Education sector response to early and unintended pregnancy: A policy dialogue in Homa Bay County, Kenya

In collaboration with the Strengthening Evidence for Programming on Unintended Pregnancy (STEP UP) Research Programme Consortium, the Population Council implemented a project to increase the demand for secondary school education in Homa Bay County, Kenya—an area characterized by high, unintended teenage pregnancy and female school drop-out rates. To foster awareness of the school re-entry policy, the Population Council collaborated with the Homa Bay County Department of Education (Ministry of Education) to convene a policy dialogue for all principals of public, day, girls-only, and co-educational secondary schools in the area. The policy dialogue helped to create visibility around the issue of unintended pregnancy in schools and the need for a clear, strong education sector response to it. Additionally, the meeting deliberations underscored the need to update current policies based on issues emerging from the dialogue. Lessons learned from the policy dialogue will be incorporated into future interventions under the project