• Report shows 30 girls out of 100 girls in the county get pregnant before finishing school.
• Stakeholders brought on board to reduce teen pregnancy, FGM and child marriage numbers.
Youths in West Pokot county have come up with strategies— especially sexual health education — to limit the rise in teenage pregnancies.
“Many young people have little information on sexual health and this has exposed many to risks. We should not sugar coat sexual health, we need to tell our children the truth,” Declares project officer Clement Lokoma said on Sunday
The county has been ranked second among counties with high teenage pregnancy, after Kilifi county.
The youths in the Declares Forum have begun involving stakeholders to help reduce the percentage of 29 per cent to less than 20 per cent by 2021.
Speaking on Sunday during a sensitisation meeting in Kapenguria, Lokoma said they were amazed by high numbers of girls sitting exams in hospital after giving birth.
Lokoma said last year, more than 97 girls from the county did not sit their KCPE exam as they were pregnant and some were married.
“The girls missed the exams out of fear of being ridiculed by their fellow pupils,” he said.
He also attributed the high numbers to lack of information on sexual health among teenagers.
According to the Ministry of Health, 30 out of 100 girls in the county get pregnant before finishing school, the official said.
“Of the 29 per cent, 22 per cent are having second babies and seven per cent are having their first.”
Declares executive director Jefferson Mdaki said the government's Kenya National Adolescent Policy contains gaps that hinder its effectiveness.
“Implementation and coordination of the policy are poor and nobody wants to take responsibility. Stakeholders are shifting the blame,” he said.
Mdaki urged MCAs to enact laws to help address the problem at home.
“We need to come up with domestic policies to help reduce the percentage. We need to come up with what suits our county best,” he said.
The youths urged the community to abandon outdated cultural practices that have also contributed to the increase, such as FGM and early marriage.
FGM is still increasing in the county and once a girl has undergone the act she is married off.
County reproductive health coordinator Wilson Ng’areng said they have brought on board all stakeholders to help ensure that the numbers decline by 2020.
Edited by R.Wamochie