Dr. Amoth: Here’s the real figure indicating number of pregnant teenagers in Machakos; 4,000 is untrue

Slightly over 1, 000 teenagers in Machakos County got pregnant in the last five months, and not 4, 000 school-going children as reported in sections of the media one week ago, Acting Director-General for Health Dr. Patrick Amoth says.

Addressing journalists at Afya House during the ‘Daily COVID-19 Situation in Kenya Updates’, Dr. Amoth said official data shows that a quarter of the number initially reported can be confirmed to be expectant, and not the entire 4, 000.

The Acting Director General for Health said that the 4, 000
figure was reported based on the number of antenatal visits recorded, and not
the exact number of expectant minors, who visited health facilities for
antenatal care.

Dr. Amoth said estimating the number of expectant persons is
done by dividing the total number of antenatal visits by three. According to
him, the 4, 000 cases reported in Machakos County, were antennal visits, and
not the number of expectant minors.

Last week, Machakos Children’s Officer, Salome Muthama, said
that at least 3,964 girls in the county, aged 19 years and below, had become
pregnant between January and May 2020.

According to the report by Muthama, Athi River was the most
affected area while Kalama had the least number of reported pregnancies among
girls of school-going age.