Kenya faces population crisis as 43pc of pregnancies unintended

The low use of contraceptives blamed on neglect of family planning programmes.

By FRANCIS ONTOMWA

Nearly half of children in the country would not have been born if their parents were aware of contraceptives or could access them, according to a population expert.

Dr Alex Ezeh, the Executive Director of African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) notes that research indicates many women get pregnant because of barriers in accessing contraceptives and lack of knowledge on how to plan their families.

“If it was their wish, they would not get pregnant. We did research and it indicated that 43 per cent of all pregnancies are unintended, meaning that the increase in literacy levels in the country has not been accompanied by corresponding knowledge on contraceptive use,” said Ezeh, who was speaking in Busia during a meeting with county government officials on Tuesday.

Steal limelight

He blamed the low use of contraceptives to neglect of family planning programmes.

“There is need to rejuvenate efforts to sensitise communities on family planning to tame the rising population,” he said.

He noted that the fight against HIV has stolen thunder from campaigns to push for contraceptives use and family planning.

“Where we are right now is a little worrying; back in the 80s, there were concerted efforts from the Government and external partners on family planning crusade, but all this has changed. External and internal support has shifted to the fight against HIV and for a moment, we have ignored family planning,” explained Dr Ezeh.

And Kenya is paying dearly for this. Failure to push the family planning agenda is impacting adversely on every sector of the economy that includes agriculture, health and education.

“A country’s development is not judged just by the quality of roads, rosy economic figures or even how well its education is doing; the real measure of a country is the quality of her people and family planning defines this quality,” stated Ezeh.

In a study titled Magnitude and Incident of Unsafe Abortion in Kenya released last August, APHRC found out that Busia and Siaya were among counties with highest unmet contraceptive needs. 

The counties, according to the report, have unique challenges with respect to strategies for ensuring that fertility does not outpace available resources.

“We have realised the challenges we are facing as a county in terms of high population growth rate. The county government has come up with a framework to deal with the challenge. We will revise our vote heads in this year’s supplementary budget and also the 2014/2015 financial year to support family planning campaign,” Busia Deputy Governor Kizito Wang’alwa said during the event.

The APHRC report blames low use of different methods of contraception to lack of awareness.

Co-wife

Ezeh said women in Kenya continue to face barriers in meeting their fertility intentions, and this is threatening the realisation of the targeted 2.6 fertility rate by 2030.

Agnes Bunyasi is one such woman. The mother of six from Busia is married as a second wife and when a friend introduced her to contraceptives, they almost fought.

“It is un-African to stop giving birth. I cannot use contraceptives because my co-wife is still giving birth, which means she is not using them,” said Bunyasi, as she revealed the intricacies associated with administering family planning in rural Kenya.

The World Health Organisation describes family planning as a combination of practices that “allow individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births”.

The practice, therefore, enables couples to plan their families in accordance with their needs and resources. Family planning, however, faces hurdles, which include cultural, religious, psychological and economic factors.