27,000 teen pregnancies in four years in Uasin Gishu

Uasin Gishu county is trying to end the crisis of teen pregnancies— 27,000 teen pregnancies in four years.

That's probably an underestimate but it does mean about 27,000 girls dropped out of school.

Deputy Governor Daniel Chemno said teen pregnancies must be dealt with urgently because the pregnancies are undermining girl child education and their chances in life.

Chemno says the high number of pregnancies is the same as closing down more than 70 schools with 400 learners each. The problem affects both primary and secondary schools.

County leaders have been talking about the problem for a long time but so far their interventions haven't made much difference.

“We are in discussions with other stakeholders so we use all means possible, including applying existing laws to their fullest extent, so we we deal with those putting young school girls in the family way," Chemno said.

He said the county and security agencies are discussing action against those who impregnate underage girls.

“We have the law and we cannot just sit and watch the lives of young girls destroyed by people who are knowledgeable and are deliberately messing up," Chemno said at an education event in Eldoret.

The DG said the law will be fully applied to help deal with the crisis because thousands of girls have been forced to drop out of school.

Parents, he said, must actively protect the lives and futures of their daughters so they complete their education.

“If we don't act soon, we will not have girls who are engineers, doctors, lawyers and other professionals because they drop out of schools to become mothers when they themselves are still children.

The problem of teen pregnancies worsened at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when schools were shut down for a long time to stop infections. Pupils and students had a lot of free time to experiment with sex.

Women leaders in Rift Valley have warned of continued high drop outs of girls from schools due alarming rates of teen pregnancies during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nandi Deputy Governor Yulita Mitei and Uasin Gishu county executive for health Evelyn Rotich said teen pregnancies will undermine the success in girl child education in all parts of the country.

Mitei and Rotich said many girls in primary and secondary schools had also been exposed to the dangers of sexually transmitted infections.

The county chiefs have said they will team up to tackle the problem.

Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet and Trans Nzoia counties have also recorded a high number of teen pregnancies.

(Edited by V. Graham)