Community-Based Family Planning (FP) in Kenya

The publication discusses the challenge of overcoming funding and policy constraints; it states that the enormity of the HIV/AIDS epidemic has inevitably drawn attention and resources to programmes addressing HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment. This trend has, in certain respects, taken place at the expense of family planning programmes.

However, young people are now entering their reproductive years in greater numbers than ever before, and demand for FP services continues to be strong. Considering the important role that FP information and services can play in preventing, detecting, and treating sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, continued efforts to strengthen FP programs are vital.

By increasing access to family planning services and information through community-based distribution and strong linkages to clinical services, Pathfinder seeks to reduce unwanted pregnancies and to enhance the capacities and sustainability of NGO partner activities. By building on past efforts that strengthened the technical and management capacity of three principal partner NGOs, and by expanding efforts to encompass workplaces, depot holders and social marketing, the project is widening its reach and establishing lasting solutions to some of the current problems surrounding access to FP services, especially in rural and poor urban areas.