Political Strife in Kenya

The political strife rattling Kenya has serious consequences for the health of Kenyans. EngenderHealth’s presence in Kenya, dating to 1982, includes offices in Nairobi and Kisumu. After the December presidential elections in Kenya and the countrywide riots in the weeks after, we were forced to close our offices temporarily and had to evacuate some staff and their families from dangerous areas to Nairobi. We now have limited operations out of Nairobi and Kisumu and continue to monitor the situation closely.

In Kenya, we lead the APHIA II project in Nyanza Province, in the western part of the country, where violence has spread. There we aim to expand services for HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, to increase access to family planning, and to improve reproductive, maternal, and child health. Our activities in other parts of Kenya include expanding family planning and engaging men as partners in reproductive health through the ACQUIRE Project. Many of these activities throughout the country are hampered by the crisis.

Political unrest has the potential to undo Kenya’s significant progress in developing its health systems and its achievements in fostering sexual and reproductive health. Situations like these remind us how important and fundamental our work is—the need for high-quality health services is never greater than in an emergency.