Kenya’s maternal mortality rate stands at an alarming 355 deaths per 100,000 live births, far above acceptable levels and well short of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of 70 per 100,000 by 2030.

With only five years remaining to meet this target, health officials warn that innovative approaches are urgently needed.

Dr Bashir Issak, director of Family Health in the State Department of Medical Services, emphasised that 95-99 per cent of maternal deaths are preventable.

Fifteen counties account for over 70 per cent of maternal deaths, primarily in arid and semi-arid regions and parts of the lake region.

The crisis is compounded by Kenya’s young demographics. Some 75 per cent of the population is under 35, creating the potential for surging unplanned pregnancies.

Most pregnancies in Kenya are unplanned due to inadequate access to family planning commodities, which Bashir called “a vaccine for maternal mortality”.

To address these challenges, an alliance of several African countries has launched Smart Advocacy for Strategic Action (SASA), a three-year Gates Foundation-funded initiative.

The programme aims to transform policy and funding landscapes for family planning and maternal, newborn and child health across Sub-Saharan Africa.

‘Critical challenges’

SASA is spearheaded by Jhpiego Kenya, Partners in Population and Development’s Africa Regional Office (Uganda), and Pathfinder (Nigeria), focusing on Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire.

“Our mission is to create sustainable progress in addressing critical challenges of strained resources and slow policy implementation while fostering accountability among leaders,” said Project Director Sally Njiri.  

The alliance will equip citizen-led organisations with advocacy tools, evidence, and expertise.

Kenya has provided free family planning services for 50 years, but recent fiscal constraints have created budgetary shortfalls.

Family planning commodities require about Ksh3 billion annually, but current allocations fall short.

Bashir expressed concern over low family planning allocations in the recent national budget, though the government has committed to fully fund family planning needs by 2027/2028.

The Ministry of Health is discussing with the National Treasury to protect six key strategic health programmes from budget cuts: HIV, TB, malaria, family planning and maternal health, vaccines, and nutrition.

The withdrawal of USAID support has created additional pressure.

“The US government has scaled down support, but we still have other donors. However, we do not want family planning to be donor-driven or donor-dependent,” Bashir said, stressing the need to mobilise domestic resources.