
“I’d Rather Get Pregnant Than Miss School. I’d rather get pregnant twice a year than miss school for good.”
It is a disturbing confession, but for many schoolgirls in Bungoma County, Western Kenya, it reflects a cruel reality shaped by poverty, menstrual stigma, and a society that continues to neglect the needs of adolescent girls.
Bungoma is among Kenya’s hardest-hit counties in the face of the “triple threat” early pregnancy, new HIV infections, and high school dropout rates among teenagers.