Brian Alili: Enlist men in the war against teen pregnancy
The burden of teenage pregnancy has seen a high number of teenage girls drop out of school to face a bleak future. For instance, the “2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey” report shows the rate of teenagers who had ever had a live birth in Kwale County was 17.2 per cent, higher than the national teenage pregnancy rate of 15 per cent.
Contributing to this scourge are socio-cultural, physical and economic factors. Most of the pregnant adolescents do not go for antenatal care services and/or follow up clinic appointments to term for fear of being stigmatised by the community and even health workers.
They could spread HIV through mother-to-child transmission and suffer obstructed labour and postpartum haemorrhage or be married off.
Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is taboo in many communities. Many challenges stand in the way of these girl’s rights—including low self-esteem, child/early marriage, poverty, lack of basic skills that can give them decent jobs, and limited practices that acknowledge and cater to their SRHR needs.
Involving young boys and men in SRHR discussions is one of the transformative actions that can help in uprooting these retrogressive norms and ensuring girls and women have the necessary support to find a successful path and achieve equal status with men and boys.
Counties need to allocate funds for institutionalisation of youth-friendly centres. Accessibility, affordability and effectivity of such institutions will allow for more victims to receive health services in proximal facilities. This would improve collection of data and inform increased funding by the national government as needed.
They should also enact legislations that ensure perpetrators are prosecuted and their victims receive support towards recovery. Lastly, targeted community and parental involvement would encourage open discussions on parental responsibility, adolescent SRHR and referral pathways. BY DAILY NATION
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