Kasese struggles with high rates of early pregnancies, child marriages
Kasese district was one of the areas that reported high numbers of child marriages and early pregnancies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three years later, the district still registers high rates of early pregnancies at 40%, with child marriage survivors blaming parents for failing to provide school requirements. They say this prompted some to engage in sexual relations, leading to pregnancy. Parents also chased their daughters from home after they got pregnant, an act they condemned. According to Feisal Bagumira Kiralira, the Kasese probation officer, the numbers of early pregnancies remain high in Kasese municipality. Over 600 early pregnancies were registered in 2022 in Kasese municipality and over 1,000 cases in Kasese district, and this has not changed in 2024.
