The United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) is on the Island to study Bermuda's successful teen pregnancy programmes.

The visitors hope to glean some useful information from the programmes to help their countries' teen pregnancy problems.

Health Minister Nelson Bascome said yesterday: "These programmes don't get a lot of attention here in Bermuda, but they have been very successful.

"Teen pregnancy is a problem here, as it is in many countries. However we have a well developed programme, in place since the 1960s and 1970s, that provides young mothers with education and support.

"Through this effort, we have been able to break the cycle of early pregnancy, interrupted education and poverty, which is often the experience elsewhere. As with many successful programmes in Bermuda, ours involves partnership between Government and the private sector.'' The UNPF have visited the Health Clinic, the Child Development Programme, the Happy Valley Child Care Centre and Teen Services.

Mr. Bascome said: "Our success in this area has obviously been noted by the UNPF, which has asked this group to see whether our programme, or parts of it, can be adapted to work elsewhere.

"It is our expectation that Bermuda's intervention strategies are going to be presented at a conference of the Caribbean Movement of the Parliamentarians for Population and Development to be held later this year, in November.'' The delegates include St. Vincent and the Grenadines MP Monty Roberts, Jamaican MP Aelitha Cecilia Barker, Guyana MP Eddi Rodney, Bahamas MP Juanianne Dorset, UNPF Caribbean representative Oye Ajayi, UNPF population and reproductive health advisor Hetty Sarjeant, UNPF regional advocacy advisor Mario Acha and UNPF communications planning and advocacy specialist Gillian Fay Scott.

Last year, Teen Services saw about 85 percent, or 45, of the pregnant teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17, 21 of whom terminated their pregnancies.

In 1998 there were 51 teen pregnancies reported to Teen Services and in 1997 there were 50.