It is a warm sunny Wednesday afternoon, and over 30 teen mothers are seated under a tree at Unga Chief Camp, in Ndhiwa, Homa Bay County.
The youngest in the group is 16 year old Vanessa (not her real name). The Grade Nine pupil delivered a baby girl early this year when she was just 15 years old.
She had to stay away from school for the entire term one in order to care for her baby who is now seven months old.
When Lake Region Bulletin caught up with her, Vanessa was among the teenagers who were sharing their ordeal with pregnancy and early motherhood which has changed their lives, albeit for the time being.
Last year, during the April school holidays, she went to visit her aunt in a neighbouring county. It was here that she met the man who would put her in the family way, putting her as part of the alarming statistics of teenage pregnancies in the county.
Data from Homa Bay County Health department show that in 2023 alone, 23, 502 teenage girls aged between 13 and 19 got pregnant. This was about 33 per cent of all the pregnancies recorded in the county.
In 2024, at least 17, 004 teenage girls got pregnant, accounting for 22 per cent of all the reported pregnancies in the county.
And as at end of June this year, the county has already reported 10, 235 cases of teenage pregnancies which accounts for 22 per cent of pregnancies recorded in the county.
Vanessa says she did not envision a pregnancy at her age. “It was my first sexual encounter, and everything turned out the way they did,” said the first born in a family of three kids.
Naïve and ignorant of her state, she returned home and resumed school, only to later discover that she was pregnant.
“My parents were mad at me, but I appreciate that they however accepted me and supported me throughout the period,” she said.
Disrupting education
After delivery, Vanessa briefly stayed out of school to care for the baby, before she later resumed learning.
But even as she resumed learning, her school time would be disrupted as she once in a while get to school late, or leave earlier than the rest, to enable her attend to the baby.
Today, her parents help her with caring for the baby as she concentrates on schooling. However, during weekends and school holidays, she has to join the mum in menial jobs in order to contribute to the child’s upkeep.
“I now have to think as a mother and a provider,” she says.
Justus Ochola, Head of Research, Innovation and New Learning Unit says Ndhiwa is one of the nine sub counties in Homa Bay with high cases of teenage pregnancies.
“In our latest report, this county has a teenage pregnancy rate of 23 per cent. However, Ndhiwa is one of the most hit out of the nine sub counties, with almost every woman in this sub county having had their first birth before attaining the age of 20,” said Ochola.
He noted that with the county showing tremendous progress in managing the HIV burden, the new threat has proved to be teenage pregnancy, Gender Based Violence (GBV) new HIV infections among the youths and young people.
New HIV infections
Kenya AIDS Strategic Framework II 2020/21-2024/25 Mid Term Review Report indicate that Homa Bay County is leading in HIV prevalence at 15.2 per cent.
The County Health Department reports that Homa Bay recorded 4, 028 new cases of HIV, with another 3, 836 new cases in 2024.
By end of June 2025, the county has already recorded 1, 694 new cases of HIV infection, with more than half being people aged 25 and below.
And even as Vanessa comes to terms with her new status of being a mother, her main task now, she says, is to avoid being part of the other scary statistics of new HIV infection.
Just like Vanessa, 19 year old Stacy (not her real name) is also battling to stay safe from HIV infection after losing the battle to teenage pregnancy.
Stacy got pregnant while she was 17 years old, and delivered her baby boy last year while she was only 18 years old.
Today, she lives with the father of her baby, a 21 year old who is living with HIV.
According to Stacy, she dated the boy while they were in school, and always used protection any time they engaged in sexual intercourse.
However, when it was clear they would spend the rest of their lives together, the man disclosed to her that he was living with HIV.
“It scared me. I took a break from the relationship, and took tests which showed I was HIV negative. After a substantial period of monitoring my health and seeking professional advice, I was told we could just continue with our relationship and make a family out of it,” she said.
Last year, the two officially began to live together after Stacy and her baby tested negative for HIV.
“I loved her, and that is why I disclosed my status to her and proposed that we seek professional opinion on how best we can live together without putting her health to risk,” said the husband.
The couple depend on menial jobs to ache a living; noting that the new status of husband and wife, and parents to a young baby changing their lives forever.
A few homesteads away from their home is 21 year old Pheny (not her real name). Pheny got pregnant while she was 18.
“I was in Form Three, so my schooling was disrupted as I had to take a break to deliver and care for the baby,” she said.
She however went back to school, and completed Form Four, before being married to the father of her baby as the second wife.
Multifaceted interventions against teen pregnancies
Amid the heartbreaking experiences of teenage girls in the county, Mr Ochola says the county government has put in place a number of interventions aimed at dealing with the situation.
One of such interventions is the regular forums similar to the one we found at Unga Chief Camp.
“In such forums, they share a lot and learn from each other. They also have volunteers from the county government who provide psychosocial support,” he said, adding that the forums are also held in schools where the situation can be arrested early enough.
The youths are also enrolled into various skilling programs to enable them gain necessary skills which they can use to economically empower themselves.
Irene Adhiambo is a Youth Champion attached to Pala Level Four Hospital. She notes that apart from engaging the youths in adolescent talks, she also distributes condoms.
“Through the health clubs in schools, we liaise with teachers who give us access so that we can be able to speak to students,” she said.
Other interventions include establishment of safe spaces within hospitals, increased counseling as well as other community health strategies.
“It is such interventions which has seen the county’s teenage pregnancy rate go down from 33 per cent in 2022 to the current 23 per cent,” said Ochola.
