This archive report was first published on 26 June 2020.
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, Kenya's women and girls are facing unprecedented challenges in accessing reproductive healthcare services. According to Dr. Rael Mutai, the UNFPA Kenya Programme Coordinator, the pandemic has resulted in a drastic decline in ante-natal and post-natal visits, with women and children being forced to stay at home due to fear of exposure to coronavirus infections.
Speaking during a virtual stakeholders' forum hosted by New Faces New Voices Kenya, Dr. Mutai emphasized that the disruptions caused by the pandemic have led to maternal health medics being reassigned to Covid-19 response teams, leaving many women without access to essential healthcare services.
“Ante-natal and post-natal visits have drastically gone down. Women are no longer visiting hospitals for their check-ups or their children’s fear of exposure to coronavirus infections. This is a red flag as it could cause maternal and child mortality,” Dr. Mutai warned.
According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2014, the maternal mortality ratio was 362 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, which accounts for 14 per cent of all deaths to women aged 15-49. The pandemic has exacerbated these figures, with many women and girls struggling to access sanitary towels and other essential reproductive healthcare services.
“Due to job losses, women no longer get their daily wages and the little they get go to providing food for their families over acquiring sanitary towels. With schools closed and movement restrictions across counties, vulnerable girls in urban slums and rural areas are really in dire need of financial and menstrual health support,” lamented Inua Dada Founder Janet Mbugua.
According to Plan International Gender and Inclusion Specialist Banu Khan, the recent statistics revealed on teenage pregnancy in Machakos County alone were perturbing. “Child pregnancy and unsafe abortions continue to intensify, as millions of children continue to spend most of their free time at home unsupervised,” she said.
As the situation continues to deteriorate, stakeholders are calling upon the government to prioritize the sexual and reproductive health agenda in Covid-19 guidelines. “Collaborative partnerships and social-economic mobilisation with non-governmental organisations, community based organisations and private sector will enhance policy implementation towards creating state-run safe facilities and economic empowerment to the vulnerable. This should not only be enacted during Covid-19 season, but also a strategized lasting resolution for structured reproductive healthcare systems,” says New Faces New Voices Kenya.
