An advocacy network of reproductive health stakeholders will from next month begin lobbying for better reproductive health and family planning services in Kakamega county.
The advocacy project is a follow up to a memorandum submitted to the county by a consortium of civil societies to the assembly budget committee in August.
The memorandum advises an increase in budgetary allocation to sexual reproductive health and family planning.
The project aims to push for establishment of youth-friendly services centres in at least one of the health facilities in every subcounty that will be designed to address the barriers faced by the youth in accessing high-quality Sexual and Reproductive Health services.
The programme also seeks to have the county allocate adequate funds to put in place mechanisms that will reduce teenage pregnancies among school girls, as well as unsafe abortions which have increased in the county.
It also seeks to expand access to contraceptives such as condoms among men, young women and the youth to help in reduction of HIV/AIDS infections and STIs.
The stakeholders will analyse County Integrated Development Plan, County Strategic Fiscal Paper and budget estimates.
The stakeholders will analyse County Integrated Development Plan, County Strategic Fiscal Paper and budget estimates.
The stakeholders will also submit memos and input to ensure reproductive health and family planning are allocated adequate funds to help empower the community and ease its access to reproductive healthcare.
Low budgetary allocation by the county has been blamed for high numbers of early pregnancies and deaths and deformations resulting from unsafe abortion.
WE REACH community-based organisation executive director Erick Bosire said the advocacy project will sensitise community groups and organisation from the 12 subcounties on how to participate in the county budget making process right from formulation, approval, implementation and audit or evaluation.
“This will ensure they give their input on their priority community development agendas at various levels of the budget cycle since there is need to empower women in rural communities to ensure they are able to access SRH services, including being able to buy sanitary towels,” he said.
Bosire said that allocation by the county was either too little or was never spent for intended purposes because of government bureaucracies.
Kakamega county recorded 6,669 teen pregnancies in 10 months in 2020, the second in the country after Nairobi.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
