Elders intervene in renewed HIV infections fight among teenagers

As Nkirote (not her real name) hurriedly walks to the clinic on a chilly morning with a baby strapped on her back, she is hopeful that today’s queue will be short enough for her to access services and rush back home to rest.

Accompanied by her 52-year-old mother, the 16-year-old mother of one joins several teen mothers on the line up as they await access to Antenatal Care (ANC) services in Mutuati Hospital in Meru.

Being a young mother, she is not able to provide for her child as she currently has no source of income. She is forced to depend on her mother for basic needs like food, shelter and clothing.

“The past five months have been a struggle for me, I always wait for my mother to come home with basics like diapers and clothes and this is strenuous on us especially since we live from hand to mouth,” she says.

She recalls the events that led to her pregnancy saying that she was trapped into a sexual relationship by a man whom she thought she could depend on for basic things like pads, lunch money and at times transport since she was in day school.

“He used to provide for me and that was when I felt obliged to return the favour by sleeping with him without thinking about the consequences,” she recalls.

To Nkirote her biggest regret is being too naïve to let her greed land her in financial and psychological struggles she is currently facing.

Her experience is not isolating as there is a worrying trend of adolescent pregnancies in Meru risking HIV transmissions even as Kenya works towards ending HIV transmission by 2027.

Mutuati hospital is the public hospital leading in the number of adolescent pregnancies countrywide.

Last year, it recorded about 400 cases of teen pregnancies. In January, the hospital reported at least 63 cases of adolescent pregnancies, cases that have been on the rise.

Increased cases

The facility Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission in charge, Pamela Nkubu, attributed increased cases of adolescent pregnancies to poverty.

“In a day, we record about seven to 10 cases of adolescents reporting for ANC, and about five at postnatal clinics,” Nkubu says.

Triggers to teen pregnancies in the county are attributed to poverty and deep-rooted culture.

Surprisingly, the highest numbers of pregnancies captured within the hospital records are incest committed by uncles, fathers, and grandfathers.

Not only are the numbers of adolescent pregnancies worrying but are also critical as they risk transmission of HIV and have lifetime ramifications of the well-being of adolescents, education and their future

Currently the country is ranked seven globally, with at least 248 new infections weekly among adolescents aged 10 and 19 years.

Weekly infections

The new infections are an increase from 62 cases that were reported every week in 2021.

However, new HIV infections in Kenya have reduced, despite a spike in weekly infections among adolescents.

The country reported at least 22,154 new infections, a drop from 34,540 cases in 2021.

Speaking during the release of the status of the country’s HIV epidemic report during the World Aids Day celebrations on Friday National Syndemic Disease Control Council (NSDCC) CEO Ruth Masha attributed the infections to silence and Kangaroo Courts.

She added that most of the cases reported were either silenced among police, elders, religious leaders, teachers and parents.

“While pregnancies and sexual gender-based violence is proxy to HIV infections most of these cases are reported to Kangaroo courts and instead of justice being served most of these cases are silenced,” she says.

While Meru is the leading country in the number of teen pregnancies in the country, Dr Masha says that Meru is among counties contributing to the high rate of new infections across the country.

Most of the HIV cases are documented during ANC clinics.

According to an NSDCC report, between January and May 2023, Meru County had the highest proportion of adolescent pregnancies among girls between the ages of 10 and 19 years in the country at 26 per cent.

At least one out of three ANC services is of a child aged between 10 and 19 years.

To help curb this menace, NSDCC has engaged the Njuri Ncheke who play a pivotal role in shaping the community in order to break the early pregnancies threat.

“If the community plays a role in leading in the fight against HIV then we will be seeing a decrease in triple threats which are new HIV infections among the adolescents, gender based violence and teen pregnancies,” she adds.

She highlights that NSDCC is currently working with Njuri Ncheke to find possible lasting solutions that could be implemented to help solve the menace.

On her part, Ministry of Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha says that although the country is grappling with the burden of new HIV infections among adolescents as well as teen pregnancies, having the community take the lead in ensuring that there is a reduced burden could go a long way in tackling the matter.

She adds that if Njuri Ncheke join hands in dealing with cases of gender based violence as well as defilement then there is a likelihood of reduction of new HIV infection cases in the county.

Health promoters

Still in the fight of reducing teen pregnancies and new HIV Infections, Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza says working closely with community health promoters to ensure people living with HIV access treatment, and also sensitise the community on prevention measures will go a long way in the fight.

Labour and Children Affairs CS Florence Bore pleads with parents to monitor and talk to their children about HIV transmission and instil life skills to them at a tender age.

“We are not doing what our parents did, we are where we are because of what our parents did. Parents, I included, need to work extra hard in ensuring that we educate our children but we are too busy looking for money and forget talking to our children,” says Bore.

However, she says that if parents join hands and help the council of elders like Njuri Ncheke in the fight of these new infections then we are likely to deal with the hazard timely.

Other counties with the highest proportion of adolescent pregnancies include Narok, Tana River, Samburu, West Pokot, Homa Bay, Kisii, Kitui and Bungoma at 25, 24, 24, 24, 22, 22, 21 and 21 percent, respectively.