- Estimates show that family planning in Kenya prevented 2.4 million pregnancies in 2023.
- The 2023 report shows significant achievements in family planning across the globe, even in the face of stagnant funding.
- The contraceptives were procured by UNFPA with more than KES57 Million (£348,000) funding from the UK.
Efforts to make family planning more accessible to women in Kenya received a boost with the handover of 450,000 doses of Subcutaneous Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (DMPA-SC), a self-injectable contraceptive that simplifies and enhances the accessibility of family planning.
The contraceptives were procured by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with more than $378,151 (KES57 Million) funding from the UK Government, and will be distributed by the Ministry of Health to health facilities across the country.
DMPA-SC is a user-friendly injectable contraceptive that can be administered by trained individuals, including community health workers and women themselves, thereby expanding access to family planning beyond traditional healthcare settings.
While receiving the supplies at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) warehouse in Nairobi, Ag. Director General of Health Dr. Patrick Amoth said The integration of DMPA-SC self-injection into Kenya’s reproductive health landscape is part of broader reproductive health self-care initiatives aimed at improving service delivery.
“These will support the Government’s efforts to increase access to family planning in line with global trends toward self-care interventions.”
Kenya has made significant progress in promoting access to family planning, with the modern contraceptive prevalence rate rising to 57 per cent in 2022, up from 53 per cent in 2014.
Family Planning In Kenya
During the same period, the unmet need for family planning was reduced from 18per cent to 14 per cent. Despite this progress, barriers such as the high financial cost of access and uncertainty over supply hinder efforts to meet the demand for family planning.
Deputy Development Director at the British High Commission, Eduarda Mendonca-Gray said Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights is a key priority for the UK.
The evidence confirms that access to and availability of family planning commodities reduces poverty, it enhances prosperity and provides dignity for women. Since 2010 we have been supporting family planning efforts in Kenya and we remain committed to working collaboratively.
We will continue working with the Health Ministry to empower women to plan for their lives and future, and to decide when to have children by choice not by chance.”
The UK government has been a longstanding partner of UNFPA and the Government of Kenya in efforts to ensure Kenyan women and girls have access to sexual and reproductive health information and services.
“Funding for the family planning program is a vital component of the support we receive from the UK government, as it ensures that women can access and choose from a range of quality family planning methods, no matter where they live in the country. This in many ways, helps us deliver on the commitment to end preventable maternal deaths,” said UNFPA Representative Anders Thomsen.
In 2023, UNFPA supported the Ministry of Health in expanding access to family planning commodities and services in Kenya by procuring a range of interventions methods distributed to over 6,000 health facilities across 47 counties. These commodities served over 2.5 million women of reproductive age.
The consignment of DMPA-SC contraceptives handed over today will be distributed to health facilities through KEMSA. The contraceptives are expected to benefit over 400,000 women of reproductive age, contributing to the prevention of 42,750 unintended pregnancies and 122 maternal deaths.
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Pregnancies
According to a report titled “Meeting the Moment: Family Planning and Gender Equality,” It is estimated that birth control measures in Kenya prevented 2.4 million pregnancies last year (2023) by using contraceptives. This even as the new measurements showing that 6.5 million women are currently on modern contraception.
The report places Kenyans among the top contraception users in Africa. At least 75.6 per cent of the demand for modern methods has been satisfied but an estimated 14.5 per cent of women who need the modern methods have access.
The figures were published by Family Planning 2030 (FP2030), a global partnership working with governments, civil society and donors, among other partners. to improve access to contraceptives.
FP2030, which has a regional hub in Nairobi, works to drive universal access to sexual and reproductive health services and rights by 2030, as laid out in Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5.
The 2023 report shows significant achievements in birth control across the globe, even in the face of stagnant funding, according to a statement from the organisation.
