Most teens in Nyeri having sex before they turn 15, says county report
Teenagers at home. Statistics from the Nyeri County Reproductive and Family Planning Strategy 2015-2025 shows that teenagers are having sex before their 15th birthday thus exposing themselves to various health risks. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The report released by Nyeri Health Executive Charles Githinji calls for sex education to be offered to teenagers.
- The 10-year strategy is expected to address reproductive health for populations with special needs.
- The strategy provides a framework for equitable, efficient and effective delivery of high quality reproductive health services.
- Failure to fully implement policies in the health sector by county governments is limiting accessibility to family planning and reproductive health services.
Most teenagers in Nyeri are having sex before their 15th birthday, a new report has shown.
According to statistics from the Nyeri County Reproductive and Family Planning Strategy 2015-2025 teenagers are at a risk of unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) especially Aids.
Their fertility rates remain high, the report further says.
“This is therefore an age-group that needs special attention for reproductive health,” the report suggests.
The report released by Nyeri Health Executive Charles Githinji calls for sex education to be offered to teenagers.
Adolescents who have access to reproductive health information and services are less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviours, resulting in less unwanted pregnancies and curbing the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
SEX HEALTH EDUCATION
“Educating adolescents on sexual health gives them options in deciding the number of children they want and when to have them,” it states.
The 10-year strategy is expected to address reproductive health for populations with special needs, the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and emerging care during childbirth.
Others include adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health issues, gender based violence in sexual and reproductive health, reproductive health/HIV integration, and infertility.
The county government will spend Sh60 million in the current financial year to support the strategy, with each ward expected to receive Sh2 million.
Nyeri County has 30 wards.
Dr Githinji said the strategy provides a framework for equitable, efficient and effective delivery of high quality reproductive health services throughout the county.
HEALTH POLICIES
At the same time, it has emerged that failure to fully implement policies in the health sector by county governments is limiting accessibility to family planning and reproductive health services.
African Women Leaders Network (AWLN), a caucus of 35 women leaders from 15 African countries, is challenging county governments to put in place strategies that break down county plans into workable projects.
AWLN Donor Liaison and Specialist team leader Joan Koomson in an interview with the Nation in Nyeri Town said they are working to ensure that both the national and county governments reduce the barriers.
“We are lobbying to ensure that districts, counties and the national governments reduce policy barriers and put in place mechanisms to ensure favourable policy framework environment,” said Ms Koomson.
Ms Koomson said the strategy plan can be used as a monitoring tool for guiding reproductive and family planning policy within the county government and for resource mobilisation.
“In this case, this is a ten-year policy and each year the county government should decide what the priorities are within the framework of this policy and then allocate cost to that, approach other partners and stakeholders in the health provision service for additional funding,” she said.
