Some eight per cent of wealthy and educated Kiambu County women are using traditional family planning methods, a survey released by Performance and Monitoring for Action (PMA) has revealed.
Family Planning Data
The research whose data were collected between November and December 2021 from 867 households indicates that most wealthy women opt for periodic abstinence and withdrawal from sexual intercourse.
According to Nyambura Thiong’o, the PMA representative who oversaw the dissemination of the new findings in Juja town, the traditional family planning methods have lesser side effects as compared use of modern-day approaches which include the use of pills injection, vaginal methods, condoms, female sterilization, male sterilization, and implants.
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In the same county, it also shockingly emerged that 26 per cent of Kiambu teenagers are sexually active.
The findings in the data collected with the help of the Ministry of Health, International Centre for Reproductive Health Kenya (ICRHK), National Council for Population and Development, and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics unearthed that some the adolescents have a desire to prevent pregnancies but are in many occasions unable to access family planning methods while others are unaware of where to access information on best approaches.
Amb Macharia Kamau, Principal Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Susan Mochache, Principal Secretary, Ministry of Health held a meeting to discussed ways of ensuring sufficient drugs for HIV, Tuberculosis, Malaria, and Family planning in Kenya. pic.twitter.com/cXZGogpnoZ
— ForeignAffairsKenya (@ForeignOfficeKE) February 17, 2021
“The county should work on availing information to teenagers about best family planning methods. This is a gap that needs to be worked on even as they try to sensitize on the need for youngsters to abstain,” Thiong'o said.
Further, the newly released data shows that uptake of contraceptives in the populous county has been on a rising trajectory, a move that has been lauded as one that will help in the management and allocation of resources.
The report shows that 74 per cent of unmarried women use various forms of contraceptives as compared to 48 per cent of married women.
Family Planning Education
Most women, according to the report, prefer seeking family planning education from chemists and private clinics in what has been attributed to high demand for privacy, friendliness and avoiding long queues at public facilities.
The research further revealed the usage of a broader contraceptive method mix among all women, with increased use of implants accounting for 27 per cent of the total method mix.
Hilary Kagwa, the county director in charge of health, urged teenagers to refrain from abuse of modern contraceptives stating that some of the emergency methods can result in delayed pregnancies and contraction of other diseases.
"We will unpack all the data released today and further explore the key areas of improvement. The survey will not only help us plan but will also help us create awareness on a need basis," Kagwa said.
