article · Cogent Education
Learners with disabilities in Namibian resource schools face intersecting factors that increase the risk of pregnancy. An investigation in two resource schools involving teachers and learners identified four primary themes influencing learner pregnancy: inadequate sexual and reproductive health and rights education combined with scarce teaching materials, limited access to contraceptives, sexual abuse alongside poverty-driven exploitation, and absent parental guidance. Rather than operating as isolated challenges, disability intersects directly with economic hardship, educational gaps, and lack of family support to form compounding layers of vulnerability. Consequently, single-focus solutions are insufficient to address the problem. Effectively reducing pregnancy rates in these settings requires multi-level interventions that combine educational, economic, and protective strategies. Crucial actions include developing accessible sexual and reproductive health learning resources, establishing on-site contraceptive provision, and offering guidance for caregivers regarding disability-responsive child protection measures.
Learners with disabilities frequently experience severe social, economic, and educational disadvantages. Understanding how these factors overlap to heighten the risk of unintended school-age pregnancy is vital for shaping inclusive public health initiatives, child protection policies, and educational frameworks. Ensuring vulnerable learners receive tailored reproductive health education and protective safeguards supports their overall well-being and helps them remain in formal schooling.
The findings point to opportunities in specialised educational publishing, public health delivery, and social enterprise training programmes. Educational content developers could design accessible sexual and reproductive health learning materials tailored for learners with diverse communication needs. Healthcare organisations could also develop adapted, school-based delivery models for contraceptives. However, as this is early-stage qualitative research, any viable educational or healthcare tools would require design, testing, and institutional uptake before reaching practical implementation.
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Learners with disabilities face compounded vulnerabilities that increase their risk of pregnancy while at school. Yet, research on the factors contributing to learner pregnancy in Namibian resource schools remains scarce. This qualitative study, guided by an intersectional, examined the factors contributing to learner pregnancy in two Namibian resource schools. Two Life Skills teachers and eight learners with disabilities were sampled purposively. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and learner-generated collages to accommodate diverse communication needs. Data were analysed thematically and four themes emerged: inadequate sexual and reproductive health and rights education and limited teaching resources, limited access to contraceptives, sexual abuse and poverty-driven exploitation, and lack of parental guidance. The findings reveal that disability intersects with poverty, inadequate sexual and reproductive health and rights education, poverty and absent parental support to create layered, compounding vulnerabilities rather than isolated risk factors. The study concludes that pregnancy among learners with disabilities cannot be addressed through a single-issue intervention. It recommends intersectional, multi-level interventions that simultaneously address educational, economic and protective measures. These should include accessible sexual and reproductive health and rights education materials, on-site contraceptive access and caregiver education on disability responsive child protection measures.
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DOI: 10.1080/2331186x.2026.2716563
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