Teenage Pregnancy
A pregnancy at fifteen should not end a girl’s future.
Nearly one in four teenage girls in Homa Bay has begun childbearing, and most who become mothers lose school, family support and safety at the same time.
- of girls aged 15–19 in Homa Bay County have begun childbearingKDHS 2022
- 23%
- national average for girls aged 15–19 in KenyaKDHS 2022
- 15%
- of the girls we support for school re-entry are back in classGPAK programme records
- 85%
The challenge
Homa Bay has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Kenya. Here, early pregnancy rarely arrives alone: it is tied to poverty, unequal relationships with older men, and one of the highest HIV burdens in the country.
When a girl becomes pregnant, she is often sent away from home, stops attending school, and misses antenatal care because she is afraid of being judged at the clinic. Each loss makes the next one more likely, and her child inherits the same disadvantages.
Kenya’s school re-entry guidelines allow a young mother to return to class, but few manage it without someone to negotiate with the school, arrange childcare and cover the costs.
How GPAK responds
Trained mentor mothers in each community, alongside schools and health workers, connect pregnant girls and young mothers to us early, and each girl agrees a support plan with us.
Psychosocial supportWe accompany girls to antenatal, postnatal and child health appointments until they are settled in care.
Health & HIV referralsWe negotiate school re-entry, help with fees and childcare, and offer literacy and life-skills classes for mothers who will not return to formal school.
Education & re-entryHelp a young mother through all of it
These challenges arrive together in a girl’s life, so our support does too.