Let’s act now to save adolescents from the triple threats

By , July 12, 2022

Every year yesterday, we celebrate the World Population Day. Uniquely, this year stands—we celebrate a world of eight billion people in November, up from seven billion in 2011. This is a remarkable growth of the population occasioned by an improvement in various population indicators across nations.

Kenya’s population is projected to hit 82.5 million by 2064, the same time African Union set for the realisation of Agenda 2063 on ‘the Africa we want’. Kenya had a population of 47.6 million in 2019—a fourfold increase since 1969.

It is important to underscore that a nation’s most important resource is its people and more importantly a healthy people; That is where prosperity lies: For Kenya to remain on a prosperity trajectory as envisioned in the Vision 2030, there is need to deliberately steer in the plans for youthful population bearing in mind 75 per cent of the population is below 35 years. This is as clearly demonstrated in the Kenya’s Demographic Dividend Roadmap.

Notably, adolescents make the bulk of the population, and ideally have a huge potential in changing life’s outlook as they grow, learn and develop into adults. Even with the complexities of this age, youth are exposed to opportunities that can transform their lives and nation’s outlook of the country.

Unfortunately, this ideal future is at risk. Adolescents are exposed to various challenges, among them the triple threat of teen pregnancies, new HIV infections and gender-based violence.

Nationally, 10 per cent of adolescent girls aged 15-19 had given birth, according to data from the 2019 National Population and Housing Census. Additionally, half of the counties reported percentages of adolescent pregnancy higher than the national average despite the reduction in number of pregnant adolescents, aged 10-19 to 317,644 in 2021 from 427,135 in 2018.

In terms of HIV, the Kenya Health Information System (KHIS) indicates that young girls aged 15-19 reported half the burden of infection at 51 per cent. In the 10-14 age group, new HIV infections was higher among boys at 1.9 per cent compared to girls at 1.67 per cent. There was also a reduction in HIV testing among this age cohort (10- 19) during the pandemic.

Such statistics paint a bleak picture of adolescence that stakeholders have had to come together to chart the way forward. In a meeting in April in which the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) and National Aids Control Council (NACC) convened the regional and county commissioners to address the triple threat, backed by Interior CS Fred Matiangi.

Kenya is also among the leaders in the Generation Equality Action Coalition to end gender-based violence after President Uhuru Kenyatta unveiled Kenya’s Roadmap to advancing gender equality, ending all forms of gender-based violence and female genital mutilation by 2026. The policy brief seeks to strengthen national policy frameworks on GBV programming and integrate services for survivors of violence into the country’s Universal Health Coverage Package by 2022.

All this show the commitment and political will to address factors that drive the triple threat and promote the wellbeing of adolescents in the country. However, we still have work to do. There is need to create awareness of the devastating impacts of the triple threat. Not only does it put pressure on population and development, it also increases the burden on healthcare and other vital social services. It also negatively impacts on girls’ and women’s empowerment and reduces their opportunities to engage in development at household, community and national level.

More importantly, we must focus on the implementation of the progressive policies already developed as we seek to address emerging issues that might impact such implementation including the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant measures that saw a spike in the triple threat.

— Dr Mohamed is the Director General of the National Council for Population and Development while Samba is the Kenya Country Director at DSW

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