Explain Kilifi teen pregnancy figures, MP tells NGOs
Kilifi North MP Owen Baya who says he suspects that teen pregnancy figures given by NGOs in the county are exaggerated and for selfish gain. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Mr Baya said efforts to confirm that Matsangoni Ward was leading, with 27 cases at Kiloli Primary School, disproved the report.
- He said the school’s headteacher said there were six cases in 2018.
- He warned NGOs against generalisations by assuming that what they find in one school happens in all schools.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) tackling gender-based violence in Kilifi County have been asked to explain how they determined that the county recorded 17,000 teenage pregnancies last year.
Kilifi North MP Owen Baya said he suspects that they exaggerated the figures in bad faith and for selfish gain.
Speaking during Madaraka Day celebrations, Mr Baya said efforts to confirm that Matsangoni Ward was leading, with 27 cases at Kiloli Primary School, disproved the report, which he said had brought shame to residents and their leaders.
Mr Baya said the school’s headteacher said there were six cases in 2018.
MAKE MONEY
“We know NGOs want to make money and forward proposals to receive donor funds but do not use Kilifi to enrich yourself,” he said.
Mr Baya warned NGOs against generalisations by assuming that what they find in one school happens in all schools in the constituency and told them to be truthful in their work.
Last month, Governor Amason Kingi directed the county’s law enforcement officers to carry out impromptu inspections of bars and palm wine dens that admit children in a bid to address rising cases of teenage pregnancies.
He said the licences of bars that serve alcohol to minors would be revoked.
