Teen Crisis: Over 1,000 pregnancies in Lamu as leaders ‘fail girls’
The two rights groups say the sharp rise in pregnancies puts the lives and futures of hundreds of girls at risk and signals serious failure by both national and county leadership.
A total of 1,073 teenage pregnancies have been recorded in Lamu County between 2024 and mid-2025, sparking fresh calls from the Kenyan Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Muslim for Human Rights (MUHURI) for urgent government action.
The two rights groups say the sharp rise in pregnancies puts the lives and futures of hundreds of girls at risk and signals serious failure by both national and county leadership.
The issue first gained national attention in 2024 when KHRC and MUHURI raised alarm over rising cases of teenage pregnancies in Lamu and other counties.
Their concern followed findings in the Kenya Health Demographic Survey of 2022, which listed ten counties with the highest numbers of teenage pregnancies, particularly among girls aged 10 to 15 years.
In 2023, the National Syndemic Disease Control Council released a separate report that showed 696 girls are being impregnated every day across the country, further underlining the crisis.
Lamu has since become one of the areas drawing the most concern due to the large number of cases reported within a short time.
In response to the worsening situation, KHRC issued what it called “red-cards” to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and governors of the affected counties, accusing them of failing in their duty.
“The governors of the affected counties and the Cabinet Secretary are unfit to hold public office because they have failed to protect vulnerable girls and ensure they are returned to school," KHRC stated.
KHRC and MUHURI say the figures from Lamu reflect more than just a local crisis, they represent a deeper failure of leadership and protection.
The two organisations are urging Kenyans, especially in affected regions, to hold their elected leaders accountable ahead of the 2027 general election.
"As the next general election approaches, citizens must evaluate the performance of MCAs, MPs, senators, governors, and the national government based on how they have protected—or failed to protect—our sexual and reproductive health rights. Those who stood by as our young girls’ futures were destroyed do not deserve our votes. They should be sent home," the joint statement reads.
The groups are now calling on Parliament to act by summoning the Health Cabinet Secretary and the governors to explain the steps being taken to stop the rise in teenage pregnancies and to ensure girls are allowed to return to school.
KHRC and MUHURI also reminded leaders that they have a duty to prevent further damage to the lives of young girls across the country and warned that inaction will only make the problem worse.
