Drivers of early marriage and teenage pregnancy in Kenya and Uganda during COVID‑19 lockdown period: A systematic review
Date
2023-01-06Author
Masaba, Brian Barasa
Mmusi-Phetoe, Rose
Kabo, Jane Wamuyu
Moturi, John Kennedy
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The present study aimed to explore the drivers of early marriage and teenage pregnancy in Kenya and Uganda during COVID‑19 lockdown period.
A systematic review design was adopted. The major online databases utilized were PubMed, Google Scholar, Uganda and Kenya Ministry of
Health repositories, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. Studies that were originating from Kenya and Uganda that were publicly available in electronic
format published from March 2020 to March 2022 were used. The thematic analysis identified major concepts that were drivers to the present
research problem which were as follows: (1) school closure and (2) loss of income by parents. The COVID‑19 containment measures introduced
in the two countries were noted as major contributing factors. During the pandemic, lockdown led to school closures which meant the teenagers
being idle at home with an increased opportunity to indulge in sexual
risk behaviors. Schools have been noted to be a safe place protecting
this vulnerable population. However, with their prolonged closure, the
teenagers were exposed to sexual predators. Parents lost income,
and this might have contributed to early marriages and teenagers’
dependency on their sexual partners. Based on the reviewed evidence,
the present study furthers the advocacy for the reduction of early
marriages and teenage pregnancy, especially in the current COVID‑19
pandemic era. The study calls upon the governments to intensify efforts
toward the present research problem as the COVID‑19 pandemic is
eroding the earlier gains made within the region.
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