The government of Finland is set to roll out an awareness program aimed at stemming rampant cases of teenage pregnancies in Kilifi county.
This emerged on Wednesday, April 3, when Finland Ambassador Erik Lundberg paid a courtesy call on Governor Amason Kingi.
According to Lundberg, Kilifi is among three counties earmarked to benefit from the special arrangement.
"We want assist the most three affected. Our aim is to reduce and later end cases of teenage pregnancies and also Gender Base Violence (GBV). We hope our efforts shall bear fruits as we usher in the programme," said the envoy.
Other counties set to benefit from the program are Bungoma and Samburu.
The three devolved units have been on the spot for very high numbers of school going girls being impregnated and others being married off at a tender age.
Boda boda riders have been singled out as notorious for impregnating school girls.
Teachers and male relatives have also been fingered for the same vice.
In 2018, Kilifi hit the headlines when it emerged that over 10,000 learners were pregnant by the time students were sitting for KCPE and KCSE exams.
The cases are feared to be rising, with current projections indicating the numbers have hit 17,000 while others remain unreported.
"Samburu and Bungoma counties are also listed in the pilot programme which will be fully funded by the Finland government. It will be anchored on four pillars among them creating awareness, training and coordination," the envoy added.
On his part, Kingi observed that the menace had dealt a blow on the county's education system.
He lamented that many female learners were compelled to discontinue their studies to take care of their pregnancies.
The county boss exuded optimism that a special task force he had constituted to fight the vice would help reinstate sanity.
"We shall also be putting up fully equipped sexual gender based violence (SGBV) facilities in the entire county in order to assist victims who have been missing timely health assistance,"said Kingi.
Source: https://www.tuko.co.ke/latest/
