Kenya, a leader in Africa on family planning
Kenya's family planning investment has been hailed a leader in sub-Saharan Africa.
In Pattaya City, Thailand
Kenya has been praised as the leading country in sub-Saharan Africa in family planning investment while providing access to services for its population.
It is also the leading country in providing a budget line and prioritising family planning services as a national agenda by integrating it into the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda.
Speaking during the signing of commitments by African countries including Kenya and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), policy adviser Emma Foster said Kenya has done extremely well as far as funding and increasing access to family planning commodities are concerned.
As ministers from 13 other African countries commit to funding at least 60 per cent of their family planning services given that the donors are withdrawing, Kenya is already focusing on a 100 per cent transition through a memorandum of understanding signed with partners this year.
“The government of Kenya is at the forefront when it comes to sustainable family planning financing and has made enormous progress, which we are so happy about. Transiting to 100 per cent coverage is not easy. The country is on the right track,” said Ms Foster at the Ministerial Roundtable on Sustainable Financing for Family Planning hosted by UNFPA 2022 International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP).
Ms Foster said the commitment made by the Kenyan government to fully finance family planning commodities by 2026 and underpin the commitment with an MoU with partners is a game-changer and good planning.
“In fact, this is an example of best practice that we have used within the UNFPA partnership when we look to scale up models in partnership in other countries, adding that Kenya is considered a bench-marking country in Africa as far as family planning is concerned,” she said in an interview with the Nation during the sixth international conference on family planning in Pattaya City, Thailand.
She said integrating mainstream family planning into the Universal Health Coverage agenda was one of the best concepts adopted by the Kenyan Government, and other countries could learn from it.
“There is a huge transformative in the country as far as the family planning concept is concerned. Kenya is leading in Africa in increasing sustainable family planning financing and increasing access to methods in women and girls, including marginalised population,” she said.
Kenya has recorded improvement in family planning uptake among women of reproductive age, with 52 per cent of those eligible, representing 5.2 million women, using modern family planning methods.
The MoU with the donor's sustainable financing mechanism for the procurement of family planning (FP) commodities was to provide monetary support to bridge the financing gap, with supply requirements at Sh2.5 billion.
The development partners included the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom.
Kenya’s notable success in family planning is reflected in the increasing use of modern contraception and declining levels of unmet needs over time. Country leaders have recognized family planning as a “best buy” investment yielding social, economic, and health returns.
Kenya has ramped up its domestic funding for family planning commodities from Sh559 million in the 2020-2021 financial year to Sh563 million for 2021-2022, while Sh1.19 billion has been set aside for the 2022-2023 financial cycle.
Kenya’s annual budget is USD3 billion and one of the commitments with the donors, including UNFPA, is to match what each country allocates up to 2027 then the countries are left on their own.
Dr Issak Bashir, from the Department of Family Health in the Health ministry said Kenya started the journey a long time ago.
“We have made quite a tremendous step in investing and leading in access in family planning in the region as a national development agenda. Through our semi-autonomous departments, national council and population development, we have covered a lot,” he said
Family planning is an essential component of achieving development goals for health, poverty reduction, gender equality, and environmental sustainability.
Kenya has made notable strides to improve the uptake of modern contraceptives. In 2020, the country attained a contraceptive prevalence of 61 per cent, surpassing the target of 58 per cent. This year, the country is at 61 per cent.
The country has since revised its number to 66 per cent by 2030 and 70 per cent by 2050, however, the country has witnessed a worsening shortage of commodities including implants, injectables, pills and male condoms in the past two years.
“No country has reached this progress and as a nation, we are very proud. We are not off the hook yet. We have some areas to work on,” he said.
As far as the unmet needs are concerned, the number has come down from 28 per cent to 14 per cent. The country’s target is 10 per cent by 2030.
“This is not easy, given the huge disparities across the country. This is the challenge and everybody needs to be involved. With the transition from donor funding. We need to move, “he said.
There are still gaps in the donor component, with a discussion going on to ensure that donors step up.
In a major step towards transforming the global financing landscape for family planning, eight ministers announced commitments to increasing their countries’ domestic budget allocations for contraceptives.
The countries, together with the UNFPA, and the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, committed to sharing the cost of contraceptives with UNFPA from 2023 onwards.
“This represents a significant shift, as countries are increasingly moving towards financing their own family planning budget needs, rather than relying on donor contributions. When women and girls have access to family planning, the ripple effects can transform, not only a single woman’s life but an entire society,” said Ms Diene Keita, UNFPA’s deputy executive director of Programmes.
“Sustainable financing for family planning can advance progress toward universal health coverage and uplift the rights and well-being of women, girls and communities. For this, UNFPA’s new Strategic Plan (2022-2025) sets out a bold new vision to transform the financing landscape for sexual and reproductive health working with countries."
The sixth International Conference on Family Planning brings together more than 200 scientific sessions, and more than 200 oral and flash sessions across 16 tracks covering a wide diversity of research, programme and advocacy topics.
This will allow delegates to engage with the latest science, advocacy and knowledge on family planning.
About 3,500 global policymakers, ministers, parliamentarians, philanthropic organisations, researchers, scientists, government leaders, and family planning advocates are expected to participate physically with more joining online.
The participants from more than 125 countries will gather for the world’s largest scientific conference and convening focused on family planning and sexual and reproductive health and rights to share research innovations, and address challenges.
The first hybrid conference will provide an opportunity to disseminate knowledge, celebrate successes, and identify the next steps toward reaching the goal of universal access to family planning systems, services and products.
The conference, which will run till the end of the week, co-hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health, will also highlight the role of political and financial leadership in increasing family planning access and options.
With this year’s theme “Family Planning and Universal Health Coverage: Innovate. Collaborate. Accelerate” the participants are dedicated to ensuring that women have access to the methods that meet their needs while advocating for policies and helping design systems that foster the integration of family planning with other basic health services.
