A bigger number of school girls in Taita Taveta are facing threat of cutting short their pursuit for education owing to the surge in cases of teen pregnancies in the region.
Some 1,243 teens fell pregnant in Taita Taveta between January and June, data collected by Sauti ya Wanawake shows.
Macrina Mwamburi, the Sauti ya Wanawake chairperson for Mwangea branch, said the data was collected from public hospital records.
She, however, said the cases could be higher since some teens sought medical attention at private hospitals.
“This data is purely from Moi County Referral Hospital, which was collected from public hospitals. The new trend is now threatening the future of our daughters,” she said.
The girls are aged between 12 and 16 years, she said during an interview in Mwatate on Tuesday.
Macrina blamed parents for collaborating with their daughters and perpetrators to procure unsafe abortions in private clinics.
Some parents, she said, cooperate with culprits to settle the matter at home and marry off their pregnant girls.
Taita Taveta county children’s officer Juma Boga told the Star on phone that the new statistics could not be authenticated since children violation cases were reported at different offices.
“We have no consolidated data of the entire county. These cases are not reported in one office. Some are reported at police stations, chief’s office, among others,” Boga said.
He said only consolidated data would paint a clear picture of the number of teen pregnancy cases in the region.
County commissioner Rodah Onyancha last month said that many girls might fail to go back to school once classes resume due to early pregnancies.
The administrator blamed the rising cases of teenage pregnancies in the region on negligence by parents.
Onyancha accused parents of laxity and absconding their responsibility of advising their children on the dangers of engaging in early sex.
“Unfortunately, we are shying off from advising our children. Many of our girls are now pregnant, parents should be responsible enough and regularly advise their young ones,” she said.
