Majority of Married Women in Kenya Use Contraceptives, Report Reveals
A Ministry of Health update has shown that majority of married women under 49 years old in Kenya are in need of contraception, either because they do not want more children or because they wish to delay pregnancy.
In the National Update on Family Planning Program in Kenya released ahead of the World Contraception Day 2025, at least 46 percent of married women do not want more children, while a further 30 percent want to delay their next pregnancy.
The update, produced by the Division of Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health within the Ministry, also revealed that thetotal fertility rate is higher among women in rural areasthan in urban areas with women in rural areas having an average of 3.9 children compared to 2.8 by women in urban areas.
According to the Ministry, the Family Planning Programme raises awareness of the availability, accessibility and use of contraceptives in the country.
It also revealed that the program seeks to help Kenyan households achieve and maintain their desired family sizes.
“The aim of the National FP Program is to ensure universal access to a wide range of quality, affordable and accessible family planning commodities, information and equitable services to enable all individuals to achieve their desired family size and improve their reproductive health,” the update stated.
The update also showed that a majority of women, at least 6 out of 10, are using a form of contraception with injectables leading the pack followed by implants, pill and IUD, in that order, for modern contraception methods.
The Ministry revealed that there has been an increase in family planning (FP) uptake owing to an increase in awareness and supply of contraceptives.
It added that Kenyans have adapted an innovative approach of using FP including promoting self-injection and incorporating Total Market Approach and Integrated Logistics Management Information System (iLMIS), to manage supply chain for medical products.
The vision of the campaign is toensure that every pregnancy in the country is wanted,by encouraging individuals to use FP to prevent unintended pregnancies.
Globally, the world celebrates World Contraception Day on September 26, every year when a global campaign is launched to raise awareness of contraception.
During the campaigns, individuals are empowered and educated to make informed choices about their reproductive health.