By Malachi Motano
The rate of teenage pregnancies in West Pokot is alarming with the County recording more than ten thousand cases since Covid-19 pandemic started.
According to the Kenya District Health Information System[KDIS] by Declares Kenya, at least 800 pregnancy cases have been reported among teenage girls of between the age bracket of 10-19 every month who visits health centers for antenatal care services due to effects of Covid 19,since March,2020
Almost eight pregnant young girls in the County delivered in hospitals while sitting for their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education [KCPE] in 2020 and out of 10 teenage girls to three have either had their first child or are pregnant with their first born.
West Pokot is among the top three in the country in teenage pregnancies at 29 % with low uptake of child spacing methods of 8.6 % as traditional beliefs still hamper the efforts of women who have the desire of practicing family planning.
While efforts by different stakeholders in education and child protection to find solutions, many school girls are victims of early and unwanted pregnancies.The County has the fertility rate of 7.2 % with an average poverty level of 67 % compared to the national level of 45% based on the 2014 Kenya Demographic Health Survey [KDHS] report.
Jefferson Mudaki, Declares Kenya Director said that Covid-19 is now a big contributor because learners stayed at home for seven months. He noted that thousands of girls and women in the County are still being robbed of their life chances by being denied use of contraceptives as the community still holds on a cultural belief that women were meant to give birth to more children in the community for them to be respected and the dowry paid could not go to waste.
Mr Mudaki pointed out that the County is grappling with low uptake of contraceptives because of cultural and traditional beliefs which hamper the efforts of women who have the desire of practicing family planning.
“Every woman in West Pokot has an average of 7-8 children; Poverty index is very high with little resources. The County gets 6.5 billion shillings per year with a population of 800,000 people by 2020 meaning allowance per capita is 8,350 shillings where 70% residents are living one dollar per day,”said Mudaki.
He was speaking to the press in Kapenguria, where he expressed concern about the high unintended pregnancies which have led to population explosion in the region.
“Teenage pregnancy has become one of the big menace in the County, this is a pastoral community where issues of sexuality are not discussed openly, it is a taboo,”he said.
The Director cautioned area leaders and duty bearers over giving out misleading statements urging residents to sire more children for votes.
“Adolescents don’t make their own informed choice as leaders and elder’s decide for them. We have been championing issues on reproductive health, giving information for them to understand sexuality and family planning. We engage adolescents in talk a show, online dialogue platforms for charts and advocacy through the media,” said Mudaki.
He says teenage girls have been trapped in the teenage pregnancy bracket as their hope of completing their education, starting a career or becoming financially independent is deemed.
“When women and girls have access to contraception, everybody wins: fewer girls drop out of school, fewer mothers die giving birth and more young women enter the workforce. Multiply that by millions, and it becomes clear why contraception is one of the smartest investments countries can make,” Mudaki noted
The Director also added that ensuring young people have the information they need about sex is a real challenge, particularly in societies where unmarried teenagers are excluded from receiving information and sexual health services and still men remain decision makers in family planning issues.
