This archive report was first published on 25 July 2021.
July 25, 2021 - Kilifi County has made significant strides in reducing teenage pregnancies, with rates dropping by 17% in less than two years.
The County Government of Kilifi partnered with The Challenge Initiative (TCI) to scale up family planning education, which has led to a substantial decrease in early cases of pregnancies.
According to statistics, teenage pregnancy rates have reduced from 31% to 14% among adolescents aged 10-19 years in Kilifi County.
The Kilifi county government increased its family planning project financial contribution by over 127% from Sh5.1 million in 2018 to Sh15 million for the 2020/2021 financial year.
Kilifi County Executive for Health Karisa Dadu attributed the success to the increased ease of access to contraceptives in the county, which has resulted in abundant benefits for the health sector.
"In the past one and half years, statistics show a decrease in early pregnancy cases. We have been able to educate at least 770 health workers on family planning and maternal health. We have equally educated pharmacists in more than 40 pharmacies in Kilifi County," Dadu said.
County Reproductive Health Coordinator Kenneth Miriti emphasized that the TCI family planning agenda is not only to reduce teenage pregnancies but also to eradicate poverty in the region by controlling the dependency ratio.
"A family that has many children is not able to sustain all their needs. It means an increase in the number of dependants. When you look at Kilifi, the dependency ratio is so high. For instance, statistics indicate that only 1 person out of 20 in a family is stable financially," Miriti revealed.
The initiative has also seen a significant increase in men discussing family planning methods with their partners, with 84% of men now engaging in conversations compared to only 34% in the past three years.
