CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate change is worsening sexual and reproductive health risks for young adolescents in Kenya, according to a recent study published in BMJ Global Health. Children aged 10 to 14 are facing rising threats as food, water, and sanitation insecurities contribute to sexual violence, transactional sex, and exploitative relationships − factors closely linked to unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
“The adolescent has sex with the boy just to get one kangumu (half-cake) so that she can add to what the mother gave her. The boy will leave the girl and go to another and another. And in that state, they end up contracting the disease that causes cervical cancer… HPV… And all that is caused by the drought.” − Female elder, Naivasha
