This archive report was first published on 18 November 2021.
On the second anniversary of the Nairobi Summit, Kenya's stakeholders are urging the government to take concrete steps to achieve the 17 commitments made to advance the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls.
As part of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) commitments, Kenya aims to end teenage pregnancies and new adolescent and youth HIV infections by 2030, while ensuring universal access to friendly quality reproductive health services and information.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has widened the unsafe environments for adolescents, with 17 counties recording an increase in pregnancies among adolescents aged 10-19 this year, according to the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) report.
Between January and October 2021, a total of 5,492 new HIV infections were recorded, in addition to 1,473 HIV-related deaths, among adolescents aged 10-19.
"While the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the implementation of the ICPD25 commitments, those commitments remain valid," said Dr Ademola Olajide, the United Nations Population Fund representative for Kenya.
Dr Estella Waiguru, the Head of Family Health at the Ministry of Health, emphasized the government's efforts to meet the demands for sexual and reproductive health products, including ensuring sustained availability of family planning commodities to the last mile.
