Nairobi, Kenya – January 30, 2025 – Today, key stakeholders in Kenya’s reproductive health
sector convened at the National DESIP Dissemination Conference in Nairobi to celebrate the
transformative achievements of the Delivering Sustainable and Equitable Increases in Family
Planning (DESIP) Programme. Funded by UK Aid through the Foreign, Commonwealth &
Development Office (FCDO), the Programme has been pivotal in reducing maternal, neonatal,
and child mortality by increasing access to Family Planning (FP) services among Kenya’s most
vulnerable populations. Access to Family Planning is critical to ensuring that women of
reproductive age plan for and achieve pregnancies that are planning to ensure complete
recuperation after pregnancy and optimal care for newborns to at least 2 years of age
The conference, themed “Reaching the Most Vulnerable to the Last Mile: Reflections on
Innovative Family Planning Practices,” showcased DESIP Programme contributions to
advancing reproductive health equity and sustainability in Kenya. Implemented across 12
counties with low modern contraceptive prevalence rates (mCPR), DESIP Programme
interventions have empowered rural women, adolescents, and people with disabilities to make
informed choices about their reproductive health.
PS Kenya’s CEO, Dr. Margaret Njenga stated, “The DESIP Programme has been a
game-changer in Kenya’s reproductive health landscape, empowering thousands of women and
marginalized communities with access to quality family planning services. Through strategic
partnerships and innovative approaches, DESIP has strengthened health systems and made a
significant impact in reducing maternal mortality while advancing Kenya’s FP2030
commitments. As we celebrate the successful conclusion of this programme, PS Kenya remains
steadfast in its commitment to sustaining these gains and ensuring that every woman has the
right and opportunity to make informed reproductive health choices.“
The British High Commission’s Deputy Development Director Eduarda Mendonca-Gray said,
“The UK has a long history of working on sexual and reproductive health alongside the Kenyan
government. As we come to a close of the programme, innovation has been vital to the
transformative change that we have seen across the ten counties we have been working in.
We are pleased to have catalysed transformative change in family planning by investing in the
world’s first Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health – Development Impact Bond. This has
resulted in over 400,000 girls and women in low-income settings receiving family planning
services in urban and peri-urban areas. The UK’s initial investment of $6.4 million to the impact
bond, has been scaled up by the UN-SDG platform through UNFPA, UNAIDs and WHO and
doubled to $12 million. We are also pleased to have worked with partners in the private sector
like the Kenya Health Federation, Halcyon, Options and health facilities to enhance
accessibility. The private sector market has stepped in to mitigate the financial gap in the
purchase of family planning commodities, given the dwindling financial resources.”
Since its launch in April 2019, DESIP has:
- Reached over 361,378 additional family planning users and delivered 3,686,004 million
Couple Years of Protection (CYP) as at the end of Dec 2024. - Averted over 4,528 maternal deaths through enhanced access to FP services.
- Strengthened health systems by supporting public, private, and faith-based health
facilities to deliver quality family planning services.
Kenya’s progress in family planning is reflected in the KDHS 2022 findings, which reported an
increase in mCPR from 53% in 2014 to 57% in 2022 among married women. DESIP-supported
counties were instrumental in these gains, contributing to Kenya’s recognition as an FP2030
exemplar country
