PROCMURA joins the rest of the world in marking this year’s International Day of the Girl Child on 11th October 2020.

This event commemorates the importance of Gender Equality and Human Rights towards the well-being and health of the girl child.

Mentorship and Empowerment of the girl child; an area under the PROCMURA Women Programmatic thrust, is one of the focal areas of its new Strategic Plan, 2020 – 2024. In the Plan, PROCMURA seeks to address issues of paramount concern to women and ensure that rights of the girl child across the religious divide are taken on board and be in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A survey PROCMURA conducted in some of its constituencies in Africa identified a number of challenges that prevent the girl child from realising their full potential. Millions of girls are shaped and deafened by gender inequality. Poverty, child labour, child marriages and early pregnancies, have been identified as some of the major challenges. Cultural, religious, and socio-economic factors that contribute to this problem are multiple and layered.

The survey shows that in a number of situations the girl child is unable to access basic needs such as food, clothing, and sanitary towels. This makes girls vulnerable and easy preys and victims of early pregnancies in their quest for sustainability.

In Kenya, “Teenage Pregnancy” has been on the rise over the last few months. The gravity of high teenage pregnancy is not new. Kenyan media exploded with disturbing stories which indicated that over four thousand school girls had been impregnated during the Covid-19 lockdown. The reality is that teenage pregnancy is high in counties across the country, and has remained so for some time now despite the periodic outcry when numbers on teenage pregnancy are released. There is need to increase efforts on how to address this menace that holds back the girl child from maximizing their full potential. Data from the Demographic and Health Surveys show that almost 2 out of 10 girls between the ages of 15 and 19, are reported to be pregnant or have had a child already. This trend has been fairly consistent over a period of time.

Sierra Leone had the 13th highest rate of teenage pregnancy globally with 113 births per 1,000 adolescents in a 2017 report by the World Bank. Pregnancy - driven by low education, poverty and abuse - often precedes child marriage in Sierra Leone, unlike in other African countries with similarly high rates.

Pregnant girls were even banned from school and the law challenged in West Africa’s regional court. Despite this, most pregnant teens drop out of school anyway due to stigma and the need to support themselves. Girls who become pregnant are typically married off or thrown out. Girls in rural areas are more likely to marry, while many single mothers in urban areas fend for themselves with very little support.

Teenage pregnancy rates in Rwanda increased from 6.1% in 2010 to 7.3% in 2015 (RDHS 2015). Furthermore, 49.6% of teen mothers had their first pregnancy between the ages of 12 and 17.

According to the World Health Organisation, “pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15–19 years globally.” there is an urgent need to address the drivers of teen pregnancies by implementing cost-effective programmes consistently.

Teen pregnancies continue to be a major challenge for socio-economic development because they deprive young girls the opportunity to further their education and attain their career goals. It also exposes them and their children to major health risks.

To mitigate these challenges, PROCMURA has rolled out a number of intervention strategies across some of its constituencies in Africa. It will mobilise Christians and Muslims awareness raising campaigns, and capacity building seminars/workshops for girls and key stakeholders from different institutions, to engage them on how to address the challenges. It will also carry out campaigns at grassroots level, and provide platforms for the public to support/donate basic and essential needs for girls.

PROCMURA will launch the campaign in Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Togo and Kenya and bring on board all stakeholders to open up the conversation and BREAK THE SILENCE on the challenges faced by girls in the countries of its operation.

PROCMURA Area Committee in Sierra Leone which operates within the Christian Council of Sierra Leone, has engaged women leaders at the community level to raise awareness on the number of rape cases that has affected teenage girls. The Area Committee is engaging the key stakeholders who include religious leaders, women leaders, media and the community. The Committee will also be holding a number of radio talk shows on the subject.

In Rwanda, The PROCMURA Area Committee in collaboration with the National committee of women leaders will organise a mentorship programme for the girl child and mobilize girls to participate actively in the prevention and fight against sexual and gender- based violence in communities, it will build girls capacity to say no to sexual abuse, and teenage pregnancy. The programme will bring together over one hundred (100) girls from the Christian and Muslim communities who will be mentored on their full potential and how to achieve that.

The Area Committee of Togo will bring together thirty (30) girls from the Christian and Muslim communities who are peer leaders from vulnerable communities to empower them with skills to maximize their potential.

The PROCMURA Central Office team has identified Isiolo County in North Eastern part of Kenya, as one of the counties that have been affected by the rise of Teenage Pregnancies. In response, we have rolled out a nationwide media campaign which will run under the hashtag ♯SayNoToTeenagePregnancy.

We target to donate HEALTH KITS to at least five hundred (500) girls, by providing Reusable/Washable Sanitary Towels (longer term) dubbed Kike Health Kit. The “Kike health kit” contains a beautiful Africa print toiletry bag, a set of reusable/washable sanitary towels, a pair of panties, a set of carrier pouches and soap.

The project goal is to curb the rise of teenage pregnancies and empower over one hundred thousand (100,000) girls directly to maximise their full potential. We will also create platforms for key stakeholders to continue the conversation on the girl child.

PROCMURA is calling on all stakeholders (parents, religious leaders, learning institutions, government agencies, charitable organisations, corporate institutions and the media) to Join/Partner with us in empowering the girl child to maximize their full potential.

These activities will be marked on the International Day of the Girl Child on 11th October 2020.

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