In today’s world, there are many issues that we need to tackle. However, one person or nation is not enough, which is why it is important to spread awareness of the issues we face globally. Member of Elements – Writing Club at ISK have taken on the challenge, and written articles about issues they believe need addressing.
Food Insecurity in Eastern Africa
By Zainab Shahid
The East African region is known as one of the most highly food-insecure regions in the world. As a whole, 42% of the population is undernourished, with countries such as Somalia, Eritrea, and Ethiopia having the highest rates. As of July 2024, it is estimated that there are 62 million food-insecure people in Eastern Africa, the levels rising rapidly, as in March 2024, the numbers were 54 million. A consequence of this is children experiencing undernourishment are shown to have extremely high rates of stunting and short life spans.
The main factors contributing to extreme food insecurity include drought, lack of resources, and conflict. The Highlands of Ethiopia and parts of equatorial Sudan have low and unreliable rainfall, and up to 67% of the total land area is classified as arid. This leads to agricultural difficulties, which causes a lack of resources and food insecurity. Though other natural disasters or diseases can predispose people to food insecurity, they don’t lead to large-scale undernourishment.
Even though Acute food insecurity can be mapped, it is difficult to see who is more chronically food insecure. According to a map by the FAO, data is recorded to track food insecurity, and it is shown that each dire situation has different factors, such as the old, young, and women, in general, being affected by chronic and acute food shortages. The rapid population increase has also put a strain on limited land resources, along with limited access to resources and technology required to further intense production. Remote locations with little access to marketplaces are also susceptible to this vulnerability.
Poverty is also a factor playing into food insecurity, as they are the ones who generally have the least access to natural resources, entitlements, and job opportunities for income, all leading to being the most chronically food-insecure.
Though conflict isn’t the probable cause of food insecurity, it is leading to food insecurity in many countries, such as Sudan: the war in Sudan has caused half the population in Sudan —25.6 million— to experience crisis levels of hunger.
It is estimated that 50% of the population in Nairobi, Kenya, comprised of 2 million individuals, is food insecure. At the same time, 2-3 million people are displaced in and around Khartoum, Sudan, and need constant food aid. Famine and food insecurity from a humanitarian standpoint: many humans will have short life spans, living poorly and having health-threatening deprivation, resulting in chronic undernutrition. And even though the majority of food-insecure individuals live in rural areas, food insecurity is spreading as an urban phenomenon in major cities of regions.
Many organizations, such as UN Organizations like the WFP (World Food Programme), are slowly working towards ending the famine in Eastern Africa by providing nutritious, safe, and high-quality food to those in need. However, the numbers are still extremely high.
Abortion in Kenya: Balancing Lives, Laws, and Beliefs
Nairobi, Kenya—November 20th, 2024
By Sylvia Victor
With the uproar caused by the current election results brought about in the United States, it cannot be denied that abortion rights for women have caused a debacle. The debate exists far outside the Westernized world and has been an especially polarizing topic of conversation in Kenya. Not only are the sociocultural views regarding the stigma varied, but the legal framework is complex. When looking at the legal framework, the penal code outlaws abortion and criminalizes the woman, the person who carries out the abortion, and the person who supplies the materials. These laws impose severe penalties on women and healthcare providers involved in abortion procedures, creating a legal grey area that complicates access to safe abortion services. As it stands, a woman who attempts to carry out her own abortion can be jailed for up to 7 years, while healthcare providers who perform an abortion can be sentenced to 14 years. However, the 2010 constitution allows abortion under certain conditions. Article 26(4) states that abortion is permissible in situations when the mother’s life is in danger or the pregnancy results from rape or incest. Later, in March 2022, a ruling made by the High Court of Kenya affirmed that abortion care is a fundamental right. This ruling, arising from the case PAK and Salim Mohammed v. Attorney General et al., the court declared that arbitrary prosecutions of individuals seeking or providing abortion services are illegal and criminalizing abortion without a statutory framework violates women’s reproductive rights, dignity, and autonomy. Not only had this been a landmark case for women’s rights, but it became a ruling that protected healthcare providers.
Despite this, it is still estimated that there are over 465,000 abortions that occur in Kenya, and the majority are a result of unsafe abortion attempts. Unsafe abortions are one of the leading causes of preventable maternal mortality in Kenya and are noted to be the highest in Africa. It is estimated that at least 2,600 women die from unsafe abortions, and 21,000 more are hospitalized annually due to them. Backstreet clinics have also become a quick and affordable choice for women. Those who perform abortions at these clinics– frequently, they are not medical professionals– offer women and girls abortions for around 2,500 shillings (around $20). Not only are these procedures unsafe and done in the hundreds each day, but there are different methods that women resort to. Some consult herbalists, who provide an herbal drink that can terminate pregnancies. These are increasingly unsafe, as side effects range from excessive bleeding to tormenting pain in the lower abdomen.
Neha Wadekar, a PBS reporter, recently reported on the issue. Her commentary reflects how the issue in the United States has extended out to Kenya. Several cases are currently progressing through Kenyan courts, including one petition advocating for the right to life of unborn children and their equal protection and benefits under the law. In an interview with Martin Onyango, a lawyer at the Center for Reproductive Rights, he states, “Those are the same tactics being applied by the opposition group in the U.S. in various states and also at the Supreme Court.” This is partly due to the support of international groups, particularly American organizations, which are strengthening the Kenyan anti-abortion movement by promoting conservative policies and ideologies across Africa. These groups frequently visit Africa to speak at events and lead anti-abortion training sessions. According to parliamentarian Esther Passaris, this kind of campaigning holds significant influence, as politicians fear losing the backing of key conservative voting unions.
The debate over abortion rights in Kenya mirrors global dynamics while being deeply rooted in the country’s unique sociocultural and legal landscape. Despite constitutional provisions and landmark rulings affirming reproductive rights, restrictive laws and stigma continue to drive women to unsafe abortion practices, posing significant health risks and contributing to preventable maternal deaths.
Breaking the Silence – Female Genitalia Mutation
By Tisya Arora
Female genitalia mutation (FGM), as per the World Health Organisation, is a practice in some cultures which involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any other kind of injury to the female genitalia organs for non-medical reasons. Millions of girls alive today have undergone this procedure, approximately 230 million girls/women around the ages of 14-49. This procedure is most commonly performed in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, some parts of Asia, Europe, and the Americas, either in ethnic minorities or immigrant communities within the countries where it is illegal.
Female genitalia mutation is a normalised cultural procedure/act in several Sub-Saharan countries, including Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso, as well as West and East African countries, including Nigeria, Egypt ( borders the Middle East), Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda, and a country in western Asia, Yemen. According to several articles, FGM’s most frequently cited reasons for its implication are “Social acceptance, religion, misconceptions about hygiene, a means of preserving a girl or woman’s virginity, making the woman “Marriageable, and enhancing male sexual pressure”. Four types of FGM can be conducted; Clitorectocmy, removal of the sensitive clitoris and surrounding area; excision, removal of the clitoris, labia minora or skin unfolding around the vagina. Infibulation and other harmful procedures like pricking or piercing the genital area.
As this act is considered to be a “Prerequisite for marriage”, despite having no hygienic advantages or health benefits, it has been taking place for several years, and the countries and their people have now homogenised it. Between countries which still conduct FGM and their development as a country, countries like Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, and more all have a very low HDI score, below 0.6, showing their lack of health provision, knowledge and education and standard of living, suggesting the leading reason for continued FGM, providing a correlation between the two aspects of certain countries, its HDI score and occurrence of FGM. There are no health provisions to save girls from such actions, thus forced to live a poor life with complicated health issues as consequences.
In Kenya, 21% of women have undergone some form of FGM, although it is lower than in other countries like Somalia or Guinea, where 97-98% of women have undergone the procedure. FGM causes several issues like irregular periods, cysts and during pregnancy to the mother and child, which causes most women to perform cesarian; despite all, it is a big struggle to create awareness, as communities consider Female genitalia Mutation as a taboo and refuse to discuss this matter with others, signifying the importance of awareness.
There has been a significant decrease in Female genitalia mutation in the past years till COVID-19; as the UN labels this as a violent act towards women, diminishing their human rights and thus illegal, several countries have started to take action towards it. This highlights the importance of awareness in schools, especially in schools like ISK, which has a large international community.
Addressing difficulties East African Women Face Regarding Menstrual Health
By Charlotta Connor
The lack of availability of menstrual products for young East African girls is a huge issue across the region since many lack access to these products for a variety of reasons, including their expense, stigma and taboo surrounding menstruation and lack of access to clean water.
There is a big stigma surrounding menstruation in traditional African communities, which does not allow for open conversations and education on this topic. Therefore, many young girls are unaware of menstruation; a recent study in Uganda showed that 23.8% of school girls questioned didn’t know about their cycles until their first period, also known as their menarche. Millions of girls suffer because of this stigma, especially in rural areas, where the average salary of a household is less than $1.90 per day; this means that many families are unable to afford expensive menstrual products for young girls resulting in improvisation with leaves, mud and dung, which can result in serious health issues. Some young girls resort to transactional sex to obtain money which is partially used for the purchase of sanitary products. This increased sexual activity leads to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases and infections. Studies show that sanitary pads are often the second largest monthly cost, after bread, to an average Kenyan family according to Ballard Brief. As a result, these products are not readily availiable to many poorer individuals in Eastern Africa.
Poverty, however, is not the only reason these girls don’t have access to these products. Many girls refrain from informing their families about their period, as this is a sign of maturity. In the view of their cultures, this ‘coming of age’ means they are considered mature enough to marry or undergo FGM. Others often don’t have the money to purchase sanitary products and as a result end up missing school. In some areas of Narok county in Kenya, only 1 in 15 girls enrolled in primary school finish their secondary education. Helina Baheta, student leader of the Project Imagine club at the Internation School of Kenya, stated, “The issue is that a lot of girls don’t have access to pads, so they miss a large part of their school year because each month when they get their period, they don’t go to school. They miss a week a month, so that’s the big problem. It’s about accessibility”.
Some projects, such as Makini pads, are working to provide reusable pads to young girls in Kenya. Not only does this reduce unemployment by creating jobs for Kenyans to make them, but they also increase availability as they distrubute these re-usable pads to local schools. This solution is eco-friendly therefore also promoting more sustainable sanitary products. However, according to Helina Baheta, “The problem is they don’t have access to water” Therefore, Project Imagine doesn’t work with providing re-usable pads because “if we were to give them re-usable pads, they wouldn’t be able to re-use them, as they wouldn’t be able to wash them.” Project Imagine has, however, done work to try to battle this issue, “Last year we did work with Samburu water project which helps build wells for local communities in Samburu, and we donated to them so they could help build the wells, in order to address that.”
This issue doesn’t only affect eastern Africa, but it’s a major global issue worldwide that many organisations such as Huru international, makini pads and USAID have been trying to combat. Essentially, it’s about removing the stigma and taboo surrounding periods, and according to Helina Baheta, “It’s about addressing the issue from the root level.”
Education on Menstrual Health in East Africa
By Maya-Devi Mizusawa Diep
Menstrual hygiene education, otherwise known as MHE, is a life-saving service which teaches women, girls and anyone about menstrual health and how to look after and handle yourself during menstruation and menarche. East Africa is one of many regions around the world in which MHE is not often readily accessible, leaving the majority of the menstruating population to suffer from disease and harm as a result.
A study done in Tanzania in 2009 showed that girls who experienced menarche often felt fear, confusion, and shame as a result of the lack of menstrual education. Furthermore, the cultural stigma surrounding menstruation in East Africa forms a barrier around the ability to have conversation about it among female peers, mothers, and especially male figures.
“It’s pretty non-existent”, says Helina Baheta of Project Imagine, a club at the International School of Kenya which aims to raise funds for menstrual products to povide for the school, Salama, on the topic of MHE quality in Kenya. “A lot of it comes from the culture, they’re not supposed to talk about these things.”
Due to the lack of communication and education at home, around 44% of participants in a study in Kenya stated that their teachers were their primary educators on menstrual health, with only 6.3% saying it was their mothers. This stigma only further accelerates the danger that can occur with poor menstrual health management, and also highlights the need to educate not just the girls who get their periods, but parents, boys, and men.
“We have a boys curriculum,” states Helina, “we teach them, give them the mindset that this [menstruation] is natural and normal for a woman, this is what happens and this is how you can be supportive. So I think it’s about addressing the issue from the root level”.
A 2016 study in Uganda found that 90.5% of participants did not meet the standard criteria of adequate menstural health management (MHM) as girls often resort to using old cloths, rags, cow dung, and other unsanitary methods to deal with their periods which can lead to reproductive infections as well as urinary tract infections (UTI). It is also a case of the poor privacy of lavatories and the inaccessibility of clean water which prevents women and girls from safely and comfortably handling their periods.
Despite it all, it is not a losing battle that the majority of East African nations are facing. The spread of awareness through multiple organisations and initiatives and the increased understanding of the importance of MHE is slowly making its impact. There is, however, still a long way to go. As students at ISK, we do not face the same problems which the majority of women and girls face in Kenya. As the people with comfort and privilege, it is our responsibility to use our voices to uplift those that cannot as this is not a distant issue, we are not removed from this.
Water Insecurity in Kenya
By Anonymous
Climate change has worsened water insecurity in Kenya. The most affected areas are in rural areas and parts of northern Kenya. These areas are affected the most by arid climates where water is already sparse, so rainfall depends on it. With rising temperatures and increasingly unpredictable weather, droughts have become more frequent. The lack of information regarding water, like pipelines to rural communities, makes these regions the most affected because of the lack of access and scarcity. Around 95 per cent of water pans (critical small-scale reservoirs) will dry up in 2022, meaning people now have to walk between 8.6 and 17.6 kilometres to access water.
The lack of water also leads to other problems, such as starvation, as livestock is dying, and insufficient water makes agriculture and farming impossible because farmers rely heavily on rain for their crops; without water, they cannot grow food, leading to food insecurity and starvation. There are also health risks because scarcity of clean water results in poor sanitation and hygiene, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases and, in severe cases, death due to dehydration and malnutrition. Children, especially girls, often miss school to help their families collect water from distant sources. In Kenya, the worst drought in 40 years is effectively pushing some 1.5 million children out of school. This not only disrupts children’s education but also perpetuates the cycle of poverty and limited opportunities for these communities.
In response, local communities and NGOs have tried many solutions to alleviate scarcity and availability in certain regions, such as drilling wells in or near schools in communities. This strategy provides a stable water source for students and nearby communities, reducing the time and distance people, especially children, must travel for water. There is also education in local communities regarding the importance of water conservation practices and the importance of protecting natural water sources.
Sexual Education for Women in Kenya
By Elsa Bergqvist
When a woman named Tabby was merely 15 years old, she became pregnant and had to drop out of school, to which she never returned as many other women before her. In an interview with Nation, Tabby reveals she didn’t know that unprotected sex led to pregnancy. This situation in and of itself is a reflection of the quality of comprehensive sexual education in Kenya.
According to a report by the Guttmacher Institute in 2017, based on a survey in three Kenyan counties, Nairobi, Mombasa, and Homa Bay, students learn more about sexual and reproductive physiology, as well as HIV prevention, than they do contraception/unintended pregnancies or gender and sexual and reproductive health rights (SRH). 93% of students that had a sexual education considered it very useful; however, sexual education is taught in secondary school, of which only 53% of students continue from primary school (compared to an enrollment of 93% for primary school), says UNICEF. According to Newcastle University, as of 2023, around 14.3% of girls in rural areas continue on to secondary education from primary education, and in urban areas, the percentage is estimated to be around 27.8%. This means a small portion of women have access to sexual education. However, according to Newcastle University, the main reason girls aren’t enrolling in secondary school isn’t due to home chores. In reality, they have teenage pregnancies and/or early marriages. This creates a vicious circle as sexual education could prevent teen pregnancies from happening, but they are the root cause of girls not receiving sexual education.
Additionally, within the material of sexual education in Kenya, SRH and gender rights aren’t prioritized topics, which further creates imbalances between men and women. Education in gender inequality and SRH rights leads to awareness but also knowledge of personal boundaries. The WHO has evidence, meaning 1 in 5 girls experience child sexual abuse, and considering most of those girls don’t have a sexual education, one wonders whether the two are correlated. Could child sexual abuse be a product of a lack of sexual education? Perhaps it is the lack of sexual education for girls overall, but it could also be rooted in the fact that in Kenya, SRH and gender rights aren’t prioritized for men or women.
Overall, this is an issue that needs to be addressed. The Kenyan Government has pulled out of the East and South African Countries (ESA) Ministerial Commitment to Comprehensive Sexual Education, a commitment made with other ESA countries to increase sexual education. This only aggravates the problem, as the Government is the one able to fund and send resources. Sexual education is beneficial in many ways as it doesn’t only prevent STIs and inform about sexual and reproductive physiology but can also support students in their overall health. They become more knowledgeable in their rights and can advocate for themselves. Since girls usually drop out of school due to teen pregnancy or early marriage, an increase in the quality and amount of sexual education could prevent this from happening as it makes them more aware, and girls could have a high standard of education overall. When 10,000-13,000 girls drop out of school in Kenya every year due to teen pregnancy alone, there might be a problem that has to be solved.
Elements Magazine 