Teen pregnancies, HIV and gender violence among adolescents drop

Data from the ministry of health is showing that Kenya has made significant milestones in the fight against early pregnancies, HIV Aids, and Gender-Based Violence against adolescents and teenage girls.

According to the ministry of health, cases of teenage pregnancies reduced from 427,135 to 317,644 between 2018 and 2021.

The rate of HIV infections among adolescent girls also reduced from 343 girls weekly in 2015 to 98 cases per week in 2021.

Speaking during the meeting in Mombasa on Saturday, Health Principal Secretary  Susan Mochache noted that there is a need for more concerted efforts toward eliminating the triple threats.

 “Kenya has a predominantly young population, we need to nurture their potential in order to tap the demographic dividends.” She said.

The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, and The Ministry of Planning together with development partners say it has convened to explore strategies for building on the gains made in addressing the three threats of early Pregnancy, HIV Aids and Gender-Based Violence against Adolescents.

Concerted efforts by Government and development partners have also resulted in a significant drop in the cases of Gender-based violence among adolescents.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i emphasized the need for focused efforts between government agencies and development partners to address the triple threat.

“We must approach this agenda with a preventive lens through one Government approach, the Ministry of Interior will work closely with relevant agencies to ensure that existing National Government structures are used as campaign machinery against the threats.” 

The Matiangi said that his ministry will work with the Ministry of Health to develop training manuals to be used for training of National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs) on data collection, data analysis, and reporting on the three threats.