Teenage pregnancy
- 1 in every 5 teenage girls (18%) aged 15-19 years is pregnant or has given birth;
- This rate increases rapidly with a rise in age – from 3% at age 15 to 40% at age 19;1
- Regional disparities exist in teenage pregnancy rates (highest in Nyanza at 22% and lowest in Central at 10%).1
The consequences include high maternal deaths and injuries, unsafe abortion, high school dropout rates, and compromised access to economic opportunities.
HIV and AIDS
- 16% of all people living with HIV are adolescents and young people (15-24 years);
- 29% of new HIV infections (26,400) occurs among adolescents and young people annually (15-24 years);1
- AIDs is the leading cause of deaths and injuries among adolescents and young people (9,000 deaths annually);1
- Prevalence varies by age and gender (10-14 years: 0.5% girls, 0.6% boys; 15-19 years: 1.1% girls, 0.9% boys; 20-24 years: 4.6% girls; 1.3% boys);1
- Regional disparities exist in HIV prevalence.
The consequences are deaths and injuries, and it may affect schooling and productivity.
Sexual and gender-based violence
- Young people experience both physical and sexual violence;
- 7% of girls and 3% of boys aged 15-19 years have ever experienced sexual violence, while 13% girls and 4% boys aged 20-24 have ever experience sexual violence;1
- Among those married, most of the perpetrators of sexual violence were partners or spouses, while for the unmarried, the perpetrators were mostly strangers followed by friends/acquaintances;
- Highest incidence of sexual violence was reported in Western, followed by Nyanza and Nairobi. It is lowest in North Eastern region;
- Female Genital Mutilation prevalence among those aged between 15-19 and 20-24 years is 11% and 15% respectively.
Potential consequences include unintended pregnancy, STIs including HIV, child marriage, school drop-out, and deaths and injuries.
Limited number of adolescent/youth-friendly public health facilities for SRH/HIV services
- Only 10% of public health facilities are youth friendly.2
- Approximately 60% of people1 rely on public health facilities for SRH/HIV services. Lack of adequate facilities offering friendly, non-judgmental and confidential services discourages young people from seeking important SRH/HIV services e.g. contraceptives, HTC, ART.
Consequences include poor uptake of SRH/HIV services, deaths and psychological implications.
Hence there is a need to innovate to help young people to learn, understand and talk about their sexuality and sexual reproductive health.
1 HIV Estimates report, 2014
2 SARAM, 2013
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Kenya iAccelerator: the iAm campaign
