Closure of schools and loss of jobs due to Covid-19 has played a major role in the rise in teen pregnancies, the National Council for Population and Development has said.
NCPD says that the numbers could rise higher as students continue to stay at home.
Deputy director in charge of advocacy at NCPD Lucy Kimondo said teenage pregnancies have been a challenge in the country for years.
She noted that with the closure of schools, teenagers are getting involved in parties and cases of group sex are also on the rise.
“The problem is that this could lead to the spread of other diseases such as HIV-Aids, while the pregnant minors are not even sure who the father is,” Kimondo said.
Speaking during a journalists' workshop over the impact of Covid-19 to teenagers on Monday, Kimondo also noted that sexual violence, lack of formal knowledge and early marriages had contributed to the pregnancies. The workshop was organised by Unesco.
“Many of the students were getting free meals and sanitary pads in schools but with the closure, they have to go seek them elsewhere making them vulnerable to abuse,” she said.
She added that journalists had a crucial role to pay in disseminating information and making sure that the content on TVs did not expose them to illegal activities.
“We are urging the ODPP and the Judiciary to hasten sexual abuse cases in courts, and we are also challenging the parents to have more interests in what their children are doing,” she said.
Unesco's Dr Patricia Machawira said students in East, Central and Southern Africa have been adversely affected by closure of schools, with more pregnancies reported.
Machawira, who is based in Harare, Zimbabwe, noted that teenage pregnancies in the region have always been high during school holidays.
“In Kenya, students will be out of schools for over nine months and this exposes them to all manner of harm, including drug abuse and early pregnancies,” she said.
Unesco's Education chief officer Saidu Jallow said they were working with different organisations and the government to curb the problem.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has brought a lot of challenges to the family circles due to job losses, mental health coupled with teenage pregnancies and hence the need to address this,” he said.
Edited by EKibii
