UK funding provides 450,000 doses of contraceptives to support comprehensive access to modern

family planning in Kenya.

Nairobi, May 16, 2024- Efforts to make family planning more accessible to women in Kenya received a boost today 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 UNFPA with

more than 57 Million Kenya Shillings (£348,000) 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% in 2022, up from 53% in 2014. During the same

period, the unmet need for family planning was reduced from 18% to 14%. 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.

UNFPA Representative Anders Thomsen said: “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,”

In 2023, UNFPA supported the Ministry of Health in expanding access to family planning

commodities and services in Kenya by procuring a range of family planning 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.

For more information, please contact:

Irene Wangui-Communications Specialist, UNFPA- [email protected]

Janet Sudi, Communications Manager, British High Commission- [email protected]

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