Kagwe demand stiff penalties for those calpable of teenage pregnancies
Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mutahi Kagwe has called for stiff penalties for those found responsible for teenage pregnancies.
Kagwe further said that there was a tendency to show leniency on the perpetrators who continue to roam freely in the society while underage girls are left with the burden of being mothers at a young age.
“We cannot continue like this. It has reached a point where those involved have to be dealt with without leniency,” Kagwe said.
According to statics from the Ministry of Health, between January and May this year, health facilities recorded 109,110 antenatal care visits by adolescents.
The figures further show that in 2019 and 2021, Nyeri County recorded a 59 per cent increase in the number of teenage girls seeking ante-natal care.
Kagwe was speaking in Nyeri where he launched a community sensitisation forum aimed at addressing the “Triple Threats” facing adolescents.
Between January and May this year, Nyeri County reported 105 adolescents aged between 10 and 17.
The forum aimed to address the increasing rates of teenage pregnancies, Gender-Based Violence and HIV infections among adolescents through a campaign dubbed, “Komesha Mimba za Utotoni.”
