Mombasa county is among regions facing significant challenges in the realisation of sexual and reproductive health rights.
According to research by human rights organisation Haki Jamii, social and economic problems hinder access to sexual and reproductive health services in the county.
To address these challenges, Haki Jamii and the Mombasa county assembly signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a framework to facilitate effective implementation of sexual and reproductive health rights laws and policies.
Haki Jamii supports marginalised groups by advocating for realisation of their economic, social and cultural rights.
Lucy Baraza, a manager at the NGO, said the partnership will help to advance economic and sexual rights in the county.
A research done in Mombasa revealed that teenage pregnancies have led to many girls dropping out of school.
Baraza said sexual and reproductive health is considered a secret that communities do not want to talk about yet it affects women and girls.
“In the MoU, we are looking at how we can create policies that will help communities access reproductive health services. In Mombasa, we have health laws but no policies, so they cannot be implemented,” she said.
“That is why we are working with the county assembly health committee to advance the realisation of health rights and to address issues of reduction of morbidity and mortality rates amongst children.”
Haki Jamii also carried out a research that found policies have not been developed, hindering implementation of laws that have already been passed.
“Monitoring and evaluation of progress and implementation of these policies is another gap, which was found in the research,” she said.
In the existing reproductive health law, men are left out yet they are also affected.
Baraza said the Mombasa county reproductive health policy was enacted years ago but is little known to many people and even at the assembly level.
Haki Jamii recommended exchange visits for MCAs to see what other counties are doing to advance health rights.
Having identified gaps, Baraza said they came up with a technical team that will support the review of the policies and present them to the assembly for consideration and adoption.
“Communities do not have an idea of these policies yet they are made to help them. If the policies have no clear directive on how they will be implemented then they are just policies kept in shelves which cannot help the community access their health rights,” she said.
“We have so far expanded and encompassed all our areas of work which include land rights, health, water and sanitation and education. We therefore intend to walk this journey with the legislature and the community that we represent,” she said.
Mombasa assembly speaker Aharub Khatri welcomed the collaboration.
“The county of Mombasa is legislated and mandated to oversight and represent people, therefore it is my hope that the collaboration we are forming with Haki Jamii will culminate in the improvement of service delivery in our hospitals in regard to the reproductive health,” he said.
“It is my belief that this partnership will result in the formulation of reproductive health laws and policies which will be in conformity with the Constitution.”
