Teenage pregnancies in Kenya; all is not lost.

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In the last couple of months,  Machakos county recorded close to 4000 teenage pregnancies.

Going by the MoH statement on Monday, the numbers we see could be as a result of double counts.

I still don't understand why teenage pregnancy had to be rampant at this particular time of a pandemic. The children are on holiday, so are  adults as results  the stay at home order. 

So  you find adults who have been in intimate relationships have now been cut-out from their  partners due to the situation. When the appetite grows as COVID-19 regulations stay longer, the next victim of sexual fulfilment becomes that young girl/guy next door whose parents are not so keen.

It's that cousin who came over to your place after schools closed. It's that nephew or niece who was entrusted to you by their parents or any other case that may arise as demanded by various situations and such, the feeling is mutual between the two sexes, so we can't blame either sex solely. 

However it's unfortunate most of these cases are in situations of rape or when and adult takes express advantage over a minor, what we call defilement. Some are reported some aren't.  That's why the numbers have been recorded as they are. It's imminent that mass dropouts would be experienced post-corona. 

It calls for another level of preparation. However, it's a situation we could still salvage. All is not lost. How do we prevent the next case of teenage pregnancy? 

Parent; develop a third eye on your kids. Especially the girl.  She's always at risk. In so doing, be a guide and a counselor. That's the ultimate foundation of our journey to recovery from this monster of teenage pregnancy.

The media, relevant government institutions, civil society, youth and citizens at large have a role to play. Let's face this. It's only that way we can beat it. VV.

Comments

  1. Patrick24 June 2020 at 08:35

    Very true. A majority of parents aren't taking a keen interest in the lives if their children.
    Also don't forget that peer pressure from social media is also on the rise. With the lots of free time that these children are having, be sure that they gonna experiment more especially during their age where they adventure forbidden fruits most

    ReplyDelete

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