Kenya

Kenya faces a reproductive health care crisis caused by two converging trends—increased demands for care due to a young population, and the HIV epidemic. And after decades of improvement, child mortality rates are worsening. Fundamental changes in how Kenyans receive health care are needed.

EngenderHealth’s work in Kenya dates to 1982, and has expanded through the years in response to evolving needs. Initially, our family planning programs—first introduced in Kenya in 1982, focused on training doctors in safer, more client-centered surgical sterilization and counseling methods. Today, EngenderHealth’s breadth of work includes maternal health care, HIV prevention, child survival initiatives, and more.

Comprehensive Health Care in Nyanza
Nyanza province has Kenya’s highest HIV and infant and child mortality rates – as well as the highest number of people who want to practice family planning but lack access to contraception. Through the APHIA II Nyanza Project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), EngenderHealth is working with local partners to:

• expand HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis services;
• increase access to family planning;
• improve reproductive health, family planning, maternal health, and child survival.

In addition, to complement the counseling and information available to men and their partners about risky behaviors that can compromise health, EngenderHealth promotes efforts to integrate voluntary male circumcision with other health services. Recent research suggests that male circumcision is associated with a reduced risk of HIV infection, thus it may be an important strategy for decreasing HIV in Nyanza.

Expanding Contraceptive Options
Through a USAID-funded project called ACQUIRE, EngenderHealth improves the access to and quality of family planning and reproductive health services. A highlight of the ACQUIRE Project’s work in Kenya was a comprehensive campaign in Kisii district to reintroduce the IUD, a highly effective and safe long-term method of family planning. After the campaign, three times as many women were using the IUD. EngenderHealth is continuing to work with the Kenyan government to expand the IUD initiative throughout
the country.

Engaging Men As Partners
EngenderHealth has also been working to increase male involvement in reproductive health through its work with Kenya’s National Youth Service. This program reaches thousands of young men and women throughout Kenya with information about gender relations, sexuality, and HIV and AIDS. By employing innovative approaches to engage men in reproductive health and HIV and AIDS programs, EngenderHealth’s Men As Partners® program has proven that interventions targeting men can result in measurable changes in their behavior and attitudes.