Kenyan Sexual and Reproductive Health Services

Kenya is unlikely to achieve equitable access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services by 2030 due to various historical, cultural, and socioeconomic factors that obstruct progress. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Plan for Sustainable Development in 2015, and it included a new set of development goals known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Barbier et al., 2017). The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the Millennium Development Goals' successors (MDGs), and they will direct development cooperation from 2015 to 2030. These objectives are aimed at making everyone's lives easier (World Health Organization, 2016). This paper focuses on Kenya in this context, discussing the country’s progress in its pursuit to achieve the seventh goal of ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health services. Kenya’s historical pursuit of sustainable development can be put traced from 1963, when it gained its independence from the British. Since then, the country has struggled through a series of historical, cultural, and religious factors that still influence its ability to achieve the development goals by 2030.

The success of Kenya in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will largely be measured by its achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. While the country made substantial progress toward the achievement of the MDGs, progress has been uneven across goals and within the country (Buse, 2015). while the country made significant steps in fighting HIV/AIDs, reducing infant mortality, and attaining universal primary education, the country has made little progress in towards achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive health services (Ochako, et al., 2015). From the continuing trend, it is evident that the country will not have achieved the seventh target of the Sustainable Development goals by 2030.

Sexual and reproductive health problems form a large proportion of the burden disease and disability in Kenya (Anand, et al., 2009). Despite the fact that the country has experienced substantial improvements in both the overall health and reproductive health status since its independence, levels of infant and maternal mortality, ignorance on issues of reproductive health, fertility and poor family planning remain high (Patel, 2015). With these levels of poor access to sexual and reproductive health services in Kenya, it is unimaginable for the country to achieve the seventh target of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Some of the reasons that may inhibit this achievement include historical, cultural, and structural factors.

Historical Factors

One of the major historical factors that limit Kenya from achieving the 2030 goal of providing universal access to sexual and reproductive health services is high levels of corruption in the country. Despite having anti-corruption legislations since 1956, the country has had an infamous history of corruption, impacting on the ability to achieve its goals (Liambila, 2010). One of the primary cause of the high levels of corruption in Kenya is the historical tribal division that leads to tribal loyalty. In Kenya, people are first and foremost loyal to their families, then their clan, then their tribe (Ettarh, et al., 2012)

Corruption remains a major constraint to achieving the universal access to sexual and reproductive health services because most corruption scandals in Kenya deprave the country of vast amount of resources that could be used in achieving the goal (Rose-Ackerman, et al., 2016). For instance, in 2016, Kenya witnessed a scandal in the health ministry where an estimated $50 million was misappropriated. The money was intended for free maternity care in the country. In the same year, doctors went on strike for more than two months, complaining that corruption prevented them from being paid. Furthermore, the U.S. also suspended $21 million in health aid to the country, citing failure of Kenya to curb massive corruption. This is an indication that corruption is a major impediment to the achievement of the universal access to sexual and reproductive health services in Kenya (Barbier, et al., 2017).

Another historical factor that may limit Kenya from achieving the seventh target of the SDGs is political instability. For the country to achieve any SDG, it has to maintain political stability by ensuring security and peace within the country and with the neighboring countries (Barbier, et al., 2017). Political instability resulting in chaos and post-election violence such as that witnessed in 2007 and slightly in 2013 severely impacts on the citizens’ ability to access sexual and reproductive health services (Babalola, 2015). With chaos in a country, health facilities are destroyed, and people, especially women, limited from accessing health services.

Another historical factor that may stand in the way preventing Kenya from achieving the SDG is bad governance and tremendous load of debt. For decades, the Kenya’s governance system has largely lacked the basic qualities of transparency, capacity to provide services, and accountability of public servants (Ikamari, 2007). Heavy debts serviced by Kenya drastically reduce funds and resources available to domestic programs including those designed to facilitate the access to universal sexual and reproductive health services (Jarso, 2010). The poor governance in the country is also one of the reasons for the failure effectively integrate reproductive health into national strategies and programs.

Cultural Factors

Despite the government and developing partners putting millions of shillings into family planning programs in Kenya, there is not much to show for it, owing to cultural beliefs and practices (Jarso, 2010). During the Kenyan government’s financial year of 2014-2015, it committed over $9 million for family planning to imply its commitment to getting a healthier, better educated and a more reproductive society. Despite these efforts by government, part of the country’s culture is largely unfavorable to better sexual and reproductive health services. While many women wish to use contraceptives and family planning programs in the country, their cultural traditions and beliefs do not allow them. Most people in the country believe that having many children guarantees them a better future as the children will provide for them in their old age. In Kenya, the average number of children in a family stands between 6 to 11 (Barbier, et al., 2017). With Kenya being a highly conservative country, the practice of these culture traditions highly limit the country’s ability to achieve the seventh target of the Sustainable Development Goals.

It is also a culture in Kenya that a woman does not have any powers over life to decide whether or not to use family planning or any contraceptive option. A woman in the country has to consult from her husband before taking such decisions. Before a woman embraces family planning, it is mandatory that she seeks authority from her husband (Babalola, 2015). Further, some communities in Kenya believe that a woman should bear children until all the children in her womb are over (Olawo, 2013). There is also a myth in Kenya that family planning stops women from giving birth at all. Some women believe that the family planning programs have significant health effects that span for years. These beliefs and myths stand as stumbling blocks to family planning programs in the country. As such, it becomes difficult to achieve the seventh target of the Sustainable Development Goals.





Structural Factors

Structural factors comprise the social institutions that make up a country. Social institutions in Kenya also affect the country’s ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services (Barbier, et al., 2017). For instance, despite the practical moral sexual responsibility, the benefit of disease prevention, and the necessity of birth control, many religious establishments in Kenya are strongly opposed to birth control for various superstitious reasons.

Approximately over 60 percent of the Kenyan population is Catholic adherent. Catholicism infamously condemns and forbids all kinds of birth control measures. This means that many people in Kenya abide by the Catholic teachings and believe that any form of family planning is religiously wrong (Were, 2007). Many catholic leaders in the country have publicly spoken against contraceptives and urged their followers not to undertake any form of family planning program. With Kenya being a very religious country, the religious stand is a significant block to the achievement of the SDG of proving universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services (Barbier, et al., 2017).

Another structural factor in Kenya that may impend the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal, is the poor economic status in the country. Despite the government impressive efforts to reduce poverty and fight inequality in the country, many people are still living below the dollar in a day. The poor economic conditions mean that many citizens in the country are living in poor standards, with minimal or no ability to access quality health care services (Olawo, 2013). Furthermore, the increasing unemployment rate also implies that many people cannot afford quality health care services (Barbier, et al., 2017). For this reason, its becomes impractical to imagine that Kenya will have achieved the SDG of providing universal access to sexual and reproductive health care services by 2030

Critical Analysis and Conclusion

Kenya has been a top advocate of Agenda 2030. The country has been in the forefront of providing an environment that ensures quality life for all. However, despite the country’s efforts to ensure better lives for its citizens through its commitment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, various historical, cultural, and structural factors stand in its way (Griggs, 2014). The achievement of universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services is likely to face more significant challenges owing to the country’s unfavorable culture, history, and social institutions. Many institutions in the country are highly corrupt, while some communities believe that it is against their culture, and morally wrong to use contraceptives (Sachs, 2008). Furthermore, large religious establishments in the country are also opposed to family planning. For these reasons, it is recommended that Kenya adopts a new strategy to make contraceptives acceptable in the country again for it to achieve the universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services.



































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