National Campaign to End Teenage Pregnancies

Teenage pregnancy prevalence in Kenya continues to be a major concern in the wake of a new sexual Reproductive Health study that has revealed that one in five teen girls in Kenya is pregnant.

According to the study, Sexual Reproductive Health Development Impact Bond, which sampled sexually active adolescent girls aged between 15 and 19 across 16 counties, sexual activity among adolescents was highly dependent on the partnership’s status: those with a partner recorded the highest activity.

Contraceptive use among this demographic remained low at 28.9 per cent, however, according to the study, there was a 6.9 per cent increase in contraceptive use among girls with partners.

Male condoms are the most frequently used form of contraceptive followed by implants. The study also noted that friends were the top source of information on contraceptives for adolescent girls.

Majority of the girls who use contraceptives cited that health centres served as their main source while pharmacies ranked second.

Acting Director General for Health, Dr Patrick Amoth, called for the adoption of policies and strategies on reproductive health to help curb teenage pregnancies and enable the country to reap the demographic dividend.

“Adolescents form a quarter of our total population which is a bigger set, if well utilized and nurtured, we’ll catapult the country to the next level of development that is harnessing the demographic dividend,” he said.

Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Development Impact Bond in Kenya

In May this year, UNFPA and other stakeholders unveiled the world’s first Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health Development Impact Bond in Kenya (DIB), an innovative financing vehicle aimed at transforming adolescent health outcomes in Kenya by tackling the challenges of teen pregnancy and HIV infections among adolescent girls.

New HIV Infections

Adolescents and young people especially young women in Kenya, continue to bear the brunt of the HIV epidemic due to limited access to information, services, stigma and discrimination.

42% of new adult HIV infections occur among young people between the ages of 15 – 24, according to recent data. Nairobi, Homa Bay, Uasin Gishu and Meru counties registered the highest numbers.

Early this month, Health Permanent Secretary Susan Mochache announced that 98 girls aged between 10 and 19 years are infected with HIV every week due to SGBV. She was speaking in Mombasa during the National Dialogue with Regional and County Commissioners against HIV, teen pregnancies and GBV in Kenya.

Mochache said in 2021, the ministry received 12,520 cases of SGBV and was able to provide HIV prevention services to 4,664 young survivors but unfortunately, 53 of the survivors had contracted HIV.

World Population Day: Teen HIV Infections Alarming