The research, on which this report is based, was meant to investigate the root causes, experiences and policy and related responses to the problem of teenage pregnancies in Kilifi County.
Teenage pregnancies affect one in every four girls within the county making it the worst county in the country. Commissioned by the Faith to Action Network for purposes of generating evidence to enable advocacy relating to family wellbeing and health, the research adopted a qualitative design.
Data was gathered through desk review, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and case stories of the teenage mothers. Religious congregations, teachers, leaders, and government representatives were consulted during the research.
It was found that cultural factors (e.g. traditional dances, beliefs that condon the practice, and erosion of social controls) interact with ignorance on family planning and poverty coupled with political interference on netted cases to enhance persistence of the teenage pregnancy malaise. Areas such as Ganze and Magarini are especially hard hit.
In fact, she walked jovially to a waiting vehicle carrying passengers, probably to board it to her destination and wait for her next test paper the following day.
Her case is just one of the thousands of teenage girls who fall victim to early pregnancy in the society. And Kilifi is at the heart of this crisis.
The county shocked the nation after it was reported that 270 primary school girls are pregnant. Officials blamed it on high rates of poverty, illiteracy and defilement.
22% of girls aged 15-19 years in Kilifi County have begun childbearing; higher than the national level . Specifically, 3% are pregnant with their first child and 19% have ever given birth compared to 14.7% and 3.4%, respectively, at the national level.
Kilifi County’s age specific fertility rate for girls aged 15-19 (adolescent birth rate) is 123 births per 1000 girls; considerably lower than at the national level (96).
What is emerging from social debate and research, however, is that it is not always a case of girls being preyed on. Adolescents often have their first sexual encounter during disco matanga (funeral discos), otherwise known as disco vumbi or disco vugu vugu.
These are dances held at night during funeral ceremonies. They run for seven nights as mourners fundraise for a dead person to meet burial expenses.
Children who attend them usually go unaccompanied by their parents. This makes it easy for them to engage in early sex in the bush, informally referred to as ‘green lodges’.
“The dances are held around areas where it is easy for these young persons to hide and have sex, mainly unprotected. Many girls get pregnant during this time,” a research by Plan International in 2016 reported.
The county government banned disco matanga a few months ago, after it was alleged that they attract schoolgirls and lead to illicit sex. The discos have not been completely wiped out, but the authorities are recording a positive response.
Some residents, however, criticised the ban, saying the root cause of teenage pregnancies is negligence by parents. They fail to play their role to bring up children with morals, critics say.