On 22 November 2018, Kilifi County Education and ICT executive Gabriel Katana said the scale of teenage pregnancy in the county was being underestimated, putting the annual number at about 40,000 cases.
Katana said many of the pregnancies were never reported, which meant they did not appear in official records. He argued that a recent report placing the figure at 13,000 teenage pregnancies a year was too low.
“We need to carry out a study on pregnancies where some babies are born and others are aborted. If we look at it critically, you will realise the correct number of teenage pregnancies here is three times the figure that has been provided,” said Katana.
He said most of the cases involved girls under 18, with some pregnancies linked to fellow students, teachers, or other people he said were exploiting them.
Katana also urged authorities to handle the issue carefully, warning against approaches that could encourage abortion. He added that poverty was not the only factor behind the problem, saying: “Parents lack knowledge on how to raise children.”
