At accurate 20, Esther Wamuhu from Laikipia West is determined to rewrite her future. About a years prior to now, she had to place her schooling on have after an unplanned teenage pregnancy. Now, she is titillating to return to faculty, attain her secondary schooling, and pursue her dream of going to college.
But there used to be one indispensable hurdle—safe admission to to realistic family planning.
“I wanted a good family planning method, but I just couldn’t afford it,” Esther recalls. Then, eventually, she heard an announcement on her local radio place of dwelling about a free properly being outreach going down in her village. She didn’t hesitate to trot, and the consult with turned out to be existence-altering.
“I received a five-year family planning method for free. Now, I can go back to school without the fear of another pregnancy,” she says with relief.
For countless females devour Esther, safe admission to to quality sexual and reproductive properly being services remains a scenario in Kenya—in particular in casual settlements and a ways-flung arid regions the place excessive charges of maternal mortality, teenage pregnancies, and gender-based totally violence are standard
“We bridge the gap by taking these services directly to the communities,” explains Dr. Timothy Panga, Chief Officer for Health in Laikipia County. “Many women might never visit a health facility unless they are facing a critical condition, so outreach programs like these are essential.”
Recognising the urgency of these needs, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is making necessary strides by providing sexual and reproductive properly being kits payment USD 100 000 to six precedence counties —Kajiado, Samburu, Laikipia, Siaya, Marsabit, and Tana River. These kits have very necessary offers for family planning, submit-miscarriage and submit-abortion care, obstetric emergencies, and relieve for survivors of gender-based totally violence.
This initiative is rooted in a total 2024 needs evaluation performed by the WHO and Ministry of Health that known severe gaps in coaching, very necessary sexual and reproductive properly being offers, and community engagement. By strategically addressing these challenges, WHO Kenya is enabling extra females and households to safe admission to existence-saving reproductive properly being care services.
For example, in Samburu, a urgent scarcity of Oxytocin—an indispensable remedy for stopping postpartum hemorrhage—used to be at the moment resolved, making certain timely and efficient care. Moreover, the institution of designated submit-abortion care rooms in the county properly being services ensures females receive care in a safe and confidential ambiance with the very best standard of relieve with dignity and admire. As of February 2025, 6 submit-abortion care rooms had been quandary up in the 6 counties which had been outfitted with very necessary offers and medicines by the WHO.
The WHO Kenya is additionally supporting the ability building of healthcare group to narrate total sexual and reproductive properly being services. Through on-the-job coaching and mentorship by specialists, County healthcare personnel are gaining evolved abilities in submit-abortion care and family planning, thus bolstering their self belief to provide quality and total sexual and reproductive properly being and rights services. Bigger than 216 have to date benefitted from the on-job coaching and mentorship in 36 services in 6 counties. Moreover, to address the gaps known in 2024 round enhancing safe admission to in laborious-to-attain and underserved communities, WHO is expanding its impact by technique of integrated outreach services, which have already reached over 3,300 of us in Laikipia County alone, with 260 receiving family planning services and 1,147 present process cancer screenings.
County leaders have lauded this initiative for its certain impact on females’s properly being. Governor Joseph Ole Lenku of Kajiado County expressed gratitude, emphasising the price of WHO’s collaboration in reaching underserved populations.
“We stock out not rob this relieve as a proper and in actual fact love our collaboration waddle with the World Health Organization,” he said.
As WHO Kenya continues to work with the authorities to expand safe admission to to quality reproductive healthcare, the level of curiosity remains on strengthening properly being systems and empowering communities with info and resources for sustained good points in sexual and reproductive properly being and rights.
