President Uhuru Kenyatta has declared war on private clinics in the country offering emergency contraceptives to underage girls.
The head of state has ordered a nationwide crackdown led by county commissioners to bring the vice to an end.
According to the president, such practitioners are inculcating a culture of sexual promiscuity for sex pests, who procure such services for the girls, and providing “sexual insurance” for the minors.
Education Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Zack Kinuthia said the President wants to find a lasting solution to a rise in teenage pregnancies in the country.
“It is not in any Kenyan law that minors access family planning health services since planning is about those in legally recognised marital unions,” said Kinuthia.
Read: President Uhuru Orders Registration Of All Pregnant School Girls For Free Natal Care
“The President has [told] us that adult males who engage in criminal sex with minors get hiding places in emergency contraceptives, and procure family planning injections and pills for minors, making sexual briefs with them a ‘safe’ lifestyle.”
Some of the most sought after contraceptives by teenagers according to Kinuthia include injectables, oral pills, intrauterine, voluntary surgical contraception, Norplants, vaginal barriers and spermicides.
To enforce the directive, Kinuthia said the Ministry of Education will partner with security organs to bring rogue practitioners to book.
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“We will rely on our intelligence officers to keep tabs with happenings in the health sector,” he said.
“We will be hard on any county commissioner and his team should we get verifiable reports that minor girls are being given access to family planning services. That will not be acceptable at all costs.”
The CAS noted that the government is also determined to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practice in the country.
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The President had on July 9 ordered registration of all pregnant school girls for free pre and post-natal natal care.
This is after several counties reported a high number of pregnant school girls as learning institutions remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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