Experts in Nakuru advocate for sex education in bid to reduce teen pregnancies

By , K24 Digital
On Fri, 18 Jun, 2021 18:24 | 2 mins read

Inaccurate information on sexual and reproductive health may be to blame for the rise in cases of teenage pregnancies, Civil Societies Organisations in Nakuru have said.

The CSO’s have renewed their resolution calling for the introduction of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in the country.

According to them, lack of sex education had led many teenagers and young adults to engage in risky sexual behaviours which in turn increase incidences of HIV/AIDS among them.

Kevin Karunga from Family Health Options Kenya noted that the myths and misconceptions about sex were prevailing among the youths due to a lack of information that could have been addressed if the same was introduced.

Karunga added that the CSE had become emotive among church leaders and other stakeholders who were blocking the implementation of the same.

"We need to allow the introduction of CSE in schools since our children need to understand more about sex, a topic which has been placed as a taboo in the country," said Karunga.

He indicated that the rising cases of abortions and teenage pregnancies especially in Nakuru can be attributed to a lack of information forcing the victims to seek the same on the internet.

He added that teenage pregnancies in Nakuru were above 18 percent saying the worrying trend has to be brought to a stop.

"We need all stakeholders to come together and ensure we are all working to enlighten our youths who are slowly losing their way due to lack of information," he added.

On her part, Linda Wanjiru from Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN) noted that there was a rise in the use of Emergency Contraceptive Pills (ECP) among young adults saying it was a growing indicator that a number of them are sexually active.

She lauded Nakuru for making steady progress in improving reproductive, maternal, child, and adolescent health outcomes saying it aims at improving healthcare within the region.

"There's a need to avail information to our adolescents to ensure we tackle the surging numbers of teenage pregnancies in the country and promote health-related human rights," said Wanjiru.

At the same time, Martin Lunalo from Reproductive Health Youth Friendly and Environmental Conservation-Kenya (RHYFE) called on the County to allocate more funds for the health docket in the 2021/22 budget.

He insisted there was a need to tackle the rise of teenage pregnancies and create more youth-friendly centers to ensure they are well informed on the same.