Speeches Shim
Last updated: May 04, 2022
Female genital mutilation, or FGM, is globally documented as a violation of human rights. Over 200 million girls worldwide are at risk of undergoing this harmful practice, the majority being under the age of 15. In Kenya, the Kuria community in Migori county has the highest rates of prevalence of FGM.
Mary, like other young girls in Kenya, were sent home due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents and businesses alike suffered economically and had to fend for their families with little or no income. “I requested for pads,” says Mary. “My guardian asked me to choose whether I wanted to eat or have the sanitary products.”
Majority of Kenyan communities are living in poverty caused by lack of employment and skills to support their occupational growth. Like Robert, the unemployed growing population with little or no knowledge started engaged in small-scale farming. His father, a retired teacher, reared chicken and continuously urged him to venture into the business. “I started rearing chicken, but it was difficult,” says Robert.
Before initiation of malaria prevention activities in May 2021, the Amukura Health Centre was reporting frequent cases of sickness due to malaria. Malaria accounts for the highest disease burden at health facilities and has caused deaths of children and women in the region. Some of the cases of most concern impacted pregnant women. Infected women experience a range of complications, including long hospital admissions, loss of pregnancy, and devastating stillbirths.
In Rift Valley Kenya, two forest communities from Kiptogot in Trans Nzoia County and Chepalungu in Bomet County formalized their participatory forest management plans in 2020. These plans will help safeguard forest blocks in Mt. Elgon and the Mau Forest Complex which are two of Kenya’s five important “water towers". Together, the five water towers, also located in Mt. Kenya, Aberdare Range, and Cherangani Hills, provide 75 percent of the country’s water resources, hydro-electric power, and support to vital biodiversity that drives tourism in Kenya.
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