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{
    "id": 1299804,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1299804/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 266,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Miraj",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I beg to move that the Care and Protection of Child Parent Bill 2023, (Senate Bill Number 29 of 2023), be read for the second time. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the principle objective of the Bill is to provide a legal framework for the care and protection of child parents within counties. The framework is intended to ensure that an expectant child or a child-parent may actualize the right to basic education and, at the same time ensure proper care of their children as enshrined in Article 53 of the Constitution of Kenya. In this Bill, I intend to see that the child-parents get their constitutional right to access education even when they get early pregnancies. I also intend to ensure that the county government, through the CECMs for Education, also care for the infants. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, 60 years since Kenya gained its Independence from colonial rule, child pregnancies have remained a huge concern. They not only affect the child's ability to continue with education, they also affect the Government's efforts in reducing the poverty level in the country. As I had earlier stated, when these children get pregnant, they continue living in a cycle of poverty because they do not get a second chance to access education, which is the only determination of the success of these children. The Kenya National Bureau of the Statistics (KNBS) in the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2022, noted that 15 per cent of adolescent women aged between 15 and 19 years have ever been pregnant, with 12 per cent having given birth, one per cent experiencing pregnancy loss and three per cent being pregnant with their first child. The KNBS further noted that the number of teenage pregnancies is higher in rural setups, particularly in pastoralist communities. Compared to urban areas, it is further noted teenage pregnancies decline as the level of education rises. Further, it also declined as the level of household wealth increases. Article 53(1)(b), (c), and (d) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 provides for the rights of a child to free and compulsory basic education; the rights to basic nutrition, shelter and health care; the rights of protection from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural"
}