NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 17 — A new report released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has revealed that nearly half of the girls aged 15 to 19 years in Samburu County have been pregnant.
The county recorded the highest teen pregnancy rate at 50 per cent.
Second in the list is Marsabit county at 29 per cent, followed by West Pokot (36), Narok (28) , Meru (24), Homa Bay (23), Migori (23), Kajiado (22), Siaya (21) and Baringo (20).
The data released by KNBS Director General MacDonald Obudho on Tuesday showed that an average of 15 per cent of Kenyan girls aged between 15 to 19 years, have ever been pregnant.
DG Obudho described the data on teen pregnancies as worrying and not a good thing to report on.
“This is one of the areas where the Council of Governors needs to work on so that counties can do better. For the other places it can be attributed to early marriages but I am not sure why Meru is in that list,” Obudho stated.
Counties that registered teen pregnancy rates at 10 percent and below include Tharaka Nithi (10pc), Nairobi (9pc), Kitui (9pc), Bomet (9pc) Laikipia (9pc) Vihiga (8pc), Muranga (7pc), Kirinyaga (7pc), Nyeri (5pc) and Nyandarua (5pc).
DG Obudho further pointed out that teen pregnancies are more prevalent among the uneducated, and least among those with at least secondary education.
“For those with no education 38 per cent were pregnant, those with primary level of education 20 per cent were pregnant while those who have higher level of education beyond secondary 5 per cent were pregnant,” he stated.
