COVID-19 EXPOSES TEENS TO EARLY PREGNANCIES, STDS, DRUG ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM
Early pregnancies, STDs, drug abuse and alcoholism to which our children have been exposed to during the Covid-19 period are the “Covid-19″ equivalent set to ail our economy in the near future, a sure setback to vision 2030 given the great lot that would have been affected by the pandemic
Speaking during the burial of Mama Beatrice Cherotich Chepkurui Kapsoot in Kaptama Mt. Elgon on Saturday, September 12, 2020, Rebecca Nafula Masibayi, a girls’ advocacy crusader further urged parents to closely monitor their children till schools reopen in January 2021
“GAI group reported 9 cases of early pregnancies this year… Am certain others have been reported to other organizations and a huge lot go unreported especially during this Covid-19 season”
Said the girls’ advocacy crusader
Since the pandemic hit Kenya in mid-March 2020, healthcare providers have been warning about its potential to increase teenage pregnancies. Girls have been cut off from teachers following School closures making it difficult to sound the alarms in the eventuality such cases happen at home. Students have been left exposed, idle and often unsupervised by their busy parents. Restrictions on movement have also made it harder for girls to access contraceptives and family planning services, and mandatory curfews have confined girls to their homes
Underpinning any COVID-19-related rise in teen pregnancies are other significant challenges, including insufficient funding for reproductive health services and a lack of comprehensive sex education in schools – which have contributed to Kenya’s alarming numbers.
