Six million women and girls on contraception in Kenya – report – The Star, Kenya

At least six million women and girls in Kenya are now using modern contraception to prevent pregnancy, a new report shows.

This is two million more, compared to about four million who were on contraceptives in 2012.

In the last one year, all these women and girls prevented at least 2.2 million unintended pregnancies and averted 503,000 unsafe abortions, the report says.

‘The FP2020: The Arc of Progress’, is produced by Family Planning 2020 (FP2020), a global partnership supported by the UNFPA, USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Kenyan women are among the top contraceptive users in Africa, led by Kirinyaga women, 80 per cent of whom are on contraception.

The report shows in total, 57.8 per cent of married women in Kenya are on modern family planning methods.

However, when you factor in all women, including single girls, the prevalence rate drops to 42.5 per cent.

Kenya was among the first countries to commit to the FP2020 partnership when it launched in 2012. The country then committed to put at least 58 per cent of all married women on modern contraception.

The current 57.8 per cent prevalence is a slight drop from the 59 per cent rate in 2018.