Meru County Health officials have raised an alarm over rising cases of abortion among young women aged over 25 years.
The cases of abortion have doubled within a span of four months increasing from 1,690 in June to 3,475 in October 2021.
Speaking during reproductive and maternal health indicators review meeting, Meru medical services Deputy Director Lenah Naitore, said 3,475 abortion cases were reported in various hospitals between January and October last year.
“The increase was phenomenal compared to 2020 when about 2,718 cases abortions were reported in the entire year, representing a 20 per cent increase,” she stated.
Naitore noted that initially abortion has been linked to unwanted pregnancies among teenagers however health officials now link it to an emerging trend on decline in uptake of contraceptives.
Additionally, she pointed out that from the records it shows that abortion rates are on the rise hence requires concerted efforts to avert the vice.
“The most critical concern is that a majority of the total abortions are procured by women aged over 25 years. It is a clear indicator that young women are hesitant to use contraceptives,” she said.
She said that there is a need to increase advocacy on use of contraceptives among the youth to avert issues of unwanted pregnancies.
Naitore said the county government has responded to gaps in the health sector by allocating about Sh2 million towards family planning services.
According to Meru County Health Records Officer Robert Kinoti, out of the more than 3,400 abortion cases, 1,985 abortions were recorded in North Imenti followed by Igembe South with 430, Buuri West, 347, and Buuri East 237 cases.
In 2017, health facilities recorded 1,311 abortions, 1,847 cases in 2018 and 2,510 incidents in 2019.
