Rwanda’s Parliament recently passed a new law granting adolescent girls the right to access Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services—particularly family planning—without requiring parental consent. Should Kenya follow suit?

 The Standard - 25TH AUGUST 202

Dr. Catherine Syengo Mutisya

About 20 years ago, my colleagues and I were involved in a nationwide program spearheaded by the Centre For British Teachers (CBT) for a nation wide campaign for teachers and pupils emphasising on either Abstinence, Being faithful to one uninfected mutually faithful partner or correct use of the Condom (ABC) for prevention of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

Kenya first diagnosed the first case of HIV in 1984. This came with extreme fear and stigma similar to what we recently experienced during the early stages of Covid 19 pandemic. It therefore required a lot of concerted efforts to prevent new infections and prevent development of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in those already infected and by the early 2000 we had learned how to prevent new HIV infections and also prevent or manage HIV Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

My take as a psychiatrist is therefore that the best family planning method to be offered to the adolescents is the proper use of the condom because there is no any other family planning method that will prevent acquiring HIV infection as well as prevent pregnancy. By the time an adolescent needs a family planning method it means that they are sexually active and therefore every responsible Kenyan must not forget that we had to fight HIV-AIDS by all strategies to reach where we are now. Dishing any other family planning method other than the condom liberally and not emphasising particularly on the proper use of the condom will therefore be a sure way of preventing pregnancy yes but also allowing HIV prevalence rates to raise again!

The question as to whether Kenya should follow suit and pass a law like the one Rwanda passed on granting adolescent girls the right to access Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services—particularly family planning should be analysed with caution. Kenya should instead continue to raise the efforts for creating awareness on the proper use of condoms to prevent both pregnancy and HIV-AIDS for those who can’t abstain or be faithful to one noninfected mutually faithful partner regardless of their age. Strategies to have adolescents access condoms would therefore be a great investment.

For Rwandese legislators to passed such a law is a confirmation that Africans have forgotten where HIV- AIDS took us to and they are only myopically concentrating on prevention of pregnancy without targeting prevention of HIV as well. Such a myopic view will fuel the trend medical practitioners are now currently witnessing of increased rates of HIV related acquired immunodefiency syndrome which had significantly reduced because there were public campaigns that had emphasised on prevention of HIV infection and early testing and treatment for those found to be infected

My call is to all African countries is therefore not to drop the ball and assume that we have eliminated HIV AIDS and that the only problem to deal with is prevention of Teenage pregnancy

 

The Author is an influential Mental health advocate with 25 years of medical practice experience