One in every five adolescent girls in Kenya is pregnant, according to a study that ranks the country the third highest in teenage pregnancies globally.

The first ever Sexual Reproductive Health Development Impact Bond study undertaken on sexually active adolescent girls aged between 15 and 19 was conducted in 16 counties and found that sexual activity among adolescents was highly dependent on the partnership’s status: those with a partner recorded the highest activity. 

This number increased from 34 per cent among 15-year-olds to 65 per cent among 19-year-olds. About 40 per cent of 16-year-olds with partners recorded sexual activity, 46 per cent of 17-year-olds and 55 per cent of 18-year-olds according to the study.