Blackboy Media posted: " Kenya's Ministry of Health reported 45,724 pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 19 in January and February 2022 averaging to about 775 a day, and according to experts, there are a couple of reasons that have been reported to lead to pregnancy among adoles" Blackboy Media
Kenya's Ministry of Health reported 45,724 pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 19 in January and February 2022 averaging to about 775 a day, and according to experts, there are a couple of reasons that have been reported to lead to pregnancy among adolescents some being consensual whereas some are driven by poverty and exploitation with the strongest driving force being lack of comprehensive sexual education in our Kenyan schools . Reports show that most people believe that comprehensive sexual education in our schools has lagged behind as a result of the Kenyan government creating a confusing environment for health care providers who are working to provide reproductive health care to adolescents where guidelines are absent and policies are misinterpreted, leading to harassment of providers and patients, as well as denial of services. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, studies have demonstrated that comprehensive sexuality education programs reduce the rates of adolescent pregnancy.
Having this conversation is important given that Kenya for the last couple of years has seen rise in numbers on teenage pregnancies. Can we all agree that talking to your teen about changes to expect during puberty is important?
Women and adolescent girls have been placed at a heightened risk of unwanted and unsupportable pregnancies, a situation that has caught the attention of numerous organizations across the world with an aim of finding solutions hopefully through creating awareness, and that is where the World Contraception Day comes in.
Marked annually every 26th of September, the annual worldwide campaign centres around a vision where every pregnancy is wanted and a mission to improve awareness of contraception and to enable young people make informed choices on their sexual and reproductive health and according to the World Health Organization, the significance of World Contraception Day is captured in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that states that by 2030, the aim is to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services, including family planning, information, education and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs.
The day is marked by creation of effective online and offline campaigns, organizing events to reach millions of people by discussing maternal mortality, unintended pregnancies, lack of contraceptives and family planning. These will in return help the youth understand about contraceptive measures and the prevention of reduced high-risk pregnancies, maternal and child mortality, unplanned pregnancies, and improved child health and nutrition. Studies show that contraceptive use has reduced maternal mortality by over 40%.
While contraceptive use varies across the regions and women, low- and lower-middle-income countries face more obstacles to meet their contraception needs as access to contraception is complicated and full of barriers for women experiencing forms of discrimination and future interventions should therefore improve access and utilization of contraceptives in eliminating barriers that would hinder any woman from accessing contraceptives.
Let us all spread the word and raise awareness about contraceptives, there is no better time to celebrate the importance of contraceptives if not on World Contraception Day right? But it should not end here guys. Here's to more years of celebrating the World Contraception Day. Be safe and let us spread the word together.
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