Are the women in Laikipia county multiplying and filling the earth more than they ought to? Have you ever wondered why those who live in remote areas with limited resources are the ones who give birth to so many children yet the affluent in most urban centers only have one child?
Well, Laikipia county has now launched a Ksh. 1.3 billion family planning initiative to cover five years until 2022. The family planning initiative provides a roadmap that guides the county’s engagement with NGOs, faith-based organisations and other lobbies involved in family planning.
“We want to rally behind the issues of family planning and look into issues of mitigating the unmet needs where mothers become pregnant because the services and commodities for planning were not available. It is a global issue and Laikipia is currently at 20 per cent. We need to reduce this,” said Laikipia County Health Executive, Lenai Kamario.
According to reports, the Laikipia fertility rate is at 3.4% compared to the national average of 2.98% while the county’s maternal mortality rate is 124 of 100,000 live births and teenage pregnancy rate is at 28%.
Dr. Kamario said that the plan will focus on communities and ensure access to services with organizations such as Marie Stopes and Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung (DWS) which are concerned with reproductive health can be roped in and guided by the county plan.
“We have a target where anyone coming and concerned with reproductive health can pick the scope they would like to look into from the comprehensive document,” she said.
“It’ll be a challenge to achieve our target, especially in the communities where matters concerning family planning are a taboo. We’ll, however, use strategies they will understand to control the unmet need,” she said.
Country Director for DWS Evelyn Samba on the other hand, blamed the failure in managing family planning to low or lack of financing in the counties.
Do you support the plan by the Laikipia county government to introduce family planning?