A Mt Elgon youth group in Bungoma county is campaigning against FGM, early pregnancies and child marriage.
The 12-month programme was launched by Adventure Youth Group, the UN Fund for Population Activities and World Vision.
AYG programme coordinator Stephen Yambi told stakeholders at the SDA church in Kapsokwony on Monday that 10,131 girls aged 13 to 19 years are pregnant in Bungoma county.
Many come from Mt Elgon.
Yambi said swift intervention is needed, otherwise girls’ schools will remain empty in 2021 because pregnant girls drop out.
He said due to the Covid-19 pandemic most parents are overwhelmed with responsibility to provide for their families and do not have time to talk to their children.
Most parents had left the responsibilities of guidance and counselling to teachers, Yambi said.
He said the programme targets women, girls and boys to change mindsets and eliminate FGM.
The programme will target three notorious wards, Kapkateny, Chebyuk and Elgon.
Yambi said a survey established the main reasons for persistent teen pregnancies are lack of information about sexuality, poverty, religious and cultural beliefs.
Nearly 40 per cent of unmarried women age 15 to 24 have had premature sex and more than one in seven are sexually active, he said.
AYG chairman Solomon Kibet criticised some religious and cultural practices that prevent open dialogue at home and school about premature sex.
Kibet said this has prevented young people from accessing information and services to meet their sexual and reproductive needs.
Lack of information is responsible for FGM, sexual abuse and child marriages, he said.
Kibet said though the Sabaot community was among the first to publicly ban FGM in the late 1990s, the group’s survey indicates the practice is reemerging in Mt Elgon.
The latest case was reported last month, in November.
He said the approach will involve community engagement through dialogue with women’s groups, boda boda riders and reformed circumcisers.
It will also use mainstream and social media and radio talk shows.
Dignity kits will be distributed to both girls and boys.
Assistant county commissioner Edward Lameck said all cases of FGM and child marriage must be reported to authorities. Chiefs, assistant chiefs and Nyumba Kuma officials must report, he said.
Unacceptable kangaroo courts in villages have been held about early pregnancies and child marriages, he said.