Partners in Population and Development Africa Regional Office


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Kenya

PCC Contact:

Kenya Flag
Mr. Charles N. Oisebe
PCC and Senior Population Programme Officer (South-South Initiative)
National Council for Population and Development (NCPD)
The Chancery Building (4th floor)
Valley Road PO Box 48994, Nairobi, KenyaMs. Esther Cofie Head Population and Development, National Population Council National Population Council P. O. Box MB 666Tel: +233-21-668944 Tel: +233-21-665713 Tel: +233- 288-257275 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Tel: (254-20) 2711 600/1
Fax: (254-20) 2710 281
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  
 image of PCC Kenya 

 

 

Annual Country Review for Kenya September 2007- August 2008

Introduction
Kenya is a member of Partners in Population and Development (PPD) which is a South -  South initiative that was officially launched during the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994. Partners was created to help implement the ICPD Programme of Action, which called for strengthening the links between population and socio-economic development and was aimed at the provision of universal access to reproductive health services, including family planning and sexual health by 2015. Currently there are 25 member countries.

Review of Progress September 2007 – August 2008

1.    Constraining/Facilitating Factors
During the period under review Kenya was preparing for elections during November and most of December 2007. After the elections in late December that where disputed. Kenya erupted into unprecedented Post Elections Violence that left hundreds dead and thousands internally displaced. Apart from affecting programme implementation due to the unfavorable
Political environment, major donor with held release of funds meant for population and development programmes. Fortunately, funds were made available to cater for the Reproductive health needs of those internally displaced.

Kenya has a Parliamentary network that it lobbies to support the population and RH agenda. Partners like UNFPA, Deliver, DSW, UNICEF and others have continued to support programmes in Kenya.

2.    Results achieved by the Partners Country Coordinator (PCC)

•    The PCC accompanied the CEO/NCAPD and Board Member to  Rabat, Morocco to attend the XII Annual Board Meeting of Partners in Population and Development and the International Forum on Universal Access to Reproductive Health for the Attainment of ICPD and MDGs held from 17th - 25th November 2007. The outcome of the Board meeting was the Rabat declaration which was ratified by all the member countries of Partners.

•    The PCC organized for the participation of 2 officers from South Africa and Uganda to attend a course on “Achieving the MDGs: Poverty Reduction, Reproductive Health and Health Reform” held in Nairobi in November 2007. The goal of the course was to equip participants with the specific knowledge and tools needed in their work on reproductive health in countries where health reforms, sectoral programs and poverty-reduction strategies are being implemented.

•    In October 2007 the PCC organized for a visit to Kenya by the Vice – Minister, National Population and Family Planning Commission China (NPFPC) and his delegation to Kenya. During the visit the delegation of 13 visited a number of population and RH programmes. The also donated a DP 3300 Ultra sonic Diagnostic imaging machine to a hospital run by the Catholic church. This is part of medical equipment worth Ksh. 35 million that the Chinese will donate to the facility’s RH section.

•    In November 2007 the PCC organized a 2 week study tour to Kenya under south to south collaboration for a high level delegation from Liberia consisting of a senator, Minister, Director of Population and an Officer from Statistics to learn from the Kenya’s experience in implementing Population and RH programmes and also to prepare the Population Policy Coordination Unit to draft and prepare a Plan of Action for the implementation of the Revised National Population Policy of the Republic of Liberia. Apart from visiting programmes at the National level, a number of projects in the region were also visited.
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•    One Officer from the Department including the PCC accompanied the CEO/NCAPD to attend a strategic planning workshop conducted from 2-6 December 2007 at the Africana Hotel in Kampala, Uganda. Participants included delegates from within the Eastern Africa region and representatives of prominent NGOs and networks such as the African Union (AU), the East African Community (EAC), IPPF- Africa Region, DSW, Population Action International (PAI) and the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition. All pledged their support to this work. Following the workshop, consultants, working with various stakeholders and potential donors, refined and elaborated this strategic plan based on the vision, mission, mandate, strategic focuses and objectives developed at the meeting. This strategic plan outlines their proposals and demonstrates the collective resolve of meeting participants to catalyze and manage positive change. During this meeting, the network also agreed to expand the coverage of the network from East Africa to Eastern Africa, and as a result, EARHN’s acronym now stands for the Eastern Africa Reproductive Health Network. A Strategic Plan 2008 - 2012 has already been developed printed and circulated

•    The PCC attended a meeting in Kampala, Uganda in February, 2008 to present country specific Work-plans. Not much had been done because this was the period Kenya was faced with political upheaval.

3.    Highlights of Country progress
Kenya has made some important strides in the policy front, having adopted policies, frameworks, guidelines and action plans in major areas of concern with others under development. During the period under review the major policies adopted include:

•    National Reproductive Health Policy (Enhancing Reproductive Heath Status for all Kenyans) launched by the Hon. Minister, Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation in July 2008. The policy addresses key emerging RH issues such as PMTCT, emergency obstetric care, RH Commodity Security, adolescent RH, post abortion care, gender based violence and RH/HIV integration.

•    Commodity security Strategy to ensure enough commodities and no stock outs

•    Draft Youth Policy that looks into issues affecting the youth of Kenya

•    Traditional medicine and medicinal plants policy: It is estimated that more than 70 percent of the Kenyan population rely on traditional medicine for their primary health care. This necessitates assurance of sustainable availability, quality and safety of traditional medicine to ensure continued access to health care by majority of the population. There has been lack of a policy to facilitate effective use of traditional medicine and ensure the sustainable utilization, conservation, domestication and regulated trade of medicinal plants. Recognizing the need of such a policy, stakeholders have on several forums and other initiatives recommended the development of a policy that would sustain and develop the practice.

•    Draft Child Health Policy: The Child health policy is an umbrella document that harmonizes all existing legislation/guidelines and protocols on Child health in Kenya. The policy reinforces the government’s commitment to the integration of child health issues into the national development process. The policy will target those aged 1 week – 18 yrs. (60% 0f population). Main focus will be reduction of child Morbidity and mortality (1 week-12 years), promote access to appropriate adolescent friendly reproductive health  services (13 -18yrs)

Establishment of Technical Working Groups (TWGs) on the implementation of the Adolescent Reproductive Health and Development Policy:

The NCAPD has during the period under review established 11 TWGs (1 National and 10 regional) to oversee the implementation of the Adolescent Reproductive Health and Development Policy Plan of Action (ARH&H; POA). The working groups will track the implementation of the ARH&D; Policy through sound monitoring and evaluation of programs targeting adolescents and promote evidence-based decision making at all levels. The TWGs will also strengthen the synergy between the implementing organizations so as to ensure services to young people are targeted to the populations that direly need them.

Apart from the above, NCAPD has developed the following during the period under review:

Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and Manual: Development of a National Monitoring and Evaluation Framework on Population and Development has been done. The M&E; framework is expected to guide implementation of Population &Development; policies and programmes in Kenya. A draft M&E; Framework was discussed with stakeholders in a one day workshop held November 2007. In June 2008 the NCAPD developed a Manual to implement the Framework. The manual will provide the road map for implementation agencies to use in implementing the M&E; system for population and development programmes.  The manual will also ensure that all players in population and development have a common approach in Monitoring and Evaluation and that there are standardized procedures for collecting data, providing information and feedback to stakeholders at all levels. The manual will also ensure a standard procedure in monitoring and evaluations are adopted by all stakeholders and therefore produce indicators that are comparable between programmes at local and international levels.

Coordination Strategy for Population and Development and Manual: Development of a Coordination Strategy on Population and Development policies and programmes in Kenya. A draft Coordination Strategy was discussed with stakeholders in a one day workshop held on 26th October 2007. A manual to guide its implementation has been developed. The Coordination Manual will provide guiding principles to NCAPD and population stakeholders in implementing the Coordination Strategy. The Coordination Manual will not be implemented as a stand-alone document. Rather, in order to effectively coordinate population activities in the country, the Manual will be implemented alongside other key documents.

Background
Eastern Africa countries share similar social, political, demographic and geographic environments. Challenges such as a high disease burden with declining national resources (particularly those dedicated to health), grinding poverty and poor reproductive health outcomes affect Eastern Africa countries in a broadly similar manner. The major reproductive health problems include high fertility and population growth rates which are a bigger threat to economic growth and poverty reduction, high STI/HIV prevalence, poor infant and maternal health and large numbers of vulnerable adolescents who are often unable to access appropriate information and services. Gender inequality also impedes women’s SRHR status in the region. Women continue to endure low socio-economic status and are unable to achieve their sexual and reproductive health intentions or protect themselves, their partners, and their children from disease. It is impossible to achieve gender equality in the region without guaranteeing reproductive rights. Programs within and among sectors are vertical, uncoordinated and duplicative. Service providers often stagger under impossible workload, lack adequate training and are inappropriately deployed.

A number of external environmental factors set the context for EARHN’s work for the next five years. There is consensus amongst Eastern Africa policymakers that is exemplified in continental and international frameworks such as the Maputo Plan of Action (PoA), MDGs and the ICPD Plan of Action. National plans in line with both continental and international SRHR exist and are an indicator of political will, national ownership, and prioritization of SRHR. Despite the centrality of SRHR to the attainment of international develop¬ment goals, including those in the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it has not yet adequately translated into action frameworks and monitoring mechanisms at international, regional and national levels. The success of EARHN depends on the ability of countries to harmonize country-level policy with international declarations and frameworks while steadily expanding their capacity to implement integrated programmes for service delivery and progressively advancing coverage and equity.

Goal
•    To contribute to the improvement of the SRHR situation in Kenya and in Eastern Africa,

Workplan Matrix, 4th quarter 2008- 3rd quarter 2009
STRATEGIC FOCUS 1: Advocacy and coalition building
Objective 1.1: To increase awareness and support for RH among key policy and decision makers
Strategic Action 1.1.1: Advocate and promote SRHR in the region
Output 1.1.1: Increased knowledge, appreciation and receptivity of SRHR among policymakers and Stakeholders in Kenya
Activity 1: Hold One (1) RH advocacy workshops with Members of Parliament, development partners and district leaders
Activity 2: Hold 3 regional leaders Conferences on population and development (Nyanza, North Eastern, Eastern Regions)
Activity 3: Hold One (1) meeting to strengthen networking for training and research institutions in East Africa
Indicator 1: Number of policymakers and stakeholders reached (target = 100)
Indicator 1.2: (Target, 30 MPs, 70 other leaders in each region (Kenya)
Indicator 1.3 (Target 3 institutions)

Strategic Objective 1.2. To strengthen linkages and strategic partnerships with other international, regional and national institutions and civil society organizations to create synergies, avoid duplication and maximize available resources in furtherance of the implementation of agreements (ICPD, MDGs, Maputo PoA, etc). 
Strategic Action 1.2.2: Strengthen internal and external communication mechanisms (e.g. newsletters, website)
Output 1.2.2: Communications system utilised
Activity 4: Contribute articles to the  EARHN newsletter
Indicator 2.1: Number of  articles contributed (target = 2= biannual)

Strategic Focus 2: Programme Development and Expansion
Strategic Objective 2.1.
To enhance capacity of partner organizations to offer integrated SRHR programmes
Strategic Action 2.1.1: Share best practices and information
Output: 2.1.1: Increased capacity of network members to link or integrate SRHR in related programming
Activity 1: Attend annual EARHN meeting
Indicator 2: Number of staff from Ministry attending EARHN meetings (target= 2)
Activity 2: Attend annual PCC meeting
Indicator 3: Number of staff from Ministry attending EARHN meetings (target= 2)
Activity 3: Formulation of Annual Work-plan
One (1) Work-plan in place

TRAINING (capacity Building): November 20th-28th Training Course on “ Achieving The MDGs: Poverty Reduction  Reproductive Health and Health Sector Reforms’ Kenya in collaboration with the World Bank Training Institute will be holding this training in Nairobi ,Kenya as indicated. I would request fellow PCCs to Include this in their Work-plans so that they can source for funds and at least sponsor one participant to the training as a South-South activity. (Last year Kenya sponsored 2 participants from Uganda and South Africa respectively

List of key events (by date):
2008
1.    September 2008: 2nd  PCC Meeting for Africa Region
2.    October 2008: Parliamentary Network on Population and Development Regional Conference ( Nyanza Region, Kenya)
3.    November 2008: First RH advocacy workshop
4.    23rd to 26th November 2008 Partners in Population and Development (PPD) Board Meeting, Executive Committee Meeting, Partners Country Coordinators Meeting and International Conference on ICPD + 15: Progress and Prospects.
5.    November 20th-28th Training Course on “ Achieving The MDGs: Poverty Reduction  Reproductive Health and Health Sector Reforms’

2009
1.    March, Advocacy meeting on commodity Security
2.    2009: Parliamentary Network on Population and Development Regional Conference 2 regions
3.    September 2009: PCC Meeting for Africa Region
4.    November 2009: Board Meeting

Partnerships:
While organizing and implementing the above activities the NCAPD will work closely with Key partners like the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, Ministry of Medical Sevices, Parent Ministry, Key NGOs like FHOK, Marie Stopes, DSW, Futures and DSW.

Leveraging additional resources.
The NCAPD will strive to increase additional funds for Advocacy programmes targeting Policy makers and other leaders both National and Local.