Over 6,000 teenage women bought pregnant in Nyandarua county within the final three years, authorities confirmed on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.
A number of the women affected are as younger as 14 years, a stakeholders’ one-day assembly was instructed yesterday.
Nyandarua Central Deputy County Commissioner, Peter Kimani, representing County Commissioner Amos Mariba, stated there’s a want for stakeholders to pool efforts to curb the issue.
The assembly was organized by Discussion board for African Girls Educationists (FAWE) Kenya Chapter to launch its actions within the county.
In keeping with FAWE Nyandarua Coordinator, Anthony Mwakwasha, the actions will embody interventions comparable to peer golf equipment in colleges to create consciousness to stem teenage pregnancies and youngster marriages.
The County Director of High quality Assurance Requirements, Samuel Ngugi, referred to as for well-thought interventions that won’t propagate stigma in opposition to the ladies who’re victims of kid pregnancies.
Breakdown of minor pregnancies
Nyandarua HIV Coordinator Stephen Mwangi stated a median of 25 women aged between 10-14 years get pregnant annually within the county.
“Within the yr 2020, 25 women in that aged class bought pregnant, the determine rose to 27 within the following yr and final yr it stood at 30 women,” Mwangi stated.
However the pattern of teenage being pregnant is worrying within the 15-19 yr age group, the place 2,281 women bought pregnant in 2020 in Nyandarua county. In 2021, the determine rose to 2,470 women and final yr the determine dropped to 2,033 women, Mwangi stated.
The Coordinator stated the pregnancies confirmed lack of use of condoms by sexually lively teams within the County thus exposing themselves to dangers of contracting HIV and different sexually transmitted infections.
The one-day stakeholders’ assembly held in a resort in Ol Kalou was instructed that of the two,033 teenage pregnancies recorded in Nyandarua final yr, Kinangop had 764, Kipipiri 287, Ndaragwa 273, Ol Kalou 429 and Ol Joroorok 280 pregnancies.
“These figures are just for these women who visited well being amenities within the County. The determine may be increased contemplating there are those that didn’t go to hospitals and so their knowledge isn’t captured,” stated Samuel Maina, who works within the County’s well being division.
“Final yr, a 13-year-old woman delivered, that may be a youngster giving delivery to a different youngster. So when midwives are giving directions on find out how to breastfeed the new child, they don’t direct it to the woman however to the delivered youngster’s grandmother,” Maina stated.
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