A pregnant school girl. [Photo/ faithtoactionetwork.org]
Kilifi County has the highest teenage pregnancy and child abuse cases, County Director for Children George Migosi has revealed. High poverty levels are among the factors said to have greatly contributed towards the increased cases of teenage pregnancies in Kilifi and the entire Coast region. The county recorded 77 teenage pregnancies, 44 child marriages, 14 sodomy and 153 cases of defilement, the Standard has reported.The teenage pregnancies in the county accounted for 60 percent of the sexual offenses cases committed last year. The county official also revealed that cases of children impregnating their fellow children have become common.“There are a lot of child pregnancies as a result of child marriages. Child to child cases are more serious than where an adult has defiled the minor. It is a common trend in Kilifi and children between 14 and 15 years are impregnating each other,” says Migosi, as quoted by the local daily.Cases of parents enrolling their children in school late have also contributed to the problem as national and county governments put in place different measures to curb the incidences in the region.The head of Viragoni Primary School in Mwanamwinga ward said men have been luring the girls with basic needs such as sanitary towels to sleep with them. Nine girls dropped out of the school due to early pregnancies. The number of teenagers engaging in early and unprotected sex has also gone up.