Teenage pregnancy: A psychosocial burden on girlchild education in Kenya

Abstract

In January 2020 world Health Organization (WHO) declared an outbreak of a new Coronavirus disease, COVID-19 to be a public health emergency of international concern and could spread around the world. March 2020 WHO declared it a pandemic. Governments and communities around the world are struggling to contain and respond to this challenge, which threatens to undo decades of progress, including towards ending child, early and forced marriage. With the continued spread of the virus in Kenya, women, girls and children face increased and multiple challenges including physical and psychological violence related to family confinement, isolation and economic vulnerability. The restriction and stay home orders across the globe, including Kenya, do not prescribe measures that should be taken for family set ups with ongoing domestic violence. A sharp surge in reported teenage pregnancies is threatening to cut short the pursuit of education for vulnerable girls, with the latest statistics revealing that a total of 3,964 girls aged 19 years and under were reported pregnant in Machakos county in Kenya over a period of four months. While the government of Kenya is committed to ensure availability of sexual and reproductive health services for and Adolescent Girls and Young Women to end violence against women and girls, deliberate measures must be put in place to ensure that economic incentives and social safety nets are gender-sensitive and empower every adolescent girl and young woman during the global pandemic.