage Pregnancies Predicted as a Result of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Save the Children, in its report titled *Global Girlhood Report 2020*, predicts 1.04 million teenage pregnancies in the past year. This is attributed to the rise in child marriage during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The regions with the highest projected number of teenage pregnancies are East and Southern Africa, with an estimated 282,000 cases. West and Central Africa is projected to have 260,000 teenage pregnancies.

An estimated 181,000 teenage pregnancies occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2020. This is followed by South Asia with 138,000 cases.

An estimated 118,000 teenage pregnancies are projected in East Asia and the Pacific. In Central Asia and Europe, the number is estimated at 53,000. Meanwhile, the estimated number of teenage pregnancies in the Middle East and North Africa is 7,000.

It should be noted that Save the Children's estimate only considers the impact of household income on the increase in teenage pregnancies during the corona pandemic. This estimate does not account for other risks such as school closures. Therefore, the actual number could be higher.