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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PRESS RELEASE Kenya receives 450,000 doses of family planning self-injectable contraceptives JS BHC docx.pdf
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