BY TONY WAFULA
Out of the 50 HIV/AIDS recorded daily in Kenya, 75 percent of it occurs among adolescents health experts have said.
Speaking at Matili Friends Secondary school in Kimilili during the students’ sensitization forum over the weekend, Douglas Bosire, Ag Director Regional Coordination- National Syndemic Diseases Control Council, reveals that according to the recent health research indicated that there are 50 new HIV infections daily noting those infections, 75 percent are occurring in adolescents and young people aged between 15- 34 years.
However, Bosire reported that the main aim why NSDCC has partnered with the Bungoma County Woman representative office, the office of Senator Catherine Mumma, county government of Bungoma and other stakeholders is to help address the rising number of teenage pregnancies, gender based violence and new HIV infection in Bungoma County.
“We have taken this time of third term to move around schools in Bungoma county to involve students and teenagers in sexual talks that will help us reduce or rather curb the spread of new HIV/AIDS among teens, this worrying trend is the one that has culminated to this forums which is against the third term Education calendar,” he said.
He Bungoma Woman Representative Catherine Wambilianga and Nominated Senator Catherine Mumma at Matili Friends Secondary school during the students’ sensitization forum. Photo:Tony Wafula
He said that they got an okay from the Ministry of Education to continue with an HIV sensitization forum at the Kimilili schools.
The report further revealed that 690 teens between the ages of 10-19 years are impregnated daily in Kenya. In Bungoma, Bosire said that 32 girls were impregnated.
Bosire also stated that in 2023, Bungoma recorded 38 new HIV infections that occurred between adolescents aged between 10- 19 years with 1,099 young people going through gender based violence (GBV).
“Out of the 1,099 adolescents that went through gender based violence, 108 got pregnant,” he added.
Senator Catherine Mumma, in her address to the media said that the main aim of the forum is to speak to the adolescents in Bungoma basically on adolescent health and how it interacts with the triple threat of gender based violence, teen pregnancies and new HIV/AIDS infection.
“As you may have heard, Bungoma County is among the counties with the highest teenage pregnancies with over 11,000 girls that were made pregnant last year only as friends and leaders in this country we spoke with and since I work around this thematic areas, Bungoma County Woman MP Catherine Wambilianga asked to come so that we can partner to address this menace,” Senator Mumma noted.
She added, “We are speaking to the girls and we have even come with people with lived experiences around issues pregnancy, we want to speak to boys and girls to focus on their Education, we want to see how the community start a conversation that can support our young boys and girls to ensure that they focus on Education, they finish school without being duly affected by issues of casual sex that end with STIs, HIV/AIDS and unwanted pregnancies that re-define their lives,”
Bungoma Women Catherine Wambilianga applauded Senator Mumma for picking Bungoma for the sessions affirming that the move would help the County reduce the rising cases.
The Ford Kenya MP also said that currently her office is running a program that is in support of over 800 girls who dropped out of school because of teenage pregnancy.
