Diversify youth friendly facilities- Coast Counties urged

DAYO sexual reproductive and health rights activist Geitano Muganda flanked by Keziah Oloo at Baobab Resort Kilifi County photo (Courtesy)

BY OUR REPORTER

Activists at the Coast region are petitioning Coast counties to diversify youth friendly facilities at the grassroots to contain teenage pregnancy upsurge.

According to the civil society organizations there is need to deliver sexual reproductive health services among the larger youth population.

Speaking to the media in Kilifi county over the weekend Dream Achievers Youth Organization sexual reproductive health rights officer Geitano Muganda argued that diversifying the facilities will give an opportunity to the youth to make decisions on their Adolescent and sexual reproductive health, among them family planning.

The activist insists that lack of sexual reproductive education among the youth has been blamed to spread of HIV and early pregnancies.

Geitano said “Majority of the youth cannot access sexual reproductive health services at our health centers and therefore that is why we are calling for the distribution of youth friendly centers

Keziah Oloo Pwani Youth Network field officer photo by Geitano Muganda

Meanwhile Pwani Youth Network field officer Keziah Oloo wants County governments to increase the reproductive health budgetary allocation.

According to her, a lot of underage youth have fallen prey to early unwanted pregnancies to school going children.

Kilifi county director of Gender and Youth Affairs Mwangombe Shumaa at the event photo by Geitano Muganda

Kilifi county director of gender and youth affairs Mwangombe Shumaa says the county is committed to ensure that youth get an equal opportunity.

He says the county government wants to infuse changes that will strengthen advocacy on sexual reproductive health amongst the youth.

“We need to give them voice to be able to access family planning services at youth centers if need be,”said Mwangombe.

Adolescents are at an increased risk of HIV with 29 per cent of all new infections being among young people aged between 15 and 24 years at the coast.

Pwani Youth Network, German World Population DSW and Safe Community Youth Initiative have embarked on a sensitization campaign on Adolescent and sexual reproductive health.

In June this year, Kilifi county government in partnership with other stakeholders officially launched a campaign to seek solutions to teenage pregnancies.

The joint awareness campaign has targeted the Coastal youth.

In 2018, Kilifi county made headlines after recording more than 17,000 cases of teenage pregnancy with some of the victims being KCPE and KCSE candidates.

There have been an upsurge of teenage pregnancy in the coast region in the recent past.

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