KENYA: AN EXEMPLAR IN FAMILY PLANNING
Kenya increased modern contraceptive prevalence from 21% in 1994 to 45% in 2020. This exemplary progress was driven by Kenya’s early recognition of voluntary family planning as an important component of sustainable development.
Modern contraceptive prevalence rate (%)
Kenya compared with other Family Planning Exemplar countries
Research Brief
The government declared family planning a national priority in 1979, which signaled the start of decades of targeted family planning policies and interventions. This sustained commitment to family planning, along with a commitment to gender equality, was enshrined within the 2010 Constitution:
"Every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services, including reproductive care…"
Article 43
This constitutional commitment was translated into action that rapidly increased access and uptake of voluntary modern contraceptives in the years to follow. Kenya eliminated financial barriers, expanded community-based distribution, mobilized public-private partnerships, and established innovative financing mechanisms to increase domestic spending on modern contraception. Through political will that spanned decades and a prioritization of gender equality, Kenya transformed an early vision of family planning into measurable changes.