Vaginal rinses with coca-cola and lemon, so Kenyan teenagers believe they can have unprotected sex without getting pregnant.
This is one of the disturbing aspects that emerged from a summit on sexual misinformation among young people conducted by Youth Changers Kenya and made public during a webinar organised by the Government's Youth Agenda.
Many of the girls interviewed said they use this method in the belief that it kills sperm, without knowing that frequent washing with coca-cola can cause damage to the reproductive organs.
The founder of Youth Changers Kenya, Venoranda Rebecca Kuboka, collected several testimonies from Kenyan teenage girls, as reported in an article in the Daily Nation newspaper.
"Some girls assure that if they put cocacola or lemon in their vagina, they will not get pregnant, because they 'wash away' the sperm," Kuboka said during the webinar. "Others are convinced that if they don't have sex they will get rust or cobwebs, because someone has convinced them. This kind of misinformation needs to be addressed and resolved through age-appropriate sex education."
Rebecca Kuboka cited the Netherlands as an example, where young people from primary school onwards are taught without taboos about sex education and as a result the teenage pregnancy rate is among the lowest in the world (4.8 per 1000 births).
It is very important to understand that sexuality education does not predispose young people to have sex, but makes them aware of their rights," said the president of Youth Changers, "They are then able to make the right decisions.
Kenya, the Daily Nation recalls, is one of 20 countries that signed a 2013 ministerial commitment on comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents and youth in Eastern and Southern Africa.
The ministerial meeting held in Cape Town, South Africa, was attended by ministers of education and health.
How to implement this agreement, however, was a major challenge as several stakeholders, especially the clergy, have radical views on sexuality education and access to reproductive health services.
On the other hand, medical studies have established the harmful effects of cleaning the vagina with corrosive or irritating products. Some chemicals contained in coca-cola can damage or irritate vaginal and rectal epithelial cells, thus increasing the risk of transmission of sexual diseases and AIDS, as well as damaging the reproductive system.