Why family planning is the gateway to economic growth

Kilifi

By Abdallah Shuaib and Leila Abdulkeir

Family planning is key for reducing unintended pregnancies and their health consequences, as it is associated with improvement in economic outcomes.

The Guttmacher Institute estimates that if all unmet needs for modern contraception among adolescents in Kenya were satisfied, unintended pregnancies would drop by 73 per cent from 218,000 per year to 58,000 per year, resulting in reductions in the annual numbers of unplanned births from 111,000 to 30,000 and abortions from 77,000 to 20,000

Priority setting is a key component of health because states have to make difficult decisions about what and how to finance health care and operationalizing domestic resource mobilization for health.

This is a crucial process because decisions on how state resources should be utilized, made equitable, non-discriminatory, transparent, and accountable for long has been a challenge.

In Kenya where health is currently devolved and the national government disbursing funds to the county for health, less has been done yet resources available are not being used to improve health care.

Adolescent maternal deaths would drop by 39 per cent from 450 per year to 280 per year. If a full provision of modern contraception were combined with adequate care for all pregnant adolescents and their newborns, adolescent maternal deaths would drop by 76 per cent, from 450 per year to 110 per year

  The Health system is a part of democratic governance and therefore questions to be answered around prioritization are not merely technical and rather require active citizenship in holding leaders accountable.

The Guttmacher Institute estimates that if all unmet needs for modern contraception among adolescents in Kenya were satisfied, unintended pregnancies would drop by 73 per cent from 218,000 per year to 58,000 per year, resulting in reductions in the annual numbers of unplanned births from 111,000 to 30,000 and abortions from 77,000 to 20,000.

Adolescent maternal deaths would drop by 39 per cent from 450 per year to 280 per year. If a full provision of modern contraception were combined with adequate care for all pregnant adolescents and their newborns, adolescent maternal deaths would drop by 76 per cent, from 450 per year to 110 per year. 

Evidently, access to SRHR is critical to ensuring that the right to the highest attainable standard of health is realized.

In light of the global movement to ensure that all persons can receive essential health services without suffering financial hardship, it is imperative that a comprehensive approach to SRHR is adopted to effectively meet people’s SRHR needs

A comparator is Uruguay’s SRHR package of care that includes the provision of low-cost or free modern contraceptives, screening of reproductive health cancers, CSE, which will help them to gate information and Counselling, and it will have contributed to a reduction of teenage pregnancy.

The budget allocation to family planning programs can save billions of money from the government on food and housing.

Mr. Abdallah Shuaib is a Youth Advocate Reproductive Health Network Kenya (RHNK) while Leila Abdulkeir is the President of Kilifi Youth Advisory Council (KYAC).