Preventive Health Taken Too Far

A proposal by some civil society groups to cub teenage pregnancy cases in Kenya spiraled into a national debate on the role of some preventive health initiatives on the societal well-being. The groups were proposing the distribution of contraceptives to school going children/teenagers in order to minimize the rising cases of early pregnancies. This proposal has led stakeholders in the health sector to assess the overall impact of some preventive health interventions and re-assessment of health priorities.

Behavioral characteristics of teenagers

Teenagers are in a stage of development characterized by curiosity and this can be destructive especially under peer pressure. These young people are in the process of discovering their bodies and yearn to be ‘adults’. Ease of access and approval by the government will ‘open’ the minds of those children who had no idea of these things, thereby developing interest among all the children. Gone will be the days when our children will be playing football, the focus will be more on the consumption of contraceptives. One can only imagine how peer pressure can accelerate consumption rates. Why should they expire anyway?

Health priorities

There is need for a review of our health priorities. A program on distribution of contraceptives among school going children will require sustainability since it cannot be a one-time intervention. Alternatively, many school going children from poor families lack sanitary towels and therefore end up using homemade materials that may be unhygienic and uncomfortable. This goes a long way to affect the health and education of the girl child. A program for distribution of sanitary towels also requires long-term sustainability, but it will be addressing a higher priority public health condition as compared to distribution of contraceptives.

Gap between knowledge and practice

Availability of the contraceptives is one thing; their proper usage is the other thing. Some crucial stakeholders (especially the teaching fraternity), are against this intervention. These people would have played the role of teaching the children on how to use these contraceptives properly. The resistance shown by the teachers will put the children at greater risk since these contraceptives will be experimental use. There was inadequate involvement of stakeholders in coming up with the proposal.

Reality of the modern society

Although most people are faulting the proposal, some practitioners defend the proposal as the best way to deal with the reality that children become sexually active at a lower age than before and therefore, there is need for their protection in their adventures. Unavailability of these prophylactic devices may expose them to obvious risks, and this justifies the need to avoid taking chances, by providing the contraceptives to the children.