Government to roll out self-injectible form of family planning
By K24 Editorial, May 17, 2024The government is set to roll out a family planning self-injectable dose in a bid to meet a 2030 target of raising the modern contraceptive prevalence rate to 64 per cent from the current 57 per cent.
This will also reduce the unmet need for family planning currently at 14 per cent from 18 per cent in 2014, to a target of single digit per cent by 2030.
This was revealed during the handing over of 450,000 doses of Subcutaneous Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (DMPA-SC), popularly known as depo provera at Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) warehouses yesterday that where the self-injectable has been deployed it has averted thousands of unintended pregnancies; unsafe abortions and eventually maternal deaths.
Currently, the depo provera has been piloted in 33 counties since it was introduced into the country’s health commodities’ list four years ago.
While receiving the supplies, acting Director General of Health Dr Patrick Amoth termed the action as a laudable effort that goes a long way in making family planning more accessible to women in the country.
“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,” he said, noting that it will support the Government’s efforts to increase access to family planning in line with global trends toward self-care interventions.
Modern contraceptives
However, to reduce the unmet need for family planning and raise the prevalence of modern contraceptives from the current 57 per cent to 64 per cent target for 2030, the country needs to improve the supply by one per cent every year. “We therefore must dig deeper in the Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2022, to find ways of addressing this challenge and by extension teenage pregnancy in 5-6 counties,” he said.
The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey Key Indicator Report of 2022 showed that Kenya has an unmet need for family planning of 14 per cent, with a target of reducing it to single digits by 2030.
“Similarly, with a target of modern contraceptive prevalence rate of 64 per cent by 2030 against the current 57 per cent, sustained effort in implementing high impact interventions is needed to realise these goals,” the DG said.
However, despite this progress, Dr Amoth noted that barriers such as the high financial cost of access and uncertainty over supply, myths and stigma hinder efforts to meet the demand for family planning.