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Kajiado County MCA has put the county government on the spot over a rising wave of teenage pregnancies that continues to push adolescent girls out of school.
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Mildred Milanoi Risancho told the House that teenage pregnancy prevalence among adolescent girls in Kajiado stands at 21.8 percent, citing a report by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC).
Kajiado County lawmaker has put the county government on the spot over a rising wave of teenage pregnancies that continues to push adolescent girls out of school.
Mildred Milanoi Risancho, a Special Elect Member of the County Assembly (MCA), told the House that teenage pregnancy prevalence among adolescent girls in Kajiado stands at 21.8 percent, citing a report by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC).
The figure, drawn from the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), places Kajiado among the 20 counties KHRC has flagged for the highest teenage pregnancy burden nationally.
Risancho sought a statement from the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Education, Vocational Training, Youth and Sports, routed through the chairperson of the relevant select committee.
She asked whether the department holds up to date statistics on teenage pregnancies and school dropouts in the county, and what measures have been put in place to raise awareness, prevent pregnancies and keep girls in school.
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The lawmaker also wants to know what challenges the department faces in tackling the problem, and whether it is working with stakeholders and partners championing children’s rights, including the nature of such partnerships.
Kajiado’s teenage pregnancy burden has featured prominently in national data in recent months. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2026 ranked the county first nationally for pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 14, with 936 cases recorded, ahead of Garissa, Homa Bay, Narok and Turkana.
The same survey placed Kajiado among the top ten counties for pregnancies in the wider 10 to 19 age bracket, with 8,296 cases.
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Health data has also linked the crisis to poverty, sexual and gender based violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) and long distances between homes and schools, particularly in Kajiado West, Central and South subcounties, which lead the county in reported cases.
Kajiado leaders, including county officials and the Anti-FGM Board, have in recent weeks stepped up community sensitization drives, distributed sanitary towels in schools and pursued defilement cases against men impregnating minors, as part of efforts to curb the problem and support affected girls back into school.
By Benedict Aoya
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