Nakuru Town East Parliamentary seat aspirant 2027 Wakili Boniface Githinji Ndumia has revealed that he has a special program that he will launch to help address teenage pregnancies.
While noting that teenage pregnancies has been a challenge in the Constituency and Nakuru County at large, Wakili is vast with matter reproductive health having handled in corridors of justice various cases in that line, says a time is ripe for the issue to be addressed.
He says, this he will do through a special program to address the root cause of teenage pregnancies in various wards among the Kivumbini, Flamingo, Nakuru East and Menengai East.
According to him, the informal settlements are the most affected in Nakuru Town East Constituency.
This, he attributes to literacy and poverty levels, issues that he says he will address moving forward.
He says, with his vast connection and network, he shall be engaging various partners both in health and education sector as well as legal experts to help come up with policies that protect the rights of children and teenagers whom he terms as key in transformation agenda.
“We have seen challenges of teenage pregnancies in Nakuru Town East Constituency and this is an area that needs to be addressed sooner than later. I will roll out a program on the same for our teenage mothers and ofcourse fathers so that we can empower them. But we shall also have engagement on how to reduce teenage pregnancies through education and radication of Poverty levels,” stated Wakili Ndumia.
Prevalence: The teenage pregnancy rate (among 15-19 year olds) stands around 17.3-18.4%, a concern that led to the county being ‘red-carded’ by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) for the high rates.
Case Numbers: More than 15,000 girls aged 10-19 became pregnant between January 2021 and November 2022, according to the county health department.
In 2021 alone, 11,469 girls attended clinics for pregnant mothers.
Most Affected Areas: High rates are particularly noted in Kuresoi South, Kuresoi North, Bahati, Subukia, and informal settlements within Nakuru city such as Kaptembwa, Bondeni, Kivumbini, and Flamingo.
Contraception Use: A significant issue is the low use of modern contraception among sexually active adolescent girls, with over 59% not using any form of birth control, increasing their risk of pregnancy and STIs.