Joint campaigns to on triple threat launched in Kakamega County

Kakamega, Thursday, May, 11, 2023

KNA by George Kaiga

Kakamega County is grappling with increased danger of the ‘Triple Threat’ of teenage pregnancies, new HIV infections and Sexual and Gender-Based violence (SGBV) cases, Governor Fernandes Barasa has said.

Speaking in Kakamega during a stakeholder’s forum to launch a campaign to end the threats, Governor Barasa called for stiffer penalties against perpetrators of defilement and rape saying the vice had ruined the lives of many teenage girls in the county.

The Governor particularly singled out Matungu Sub-County where the vice was most rampant.

He directed county administrators and village elders to team up with National Government Administration (NGAO) officers to tame the triple vices that have persistently undermined girls’ health, education and economic empowerment of women.

The Governor Barasa raised concern that Kakamega is one of the most affected counties in the country with 12,862 cases of adolescent pregnancies reported in the year 2021.

“Kakamega is one of the counties not doing very well, in the fight against the triple threats, given that 520 new HIV infection cases were reported in teenagers of 10-25 years in 2021, with 12,862 cases of adolescent pregnancies recorded during the same period with 123 sexual and gender-based violence recorded among adolescents of 10-17 age group,” he added.

The Governor, however, observed that the county government in liaison with the National government and partners is strengthening various programmes aimed at mitigating factors fueling the vices.

 While attributing the increase of these threats to poverty, the Governor said the county government was supporting student education through provision of bursaries to girls to ensure their retention in school.

In order to address economic lapses, Barasa cited provision of subsidized farm inputs, and affordable business loans to women through a micro-financing agency to empower women so as to address their vulnerability.

“On medical related issues, we have employed health promoters across all the sub-counties to offer basic medical information to women as a way of curbing preventable diseases.

The forum was supported by the National Syndermic Disease Control Council (NSDCC) and attended by National Government Administration Officers (NGAO), the Kakamega Woman representative Elsie Muhanda, Wife to Kakamega Governor Prof. Janet Kassily Barasa and key stakeholders from all the 13 Sub Counties.

 Courtesy; K.N.A