A new report by the Ministry of Health has revealed alarming statistics on the state of reproductive health in Kenya.
The report, released in collaboration with the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) and the Guttmacher Institute, indicates that between April 2023 and May 2024, more than 792,000 cases of induced abortions occurred in the country, representing 57.3 abortions per 1,000 women between 15 – 49 years.
Shockingly, approximately 80 per cent of those who procured the services were married or women living together with a partner. 65 per cent had previously given birth, with 32 per cent having given birth to at least two or three children.
“Women choose to have abortions sometimes they are unprepared to become parents, but in many other reasons they are already parents because the cost of raising children is very expensive, some already had the amount of children they wanted,” said Margaret Giorgio, Senior Research Scientist, Guttmacher.
The study also revealed that over half of all unintended pregnancies end in an induced abortion. 66 per cent of women who procured an abortion were not using any contraception at the time. This was due to fear of side effects and health concerns.
With women having an option of different methods to end their pregnancy, 89 per cent reported using one method, while 14 per cent used between two and four methods.
“All the drivers of abortion is unintended pregnancies and unintended pregnancies one of the driving courses is sometimes they are not using the modern contraceptives we see that as our greatest entry point in terms of ensuring there is great awareness in communities,” said Kenneth Juma, a Senior Research Officer at APHRC.
The study also shows that 7.8 per cent of women are using harmful methods to labour,t including inserting something sharp in their private parts or drinking a caustic substance.
Another concern is the fact that only 18% of primary-level health facilities and 24% of referral level facilities can offer post-abortion care.
Nairobi and Central Kenya regions topped the list of regions where there were highest rates of induced abortion with Coast and North Eastern having the least cases.
