Workshop Launched in Dangriga to Tackle Teenage Pregnancy in Belize

The Child Development Foundation (CDF) brought together key stakeholders today for the launch of a two-day multi-sectoral workshop in Dangriga Town. The workshop was aimed at driving social and behavioral change to reduce teenage pregnancy in Belize. The event, spearheaded by the Cayo-based NGO, focused on dialogue and collaborative strategies to address the root causes of teenage pregnancy and strengthen community-based solutions. The initiative is part of the foundation’s mission to protect the rights of women and children, while tackling deeply social issues that affect vulnerable populations. Diana Shaw, CDF’s representative, told Love News that education, empowerment, and community support are needed to create long-term change.

Diana Shaw, Representative, Child Development Foundation: “We have today with us participants from schools, we have teachers, principals, we have participants from the government sector, social workers,  we have those from churches, youth groups and other NGOs who are working with women power, working with women and children, and we are sharing some experiences that we are encountering in communities around teen pregnancy, finding out from the stakeholders what they are doing in their settings, and then also sharing with them some tools from the social and behavior change campaign that was developed in 2023 under the Spotlight Initiative with the support of UNFPA to help them to work in their community settings to engage young people around discussions around teenage pregnancies so that we can facilitate better decision making in our young people and also address the underlying causes such as violence against women and girls, child abuse issues, issues around dating violence, issues around child marriage and early union that also contribute to incidents of teenage pregnancy in our community. At the end of the session, when we have provided them with these tools we want them to go back to their communities and to start having the conversation with parents. We are finding that a lot of parents are struggling raising adolescents and dealing with the challenges that come with teenagers. This will equip them to learn how to address some of the adolescent development needs that the young people have. How to engage them in discussions to find out what they’re going through and how to support them so that they don’t end up making decisions that may actually damage their future or delay some of them achieving their hopes and their dreams, and also so that they don’t become pregnant during their teenage years.”

Shaw added that the CDF believes that a lasting impact can only be achieved through the collective effort of all sectors in society.

Diana Shaw, Representative, Child Development Foundation: “I want to encourage  all parents,  all young people and all organizations working with young people to get informed about this topic. For us to effectively address teenage pregnancy in Belize we need a whole community approach. We need everybody becoming informed about what’s happening, what teenagers are going through, how to support them to address the challenges that they face and how we can help those who may become pregnant to be reintegrated so that they’re still able to have a fulfilling life and still be able to be productive members of our community.”

Reporter: So this is a two-day event today?

Diana Shaw, Representative, Child Development Foundation: “This is a two-day workshop. Today we’re talking about some of the dynamics around teenage pregnancy at the community level. Tomorrow we’ll talk about some strategies as to how we can help to bring change in our communities.”

Reporter: So you’re working with any other collaboration, any networking? 
Diana Shaw, Representative, Child Development Foundation:“Well, we are, as I said, this is a multi-sectoral, so we are working with the Department of Human Services. We have invited stakeholders from NGOs that are working in the communities here. We have participations from schools across all the communities, from Pomona, Bella Vista. We have representatives from schools here in Dangriga. We have decision makers who are working on developing materials for young people who also present in the workshop.”

The event was funded with support from the United Nations Population Fund.