Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla led the Kuyenteka Shiselo Teenage Pregnancy Campaign at Ngudzeni FEA Sports Ground in the Shiselweni Region, joining community members, young people, traditional leaders and organisations including the Ministry of Health, World Vision, Baylor Foundation and REPS to tackle one of the region’s most pressing social challenges.
The campaign followed a community march and was aimed at raising awareness about the importance of keeping children in school and protecting them from circumstances that derail their futures.
The Shiselweni Region currently records a teenage pregnancy rate of 20 percent, with Ngudzeni sitting significantly higher at 30 percent, figures that informed the choice of venue for the campaign. 
Speaking at the gathering, Dladla urged young people, both boys and girls, to exercise patience and make responsible decisions about their lives.
“Ungawujaki umdzaka litulu lingakani,” she told the crowd, warning that rushing into sexual activity carries consequences that follow young people for the rest of their lives.
“Engaging in early sexual activities impacts your future, leading to school dropouts and later divorces. Some of us are what we are today because we dedicated ourselves to education. Education never disappoints, it is a direction to a better future,” the DPM said.
She also turned her attention to parents, urging them to take an active role in their children’s lives rather than leaving them to be raised by cellphones, warning about the risks of harmful exposure that comes with unmonitored technology use.
Ngudzeni constituency Member of Parliament Charles Ndlovu thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for attending and called on the nation to stand together in protecting the futures of young emaSwati.
“Let us hold hands as a nation to ensure that every liSwati’s future is secured,” Ndlovu said.
