By Purity Nthiana
Over the past couple of years, we have tried to make reproductive health issues among young girls a topic of seriousness. So it is joyous and triumph when women in governance amplify this voice. It is through properly placed policies and programs that we can be able to tackle the challenges. The Principal Secretary of Health Mary Muriuki has acknowledged that there is a gap in the provision of reproductive health services and therefore infringement of rights especially among our young women and girls. These gaps prevent young girls from accessing well-deserved services and therefore reduce the quality of their life.
There is an upscale of contraceptive uptake over the last year which is a great thing. It shows that women are taking health issues in to their own hands and are informed. However, this uptake is seen higher in urban than rural areas. This is challenging because it means there is something we are not doing for our girls in the rural areas. We should be aware that young girls for example in the western and Nyanza region are having sexual relations at a very early age leaving them vulnerable to early pregnancies, child marriage among other things that could go wrong. And why? Because of peer pressure, lack of information, lack of youth friendly services, poverty and the list goes on.
CSE could solve many of these problems. I know many guardians are concerned that this teaches their children about having sex. No. It teaches about sexuality. CSE is based on a written curriculum that includes key teaching objectives, learning objectives, and the delivery of clear content and skills in a structured way. It is about much more than sexual behaviors. ‘Comprehensive’ refers to the breadth, depth, and consistency of topics, as opposed to a one-off lesson or intervention. It addresses issues such as sexual and reproductive health issues, including, but not limited to: sexual and reproductive anatomy and physiology, puberty and menstruation, reproduction, contraception, pregnancy and childbirth, and STIs, including HIV and AIDS. One out of ten mothers in rural areas will sit down with their daughters or sons and talk to them exclusively about sexuality. Let’s not pretend that we don’t know that many children are left to figure things out by themselves. The information will be through their peers I mean, what more could they know? The information is shallow and with no basis.
Some girls don’t even know what sex is until they have it. And the boys do not comprehend the consequences because it’s okay for a boy to have sex to improve their skill but who will they have it with if not their peers? CSE will provide clarity and information to the young girls. I can tell for certain that a girl that has undergone CSE will delay her sexual debut because the information increases her confidence and provides her with the critical skills, self-esteem and confidence she need to make informed choices. This allows her to take be aware of what to do and where to go in case things do not go as planned.The Reproductive Health policy that is to be put in place will address the health challenges such as the triple threat and drug abuse and other needs of adolescents. Ms Mary Muriuki also said that strategies are in place to address health challenges. These strategies will involve enhanced engagement of stakeholders and policymakers. Review of school curricula to examine gaps in preparing adolescents to handle reproductive health aspects. The MoH has also put initiatives to provide free or subsidizes contraceptives, community based distribution, mobile outreach programs and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education. Partnership with civil society, NGOs among others in implementing programs that target the youth and adolescents on health education will help achieve these goals.
