Adopt a holistic approach to deal with teen pregnancies

Year in, year out, hundreds of girls are forced to drop out of school, after falling pregnant. We hear of cases of teenage girls who give birth while sitting the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

Unfortunately, teenage pregnancies are slowly becoming the norm. The magnitude of this problem is indeed alarming, with most of the victims being below 18 years.

More than 11,000 girls in primary and secondary schools got pregnant last year, latest statistics from the Ministry of Education show. The data shows that, out of the 11,950 girls who fell pregnant, 2,885 of them were in primary school while 9,065 were secondary school students.

Bungoma tops the list of counties with the highest number of teenage pregnancies with 1,080 girls, followed by Kakamega with 1,018 cases and Kisii with 1,015 cases.

The Government has come out strongly to condemn and stamp out this vice and to support the sexual reproductive health rights (SRHR) of girls in various ways. An example is a provision of free, sufficient and quality sanitary towels to every girl child enrolled in a public basic education institution who has reached puberty.

As much as this is a laudable initiative, it is still not enough. In order to decisively deal with teenage pregnancies and other challenges related to the sexual reproductive health of girls and women, there is need to address the underlying causes and adopt a multi-disciplinary approach that will steer us in the right direction towards fulfilling the rights of all women and girls.

For example, at ChildFund, we have adopted a proactive and holistic approach that not only focuses on behaviour change and sensitising girls on their sexual and reproductive health, but also addresses the fundamental issues.

These include poverty, child marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM), gender inequality and other retrogressive socio-cultural practices that belittle the girl child thus limiting their access to educational opportunities and overall empowerment.

Such issues cannot be addressed by working only with girls; we have to work with all members of the community, including the perpetrators. While addressing the issue of teen pregnancy, we must hold all involved parties responsible and accountable.

Several entities have a role to play in combating this vice. We must ask ourselves, are parents talking to their children about the dangers of risky behaviour that could expose them to sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies?

Are schools sensitising both male and female teenagers about sexual reproductive health? Are the police arresting the perpetrators? Are the perpetrators being prosecuted? Are schools making the reentrance of girls into school as easy as possible? Is the community involved in protecting its children?

Notably, most teenage girls lack the knowledge required to make decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health, making them vulnerable to unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and even rape.

Towards this end, we are working with various partners to provide teen-friendly sexual and reproductive health services including information and counseling to this vulnerable group.

We are also investing in girl’s education at all levels, from childhood, adolescence to youth through the payment of school and college fees, giving day high school student bicycles so that they can get to school safe and faster, among other initiatives.

In addition, there is need to streamline primary and technical and vocational training policies so that school drop-outs can have a seamless transition. The Government should consider having integrated vocational training centres where out-of-school youth can be trained on various skills and income-generating activities. School dropouts should also be encouraged to rejoin school; the process should be made as easy as possible.

In November this year, Kenya will host the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) themed ‘Accelerate the Promise’. The ICPD was a 1994 meeting in Cairo where 179 governments adopted a revolutionary programme of action and called for women’s reproductive health and rights to take centre-stage in national and global development efforts. 

In line with the theme and in light of what is happening in the country, we call upon the Government and other stakeholders to prioritise sexual reproductive health rights for women and girls.

It is not enough to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators. It is not enough to distribute sanitary towels to schools. As much as these and many more, are significant gains, much more needs to be done.

Securing sexual reproductive health, individual rights and women’s empowerment is the obligation of every community and government. Let us embrace a more holistic approach to ensuring the achievement of the sexual and reproductive health rights of girls and women — two population groups that are critical to sustainable development.

In order to drive development, we all must commit, fully and actively, to ensuring that access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and girls, regardless of their economic status or where they live becomes a basic human right.

Mr Chege is the Country Director, ChildFund Kenya.