This archive report was first published on 9 July 2020.
On Thursday, July 9, 2020, President Uhuru Kenyatta made a significant announcement regarding teenage pregnancies in the country.
According to a presidential directive, all pregnant schoolgirls will receive free maternal care, with chiefs across the country tasked with registering them.
Ministry of Education Chief Administrative Secretary Zachary Kinuthia revealed that the directive was issued recently, with the President expressing concern that many girls may end up failing to get maternal care due to stigma, leading to birth-related complications.
The directive also requires government administrators to reveal the identities of those responsible for the pregnancies, with Kinuthia warning perpetrators and calling for accountability from families affected.
"We are putting our act together as a government and we will seal all these loopholes...We will hit back hard and furiously. But at the same time, the society, starting at the nuclear family, must also play its role in battling this menace," Kinuthia stated.
The announcement comes as a huge boost for families grappling with the issue of teenage pregnancies, which have spiked alarmingly since the closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had earlier ordered the National Crime Research Centre to investigate increasing cases of gender-based violence and teenage pregnancies in the country.
However, Kandara Member of Parliament Alice Wahome disagreed with the President's stance, stating, "I heard the President say the chiefs would be responsible for teenage pregnancies…It’s not the chiefs, it is only the men that are culprits,"
