Kenya and UK Governments Partner to Strengthen Family Planning Efforts

A collaborative initiative between Population Services Kenya (PS Kenya), the UK government, and the Kenyan government is making significant strides in expanding access to family planning and reproductive healthcare, particularly in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions.

The Delivering Equitable and Sustainable Increases in Family Planning (DESIP) program, a six-year initiative funded by UK Aid, is improving reproductive health services in the country, focusing on counties with a modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR) below 45%. Aligned with Kenya Vision 2030, the program aims to empower women and girls to safely plan their pregnancies and enhance their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

Since its launch in April 2019, DESIP has made remarkable progress. By December 2024, the program had reached 361,378 additional family planning users and delivered 3.68 million Couple Years of Protection (CYP). These efforts have played a crucial role in preventing over 4,528 maternal deaths and reducing maternal, newborn, and child mortality rates.

Community Partnerships Driving Change

Speaking during the National DESIP Dissemination Conference in Nairobi, Dr. Margaret Njenga, CEO of PS Kenya, emphasized DESIP’s success in bridging gaps in reproductive healthcare through strategic partnerships, funding, and community engagement.

“The UK government’s support has strengthened our ability to provide reproductive health services where they are most needed. By collaborating with the government and local communities, we have significantly improved family planning accessibility,” Dr. Njenga stated.

A key factor in the program’s success has been engaging religious leaders, who have become vocal advocates for contraceptive access. Dr. Njenga underscored that family planning is not just a health issue but also an economic and developmental one, allowing families to manage resources effectively and improve their quality of life.

“The DESIP Programme has been a game-changer in Kenya’s reproductive health landscape, empowering thousands of women and marginalized communities with access to quality family planning services. Through strategic partnerships and innovative approaches, DESIP has strengthened health systems and made a significant impact in reducing maternal mortality while advancing Kenya’s FP2030 commitments. As we celebrate the successful conclusion of this programme, PS Kenya remains steadfast in its commitment to sustaining these gains and ensuring that every woman has the right and opportunity to make informed reproductive health choices,” added Dr. Njenga.

Inclusion and the Importance of Child Spacing

A critical finding of the DESIP program is the need for social inclusion, particularly for persons with disabilities, who are often left out of reproductive health discussions.

Dr. Charlotte Pahe, Director of DESIP at PS Kenya, highlighted the importance of child spacing in improving maternal and child health outcomes.

“When a woman does not have sufficient time to recover between pregnancies, it poses serious health risks. For instance, if a mother becomes pregnant when her baby is only six months old, both the baby and the unborn child face increased risks due to inadequate care and nutrition,” she explained.

To address these challenges, DESIP has implemented tailored interventions for nomadic and migratory communities, ensuring consistent access to healthcare despite their mobility.

UK’s Longstanding Commitment to Family Planning in Kenya

Eduarda Mendonca-Gray, Deputy Development Director at the British High Commission, reaffirmed the UK’s dedication to supporting Kenya’s reproductive health efforts. Over the past six decades, the UK has invested £36 million in programs aimed at improving family planning services.

“DESIP has been groundbreaking, reaching over 3,000 people with disabilities, making it one of the most inclusive programs of its kind. This is a model that other initiatives should follow,” Mendonca-Gray remarked.

She emphasized that the goal is to empower Kenyan communities to make informed reproductive health decisions, with the UK playing a supportive role.

Call for Sustainable Funding

Despite DESIP’s successes, sustainable funding remains a major challenge. Dr. Njenga noted that while some counties have started allocating more resources to reproductive health, budget constraints often lead to family planning programs being deprioritized.

“With reductions in foreign aid, Kenya must increase its domestic investment in family planning. This is not just a health issue—it’s a development and economic issue that affects the entire nation,” she stressed.

“The UK has a long history of working on sexual and reproductive health alongside the Kenyan government. As we come to a close of the programme, innovation has been vital to the transformative change that we have seen across the ten counties we have been working in.

We are pleased to have catalyzed transformative change in family planning by investing in the world’s first Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health – Development Impact Bond. This has resulted in over 400,000 girls and women in low-income settings receiving family planning services in urban and peri-urban areas. The UK’s initial investment of $6.4 million to the impact bond has been scaled up by the UN-SDG platform through UNFPA, UNAIDS, and WHO, doubling to $12 million.

We are also pleased to have worked with partners in the private sector like the Kenya Health Federation, Halcyon, Options, and health facilities to enhance accessibility. The private sector market has stepped in to mitigate the financial gap in the purchase of family planning commodities, given the dwindling financial resources,”Mendonca-Gray said.

Strengthening Kenya’s Health Systems

Beyond expanding access, DESIP has played a vital role in strengthening Kenya’s healthcare infrastructure. The program has supported public, private, and faith-based health facilities to ensure high-quality family planning services.

These efforts have contributed to national progress, as reflected in the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2022, which reported an increase in mCPR among married women from 53% in 2014 to 57% in 2022.

DESIP-supported counties played a crucial role in this achievement, helping Kenya gain recognition as an FP2030 exemplar country—a testament to the power of collaborative efforts in advancing reproductive health.