As a teenager sex education was an alien topic. No one talked about it and reproductive health was only in the curriculum to aid in exam excellence purposes. All we knew was that sex before marriage was an abomination. However, teenage pregnancy has been so rampant in Kenya. Statistics from the United Nations populations fund (UNFPA) gave an indication that between the month of June 2016 and July 2017, 378,397 adolescents in the country got pregnant. The teenage girls in Kenya were aged ten to nineteen. Numerous studies conducted indicate that most teenagers are already sexually active. These girls have no intention of getting pregnant despite engaging in sexual activities.
This poses huge costs to the health sector and it is also a sign of the death of potential in changing the poverty situation in the country. A majority of teenage girls in the country fail to sit for their national examinations as a result of pregnancy. This topic has been swept under the rags and continues to affect us directly and indirectly.
Nandi County has the highest number of teenage pregnancies with forty percent of its teenage girls becoming pregnant. It is succeeded by HomaBay which has thirty-three percent of teenage pregnancies and West Pokot at twenty-nine percent. Given that most of them come from poor families, their dreams of changing these situations remain futile as they cannot continue with their education.
Most people believe that girls from poor families engage in “transactional” sex so as to meet basic needs. Others put the blame on the absenteeism of the parents hence lack of guidance from the family level. Due to the rise in the use of technology and the internet most are also exposed to a lot of information which leads to curiosity and hence teenage pregnancies. Some teenagers are taken advantage of. We have seen a number of cases where a teacher takes advantage of his students. In addition to that, most teenage girls are “mature enough” and consent to sex.
Figure 2 pregnant school girl. citizentv.co.ke
