Meet Ms. Patrice Miller, principal of the Andrea Archer Institute (locally known as PACE Bahamas). Fueled by her passion, Ms Miller and her team created a safe space for adolescent mothers where they learn, thrive, and are empowered to become productive citizens of The Bahamas and the world.
Founded in 1969, Mrs. Andrea Archer established the PACE School to assist new and existing teen moms who had difficulties completing school. Since its opening, the school has been effective in providing support services to young mothers pre- and post-pregnancy. These services include academic support, psychological and emotional support, skills development, parenting skills, and supplies for mothers and their babies.
The Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) recognize that adolescent pregnancy is a public health issue throughout Caribbean and Latin American countries. According to the WHO, since 2019, adolescents aged 15–19 years in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) had an estimated 21 million pregnancies each year. Approximately 50% were unintended pregnancies. Adolescent pregnancy can result in serious health, social, and economic consequences.
Every October, PAHO/WHO and its partners highlight Caribbean Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Week to bring awareness to the individual and collective impact of adolescent pregnancies, to develop and test programme support tools, to build capacity, and to pilot initiatives to address adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health.
For this year’s observance, the PAHO/WHO Country Office for The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands partnered with the Andrea Archer Institute. The purpose of the session was to contribute to the empowering of young adolescent mothers and to prevent a second pregnancy during adolescents.
During the observance, students expressed themselves through a ‘paint and share’ segment about their journey to motherhood. Students discussed the challenges of adolescent mothers from their life experiences. Sessions were supported by the school’s Counsellor, the Nurse-in-Charge at the Adolescent Health Unit of the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the PAHO/WHO team. Nurse Youllander Bullard, Adolescent Health Unit Head, also discussed prevented measures to avoid future adolescent pregnancies. At the conclusion of the event, PAHO/WHO donated care packages for the young mothers and their babies.
Sub regionally, Caribbean countries collaborated to host two youth-facilitated webinars - one geared towards policymakers and the other focused on parents as partners. Ms. Miller was featured as a panelist where she advocated for the support, rights and health of young mothers.
Reducing adolescent pregnancy is a community effort. This can be achieved through educating and supporting adolescents about their reproductive health, and by protecting girls from sexual violence in their homes and communities.
