Kenya: Abortion Cases on the Rise among Young Women

By Iyaya Kevin

Nairobi-Western Kenya region is on the spot over the increased cases of abortion, acccording to research conducted by the Ministry of Public Health in February and April 2014.

78 percent of the women in the survey were aged below 24 years, says Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (Kewopa) training leader, Chrispine Hafifu.

“The survey indicated that the region has the highest number of women aged 24 years and below resorting to abortion, due to lack of information and poverty in the area. This trend is set to go up if stringent measures are not put in place,’ said hafifu.

These recent statistics by Kewopa has raised alarm in the health and education sector, and among families in Kenya, as the number of girls dropping out of school due to unwanted pregnancies continue to rise. Most of these girls have opted for abortion, which sometimes leads to their deaths, a trend that has emerged and is spreading like wild fire across the country and the African continent as a whole.

Western region is just but a sample of what is going on all over the continent, with poverty, mystery that surrounds the topic itself, culture and poor health structures taking center stage as the root causes of the scourge that is abortion.

“The African girl child needs are never taken seriously, and this research study depicts it all. Africa is seen as a society enshrouded in myths and committed to taboos where young girls are forced to marry older men as punishment for early pregnancies, and such has pushed them to take drastic action that may prove fatal to their future health status,” said Hafifu.

Africa has been urged by the international community to take a step backwards to observe and plan for its future by investing heavily in creating public awareness forums in institutions such as schools, universities and via media to set platforms to discuss issues that concern the girl child such as importance of having protected sex, STIs, early pregnancies and personal hygiene.

“There is a great need for us to form partnerships with other organizations to give our girls a better future by making it easy for them to ask questions and access more information about abortion and its effects to them and the community in general,” he said.

The government should increase its health care allocation by at least 6 percent of the total national budget, in the next fiscal year. “By doing so, it will enable these young girls and women access affordable health services in government hospitals and clinics, and free information from any health service provider.”