Kenya’s young people are facing a growing health crisis as HIV infections, teenage pregnancies and sexual and gender-based violence continue to threaten their education, wellbeing and future, Principal Secretary for Public Health and Professional Standards Mary Muthoni has warned.
Muthoni said young people aged 10 to 34 accounted for 72 per cent of all new adult HIV infections recorded in 2025, while more than 236,000 girls aged between 10 and 19 faced pregnancy.
She spoke in Nairobi on Wednesday during the National Roundtable Forum on Ending the Triple Threat, where she called for stronger action to protect young people from the three challenges.
“These interconnected vulnerabilities threaten to rob an entire generation of their education, of their health, and their potential,” she said.
Muthoni said the figures should not be treated as Kenya’s destiny but as “a call to action”, urging the government, development partners, civil society and the private sector to step up efforts aimed at young people most at risk.
She called for stronger combination HIV prevention measures, including targeted prevention programmes, quick access to testing and continued access to treatment for vulnerable young people.
The PS also urged stakeholders to ensure adolescents can access health services that respond to their needs, with respectful and confidential sexual and reproductive healthcare available without barriers.
On sexual and gender-based violence, Muthoni called for stronger survivor-centred services that provide immediate medical care, legal assistance and support for trauma recovery.
She further urged stakeholders to help vulnerable young people, especially girls, remain in school by investing in economic and social safety nets and supporting adolescent parents to continue their education.
“When we protect our girl from practice, we keep her in school. We guarantee her health, and we support her choices,” she said.
“We do not just save her life, but we equally transform an entire generation and secure the economic future of our country.”
Muthoni said Kenya had also made progress in the fight against HIV, with new infections dropping by 82 per cent between 2015 and 2025.
She attributed the progress to primary healthcare systems, community health workers and social protection programmes, but said the remaining challenges could not be addressed by government alone.
“We cannot finish this journey without you,” she told partners, urging them to direct investments and resources towards areas where the need is greatest.
Muthoni also called for the revival of public health communication campaigns, recalling that she grew up seeing posters warning people about the dangers of HIV.
“When I was growing up, the one thing I feared most was sex,” she said, explaining that the widespread HIV messages at the time made her more aware of the risks.
She also raised concern about the health risks linked to flooding, warning that contaminated water could increase cases of waterborne diseases such as cholera while also contributing to higher malaria transmission.
The PS urged the public to maintain high hygiene standards as national and county governments prepare emergency responses to the effects of flooding.
“Let us pledge concrete, time-bound commitments so that no adolescent in Kenya is left behind due to fear, stigma, and financial hardship,” Muthoni said.