Overview

Around the world, many women ages 15 to 19 are currently pregnant or have already given birth. This scenario is especially true in rural areas, where girls are married young and pressured to start having children immediately. In Zimbabwe, Senegal, and Colombia, more than one in five teenagers from rural areas have begun childbearing.

 

 

Teenagers from the poorest households are more likely to become pregnant or give birth than those from the wealthiest households. In Zimbabwe, Senegal, Colombia, and Peru, more than one-quarter of teens ages 15 to 19 from the poorest 20 percent of households have begun childbearing. And in Peru, the rate of early childbearing is nearly six times greater among those from the poorest households compared to the wealthiest.

 

Many pregnant teenagers either with or without their parents knowledge opt for abortions to avoit the stigma of unwanted prengancy. Upto 3 million unsafe abortions occur worldwide every year (WHO, 2012). These contribute significantly to lasting reproductive health problems and even martenal death.

The percentage of women using modern contraception in Kenya stands at 20% among ages 15-19 years and 30% among ages 20-24 years (2005/2011).

In Kenya, adolescent fertility (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) in 2013 stands at 98.

Source: ICF International, Demographic and Health Surveys. Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS)

 

Our strategy

Lack of effective sex education programs has also been identified as a cause of unwanted pregnancies. Sex education has long been misperceived as a cause of increased sexual activity in adolscents however this is not the case. We deliver sex education with an aim at equiping young people with knowledge, skills and attitude to enable decision making that will ultimately result in healthy sexual lives. Effective sexual education delays the age of sex activity, reduces unprotected sex and other risky behavoiur associated with unwanted pregnancy and STIs.