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Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi (right) has decried a rising trend of teen pregnancies, especially in western region, terming it a crisis that requires radical empowerment.

He said that data shows western Kenya counties of Bungoma, Busia, Trans Nzoia, Vihiga and Kakamega are leading in teen pregnancies.

Going by data released recently, Mudavadi said, while the national vulnerability for girls is at 14.9 per cent, western Kenya has alarming rates, with Bungoma leading the vulnerability chart at 18.6 per cent followed by Busia (18.3 per cent), Trans Nzoia (17.8 per cent), Kakamega (15.1 per cent) and Vihiga (7.7 per cent).

“We are in a very deep crisis and we are almost going to cross the red line as cases of children getting children is no longer a joke,” said Mudavadi.

He spoke at the inaugural Western Kenya Women’s Conference held at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.

He also challenged women to take the lead in empowering girls, protecting them and providing solutions to mitigate the teen pregnancy crisis.

To uplift the status of women, Mudavadi said Kenya requires an equivalent of America’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

He explained that WIOA is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labour market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy.

“We must do the same for our women. We can do it if we read from the same page, that ‘when the going gets tough, as it has now, we must tighten up on policy regarding the vulnerable’,” he said.

Mudavadi described a situation where a 24-year-old girl from Lugari in Kakamega was forced into early motherhood. Flanked by the young mother and her three children, he said she was orphaned at a tender age and forced into early motherhood at 13 years due to lack of parental support and her vulnerable state.

“I was only 13 years when my mother died and I had to go to Nairobi to look for a job as a house help. Already, I had my firstborn at 13, and got two other children. Now I already have three children,” she said.

She, however, went back to school after a well-wisher assisted her.

She had dropped out of school at Class Seven. 

“This is not a story to celebrate about; it is sad. This is an eye opener to society. When we are here discussing how to empower women socially, economically and even politically, this is a story that should ring in our minds more often”, said Mudavadi. He pledged to pay for the girl’s college studies and tuition fees in full.

He also called for a campaign against HIV and Aids, saying parents should take leading roles in preaching good morals to the younger generation, especially 15-30-year olds.

Nationally, he said, 82.3 per cent of women deliver in hospitals “but the case in western Kenya is wanting, compared to other regions”.