The Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2022 indicated that 15% of Kenyan adolescents aged 15 to 19 years are pregnant, have been pregnant, or delivered in the past two years. The rate varies from county to county, with Samburu topping the charts at 50%, followed by West Pokot at 36%. Nyeri and Nyandarua have the lowest adolescent rates at 5% each. This disparity points to the gross inequities among the adolescents in Kenya, a gap that urgently needs to be addressed.
In counties such as Samburu, West Pokot, Marsabit, Narok, Homabay and Migori, the likelyhood of a 30-year old woman becoming a grandmother is over 20%! What does this tell us? There is urgent need for a concerted effort to break this vicious cycle, if the future of our adolescents is to be secured.
Further analysis of the KDHS 2022 findings indicate that the single most important variable affecting the rate of adolescent pregnancies is education! An adolescent with no education has a 37% chance of getting pregnantr as compared to one who has an education beyond secondary school. Our work is cut out for us. Education remains a key intervention in adolescent empowerment and reduction of adolescent pregnancies.
