A lobby group has faulted the recently launched National Reproductive Health Policy (2022-2032) terming it selective and retrogressive.
Rural to Global Organisation Kakamega county coordinator Catherine Osita on Wednesday said the policy restricts some reproductive services to married women alone and therefore discriminates.
She said the policy also leaves out large portions of rural populations, that still face hardship in accessing reproductive health services.
“This is not a policy for a rural woman, it has been tailored to assume that all women in Kenya are equal and have same access to resources, which is not true," she told journalists in Kakamega town.
Under Chapter Three of the policy, to reduce unmet family planning needs, the document says couples should opt for family planning.
"A couple that has achieved their desired family size is not only more likely to be a stable family unit but is also likely to be a better empowered socio-economic pillar for the nation," the policy reads.
Osita further said the policy has failed to adequately address other critical issues such as assisted reproduction, teenage pregnancy and the high maternal mortality rates arising from unsafe abortions.
The policy was launched in Nairobi by Health Principal Secretary Susan Mochache on July 5.
The Ministry of Health says the national reproductive health policy is meant to consolidate gains made in the health sector.
It seeks to address age specific needs in terms of reproductive health of the Kenyan population.
It also contains bold steps meant to achieve universal quality reproductive healthcare services, in line with the right to the highest status of health as stipulated in the constitution.
Osita said the Ministry of Health failed to actively engage all actors while coming up with the policy or conduct meaningful public participation while formulating the crucial 10-year policy.
She said the policy must allow all sexually active Kenyans to access family planning methods in all public health facilities unconditionally.
"The sexually active teenagers’ rights have not been well articulated in the 10-year policy, they too need to be considered,” Osita said.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
