By Sharon Atieno Onyango
Though Kenya has policies addressing adolescents’ issues, very few explicitly focus on pregnant and parenting adolescents.
This is according to a review of 11 policies and legal frameworks focusing on adolescents conducted by the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC).
They include Article 53 of the Constitution of Kenya, Children Act (2022), Kenya National Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) Policy (2015), Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (NCAH) policy (2018-2023), National Guidelines for School Re-Entry in Early Learning and Basic Education (2020), Mental Health Policy (2015-2030), Adolescent Youth Friendly Services (AYFS) Guidelines (2016), Social protection policies (2023), Gender-based violence (GBV) Prevention and Response Guidelines (2014), Education and Training Sector Gender Policy (2015) and National Nutrition Policy (2012).
“All these frameworks have provisions that could be implied to benefit pregnant and parenting adolescents but only the National Guidelines for School Re-Entry in Early Learning and Basic Education (2020) explicitly focuses on them,” said Dr. Anthony Ajayi, Senior researcher scientist, APHRC.
This Guideline mandates that schools readmit learners who drop out, particularly teenage mothers, without discrimination.
With one in five teenage girls aged 15 -19 years having either given birth or are pregnant, and the rate of returning to school post-birth being less than 1,200 out of 13,000 annually, the Ministry of Education developed this guideline to guarantee continuation of learning for pregnant girls.
The guideline allows for readmission to the same or different schools, and encourages flexible schooling options to improve retention.
Despite this, Dr. Ajayi noted that this policy has gaps that need to be addressed. The six-month post-pregnancy return period might be too long, potentially reducing the likelihood of girls returning to school, he notes.
“There is also no provision for catch-up classes. This means they will have to repeat the class; hence they will lose an entire school year or two,” Ajayi states.
Further, the policy’s implementation is often left to the discretion of head teachers, leading to inconsistent application as not many people are aware about it.
He also underscores the need to include young fathers in the policy revision, noting that even young boys are dropping out of school after impregnating the girls.
According to Dr. Ajayi, there is need for a multi-faceted approach to ensure policies are not just written but effectively implemented, monitored, and designed with the specific needs and experiences of pregnant and parenting adolescents in mind.
He points out the need for specific areas of improvement including psychosocial support, integration of mental health and sexual and reproductive health and social protection specifically, cash transfers. Additionally, lived experiences of pregnant and parenting adolescents should be included in policy review and service design.
Lucy Kimondo, Acting Director General at the National Council for Population and Development, noted that while Kenya has strong policies in place, weak monitoring and accountability remain key challenges.
“A policy should be like a document that when you find things are not working, you address them,” she said.
Kimondo also called for greater public participation in policymaking, emphasizing that it should not be left solely to the government.
“Policy making in this country is for all of us,” she noted, adding that citizens should leverage their constitutional rights to influence policy development and review. This ensures that identified gaps are addressed and that policies are not merely written but effectively implemented.
Additionally, Kimondo emphasized that effectively supporting adolescents—particularly in policy implementation—requires a well-coordinated framework that brings together all relevant actors.
She noted that while policies are developed by the government, their implementation extends beyond it to a wider range of stakeholders. “When policies are developed by the government, they are not implemented by the government alone. Implementation involves everyone, including civil society,” she said.
