Bungoma in focus as 54 school girls impregnated

Principal Secretary for Children’s Welfare and Social Protection, Careen Ageng’o, has expressed deep concern over the rising challenges facing children in Kenya, especially teenage pregnancy.

During the 2025 Day of the African Child celebrations in Bungoma County, government officials, community leaders, and stakeholders gathered to address these issues and discuss solutions.

Ageng’o highlighted the urgent need to combat violence against children and the increasing rates of adolescent pregnancies in schools. “Children are giving birth before 18, losing their right to education and compromising their futures,” she said.

Teen pregnancy, along with child abuse and school dropout, forms the “Triple Threat” to child welfare, posing risks to both individual well-being and Kenya’s economic future.

Though national teenage motherhood rates fell by over three percentage points between 2014 and 2022, regional disparities remain stark. Samburu and West Pokot have the highest rates at 50 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively, while Nyeri stands at 4.5 per cent.

Bungoma County has seen a worrying increase to 19 per cent, with 54 pregnant girls reported at a local high school in 2023.

Ageng’o stressed the government’s commitment to child-centred planning and budgeting, aligned with this year’s theme: Planning and Budgeting for Children’s Rights. Participatory budgeting involved children voicing priorities like food, clean water, bursaries, digital tools, and sanitary towels—key to keeping girls in school and reducing early pregnancies.

Bungoma Governor praised investments in maternal health, early education, and the “Uji” school feeding programme. Nationally, the Children Act 2022 and Inua Jamii cash transfers support vulnerable children to remain in school.