Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, has called for a new model of partnership to tackle adolescent pregnancy.
The Deputy Minister described the issue as one of South Africa's most significant development challenges.
Speaking at the close of a private sector consultation on adolescent pregnancy in Johannesburg, Letsike said participants from government, the private sector, development partners, civil society and young people agreed that adolescent pregnancy requires a collaborative approach.
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"What emerged [from discussions] was a shared understanding that the complexity of adolescent pregnancy demands a different model of leadership," she said, adding that young people must be recognised as co-creators of solutions rather than simply beneficiaries of policy.
Letsike said one of the consultation's key outcomes was a shift from consultation to co-creation.
She noted that South Africa already has programmes, institutions and communities with proven experience in addressing the drivers of adolescent pregnancy, but that these efforts often operate in isolation.
"Our challenge is not that we lack solutions. Our challenge is that too many of those solutions exist alongside one another rather than with one another," she said.
The Deputy Minister stressed the need to identify interventions that have already demonstrated impact and scale them nationally.
She highlighted evidence showing that keeping girls in school delays pregnancy, improves educational outcomes, increases future earnings and strengthens communities.
Discussions also explored the use of technology to improve access to sexual and reproductive health information and services, including self-service kiosks and smart vending solutions.
Participants further considered structured programmes during school holidays that combine sport, culture, entrepreneurship, mentorship and health promotion.
Letsike emphasised that parents, guardians and families must form part of any strategy aimed at supporting adolescents, describing households as critical spaces where values and aspirations are shaped.
She also supported a "layered approach" to prevention, arguing that services related to sexual and reproductive health should connect young people to broader opportunities such as career guidance, entrepreneurship support, bursary information, psychosocial services and employment pathways.
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Letsike said adolescent pregnancy has direct implications for productivity, human capital development and economic growth.
For that reason, she said, the private sector was invited not only as a source of funding but as a partner bringing expertise in innovation, technology, logistics, operational management and scaling successful models.
The consultation concluded with what Letsike described as concrete commitments to explore sustainable financing models, develop implementation frameworks and strengthen collaboration with TVET colleges, municipalities and communities.
She said these commitments represented the beginning of a broader social compact focused on improving outcomes for South Africa's girls. "We will measure success not by the number of projects we own, but by the number of young lives we change," she said.
