Kenya population situation analysis

REPUBLIC OF KENYA
KENYA POPULATION
SITUATION ANALYSIS

Kenya Population Situation Analysis
Published by the Government of Kenya supported by
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Kenya Country Office
National Council for Population and Development (NCPD)
P.O. Box 48994 – 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254-20-271-1600/01
Fax: +254-20-271-6058
Email: info@ncpd-ke.org
Website: www.ncpd-ke.org
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Kenya Country Office
P.O. Box 30218 – 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254-20-76244023/01/04
Fax: +254-20-7624422
Website: http://kenya.unfpa.org
© NCPD July 2013
The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the contributors.
Any part of this document may be freely reviewed, quoted, reproduced or
translated in full or in part, provided the source is acknowledged. It may not
be sold or used inconjunction with commercial purposes or for profit.

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS i

KENYA POPULATION
SITUATION ANALYSIS
JULY 2013

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSISii

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS.........................................................................................iv
FOREWORD...........................................................................................................................................ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...........................................................................................................................x
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.........................................................................................................................xi
PART 1.....................................................................................................................................................1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................1
PART 2.....................................................................................................................................................5
CHAPTER 2: OVERVIEW OF POPULATION DYNAMICS AND DEVELOPMENT...........................................5
PART 3...................................................................................................................................................25
CHAPTER 3: POPULATION SIZE, GROWTH AND STRUCTURE................................................................... 25
CHAPTER 4: FERTILITY AND FAMILY PLANNING........................................................................................... 39
CHAPTER 5: HEALTH SYSTEMS AND SERVICE DELIVERY FOR SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE
HEALTH................................................................................................................................................ 61
CHAPTER 6: OVERALL, INFANT, CHILD AND MATERNAL MORTALITY.................................................... 85
CHAPTER 7: HIV, SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS, MALARIA AND TUBERCULOSIS...........107
CHAPTER 8: THE YOUTH: STATUS AND PROSPECTS...................................................................................123
CHAPTER 9: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY ...............................................................................................................155
CHAPTER 10: EMERGENCY SITUATIONS AND HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE.......................................171
CHAPTER 11: URBANIZATION AND INTERNAL MIGRATION.....................................................................187
CHAPTER 12: INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT .......................................................215
PART 4................................................................................................................................................ 243
CHAPTER 13: INEQUALITIES AND THE EXERCISE OF RIGHTS...................................................................243
CHAPTER 14: RELATIONSHIPS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO PUBLIC POLICIES.....................................279
CHAPTER 15: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES......................................................................................293
ANNEX 1: LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.................................................................................................................................309

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSISiv
LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
AASF African-American Students Foundation
ACP Africa, Caribbean and Pacific
AEZ Agro-Ecological Zones
AHR Adult Household Ratio
AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
AMADPOC African Migration and Development Policy Centre
ANC Antenatal Care
ARH&D Adolescent Reproductive Health and Development Policy
ART Antiretroviral Treatment
ARV Antiretroviral Vaccine
ASAL Arid and Semi-Arid Lands
ASFR Age-Specific Fertility Rate
ASRH Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
AU African Union
AWP Annual Work Plan
AYSRH Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health
BPO Business Process Outsourcing
CBD Community-Based Distribution
CBD Community Based Delivery
CB-DOTS Community-Based Dots
CBK Central Bank of Kenya
CBO Community Based Organization
CBS Central Bureau of Statistics
CDE Centre for Demography and Ecology
CDF Constituency Development Fund
CDR Case Detection Rate
CEN-SAD Community of Sahel-Saharan States
CNR Case Notification Rate
COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
CP Country Programme
CPAP Country Programme Action Plan
CPD Country Programme Document
CPR Contraceptive Prevalence Rate
CRED Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters
DALY Disability-Adjusted Life Years
DFID Department for International Development
DHMB District Health Management Boards
DHS Demographic and Health Survey
DLTLD Division of Leprosy, Tuberculosis and Lung Disease
DMC Drought Monitoring Centre
DOTS Directly Observed Therapy Short Course
DRF Development Results Framework
DRH Division of Reproductive Health
DRR Disaster Risk Reduction
DRTB Drug Resistant TB
DSS Demographic Surveillance System

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS v
EAC East African Community
EDBI Ease of Doing Business Index
EDRR Early Detection and Rapid Response
EM-DAT Emergency Events Database
EmOC Emergency Obstetric Care
ERS Economic Recovery Strategy
ESR Economic Support Ratio
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FGC Female Genital Cutting
FGM Female Genital Mutilation
FGM/C Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
FP Family Planning
FPE Free Primary Education
FSE Free Secondary Education
FY Financial Year
GBV Gender-Based Violence
GCI Global Competitiveness Index
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GDS Geneva Declaration Secretariat
GER Gross Enrolment Ratio
GER Gross Enrolment Rate
GFDRR Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery
GGGI Global Gender Gap Index
GIS Geographic Information Systems
GoK Government of Kenya
GPS Global Positioning System
HACT Harmonized Approach to Cash Transfers
HDI Human Development Index
HDR Human Development Report
HERAF Health Rights Advocacy Forum
HFA Hyogo Framework of Action
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HIV-AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
HMIS Health Management Information System
HQ Headquarter
HTP Human Trafficking Protocol
ICPD International Conference on Population and Development
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross
ICT Information and Communications Technology
IDMC Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
IDNDR International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
IDPs Internally Displaced Persons
IDUs Injecting Drug Users
IEC Information, Education and Communication
IGAD Inter-Governmental Authority on Development
IHL International Humanitarian Law
IHME Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
ILO International Labour Organization
IMF International Monetary Fund

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSISvi
IMR Infant Mortality Rate
IOM International Organization for Migration
IPAS International Pregnancy Advisory Services
IPs Implementing Partners
IPTp Intermittent Preventive Treatment in Pregnancy
IRD Institute for Resource Development
IRH/FP Integrated Rural Health and Family Planning Program
IRS Indoor Residual Spraying
ITNs Insecticide Treated Nets
IUD Intrauterine Device
IUSSP International Union for the Scientific Study of Population
IVM Included Integrated Vector Management
JAMA Journal of American Medical Association
KAIS Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey
KANU Kenya National African Union
KCO Kenya Country Office
KDHS Kenya Demographic and Health Survey
KEPH Kenya Essential Package For Health
KESSA Kenya Scholars and Studies Association
KFS Kenya Fertility Survey
KFSSG Kenya Food Security Steering Group
KfW Kreditanstalt Für Wiederaufbau
KHPF Kenya Health Policy Framework
KHSSP Kenya Health Sector Strategic Plan
KIE Kenya Institute of Education
KIPPRA Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis
KNBS Kenya National Bureau of Statistics
KNCHR Kenya National Commission On Human Rights
KNSPWD Kenya National Survey For Persons with Disabilities
KPTJ Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice
LASDAP Local Authority Service Development Plan
LATF Local Authority Transfer Fund
LLIN Longer Lasting Insecticide Nets
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MCH Mother and Child Health
MDG Millennium Development Goal
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MDR-TB Multi-Drug Resistant TB
MHS Mean Household Size
MICs Multi Cluster Indicator Surveys
MIS Malaria Indicator Survey
MISP Minimum Initial Services Package
MMR Maternal Mortality Ratio
MNCH Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
MoE Ministry of Education
MoH Ministry of Health
MoMS Ministry of Medical Services
MOPAN Multilateral Organization Performance Assessment Network
MoPHS Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS vii
MoT Mode of Transmission
MoYAS Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
MSP Migrant Smuggling Protocol
MTCT Mother-To-Child Transmission
MTO Money Transfer Organization
MTP Medium Term Plan
MTP I First Medium Term Plan
MTP II Second Medium Term Plan
MTR Mid-Term Review
MWC Migrant Workers Convention
NACC National AIDS Control Council
NARC National Rainbow Coalition
NASCOP National AIDS and STI Control Programme
NCAPD National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development
NCPD National Council for Population and Development
NER Net Enrolment Rate
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
NHSSP National Health Sector Strategic Plans
NLC National Land Commission
NMR Nairobi Metropolitan Region
NMS National Malaria Strategy
NRC Norwegian Refugee Council
NTA National Transfer Accounts)
NUPI Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
OAU Organization of African Unity
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
OMP Office Management Plan
PD Population and Development
PDRTB Poly-Drug Resistant TB
PEPFAR Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
PoA Programme of Action
PPMDOTS Public-Private Mix for Dots
PRB Population Reference Bureau
PSA Population Situation Analysis
PSRI Population Studies and Research Institute
PwDs People with Disabilities
RBM Result-Based Management
RCMRD Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development
REC Regional Economic Communities
RFB Results Based Financing
RH Reproductive Health
RoK Republic of Kenya
RSP Remittance Service Provider
SADC Southern African Development Community
SAPs Structural Adjustment Programmes
SGBV Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
SID Society for International Development
SMAM Singulate Mean Age at Marriage
SRH Sexual and Reproductive Health

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSISviii
SSA Sub-Saharan Africa
STIs Sexually Transmitted Infections
SWAp Sector Wide Approach
SWTS School-To-Work Transition Survey
TB Tuberculosis
TFR Total Fertility Rate
U5MR Under-Five Mortality Rates
UK United Kingdom
UN United Nations
UN/DPI United Nations Department of Public Information
UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS
UNCT United Nations Country Team
UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework
UNDESA United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
UNDESA/PD Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population Division (
UNDHA United Nations Department for Humanitarian Affairs
UNDP United Nations Development Program
UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
UNGASS United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV&AIDS
UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Programme
UNHCR United Nations High Commission for Refugees
UNICEF United Nations Children Fund
UNISDR United Nations International Strategy on Disaster Reduction
UNOCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
UNOHCHR United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNPD United Nation Population Division
UPR Universal Period Review
US United States
USAID United States Agency for International Development
UTFR Unwanted Total Fertility Rate
VMMC Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision
WDR World Development Report
WFS World Fertility Survey
WHO World Health Organization
WTFR Wanted Total Fertility Rate
XDRTB Extremely Drug Resistant TB
YEDF Youth Enterprise Development Fund
YESA Youth Employment Scheme Abroad
YFS Youth Friendly Service
YSO Youth Serving Organization
YwDs Youth with Disabilities

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS ix
FOREWORD
The Population Situation Analysis (PSA) Report for Kenya is the first
to be undertaken in Africa based on the new PSA Conceptual and
Methodological Guide prepared and published by United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA).
Kenya’s prevailing population growth rate remains above the country’s
resources inspite of endeavours to manage the population growth
to levels that are consistent with the country’s socio-economic
development. There are also inadequate population and development
programme indicators for Kenya. The Kenya Government through
the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) and
Population Studies Research Institute (PSRI) with the support of
UNFPA undertook the population situation analysis to provide current
population status in Kenya. The PSA Report coincides with the Government’s development and launch
of the second Medium Term Plan, the development framework which all development programmes
will be aligned to.
The PSA Report documents the overall situation of the well-being of the people in Kenya, thereby
informing the entire spectrum of stakeholders in population and development field the challenges
that Kenya is experiencing. The Report also recommends how to address the challenges as well as
utilize the available opportunities.
The PSA Report presents information on a whole spectrum of the Kenyan population situation
under the following key thematic areas: Population Dynamics and Development; Population Size,
Growth and Structure; Fertility and Family Planning; Health Systems and Service Delivery for Sexual
and Reproductive Health; Infant, Child and Maternal Mortality; HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections,
Malaria and Tuberculosis; The Youth-Status and Prospects; Marriage and Family; Emergency Situations
and Humanitarian Response; Urbanization and Internal Migration , and International Migration and
Development. The Report also gives the context for strategic interventions by the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA).
The Report provides a summary of key indicators that will serve as baseline information for utilization
in the development of various national and county policies and developmental plans. It will also guide
policy makers and programmers on areas to prioritise and focus for fast economic development.
Anne Waiguru, OGW
Cabinet Secretary
Ministry of Devolution and Planning

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSISx
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The process of carrying out the Population Situation Analysis for the first
time in Kenya was accomplished through concerted efforts of various
organizations,institutionsandindividuals.Werecognisetheveryimportant
role of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Kenya Country Office,
which provided funding and valuable technical assistance at all stages
during the Population Situation Analysis (PSA).
Sincere gratitude goes to the PSATaskforce, under the chair of the National
Council for Population and Development (NCPD) represented by Dr.
Boniface K’Oyugi, former Director General, NCPD and the Late Dr. Paul
Kizito, former Director, Technical Services, NCPD; and its entire membership comprising members
drawn from various key government agencies and civil society that provided oversight and guidance to
the whole PSA process. Special appreciation is extended to Population Studies and Research Institute
(PSRI), University of Nairobi who provided technical coordination and support of all aspects of the PSA
process.
We would like to acknowledge the valuable professional support received from different groups: 14
authors who analysed and drafted all the chapters of this report; 8 reviewers (4 local, 1 from UNFPA
ESARO, and 2 from UNFPA HQ) who critically reviewed and moderated all the draft chapters; and 1
editor who technically and professionally edited the PSA report. All these groups sustained the PSA
process with enthusiasm and unwavering support and sound professional advice.
We also extend our unreserved appreciation to the core team for the hard work and commitment in
accomplishing the PSA: Prof. Lawrence Ikamari PSRI; Prof. Alfred Agwanda, PSRI; Mr. Ben Jarabi, PSRI;
Ms Cecilia Kimemia, UNFPA KCO; and Mr. Ezekiel Ngure, UNFPA KCO.
To all who contributed in one way or another to the development and production of this report, we say
thank you.
Mr. George Kichamu
Ag. Director General
National Council For Population And Development (NCPD)

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS xi
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Background
In developing countries like Kenya, which are still struggling to meet the needs of rapidly growing
populations, large shares of the populations are vulnerable to food insecurity, water shortages,
weather-related disasters and conflicts.These circumstances persist despite several national and global
initiatives to ameliorate the effects of these adversities. Indeed, for some countries, the experience has
been one of regression rather than progress. Consequently, countries like Kenya must acquire new
resolve to tackle adversity.
Rationale
Against the backdrop of the Millennium Development Goals and Kenya’s long-term development
blueprint, Kenya Vision 2030, the Government of Kenya is committed to mainstreaming population
dynamics, reproductive health and gender issues into national development strategies. While Kenya
has made significant strides in its bid to contain population growth at levels that are consistent with
the country’s growth and development potential and experiences, the prevailing population growth
rate remains above the country’s resources. However, there is lack of a comprehensive set of indicators
for population and development programmes in Kenya. For example, in the Vision 2030, population
issues have not been captured yet they are relevant for the realization of the same. There is also need
to consider issues of inequality and human rights approach to development planning in Kenya. These
are among the underlying rationale behind undertaking a population situation analysis that coincides
with the Government’s development of the second Medium Term Plan, which will be the development
framework against which Kenya’s development partners will arrive at their own priority interventions.
Objectives
The purpose of undertaking a Population Situation Analysis in Kenya was to document incisively
the overall situation of the well being of the Kenyan society, and to inform the citizens, civil society,
Government and wider stakeholder community, of the current challenges and opportunities in the
country with respect to population and development. The specific objectives of the Analysis were to:
 equip users with an instrument for advocacy;
 contribute to greater understanding of population and development paradigm for better
public policy formulation and implementation with specific reference to MTP II of Kenya Vision
2030 and MDGs;
 inform development of the UNDAF, on the critical need to prioritize and integrate population
issues in development planning; and
 be utilized by various national actors in Government, civil society, and private sector, as well
as cooperation agencies, in developing and implementing interventions in listed policy areas.
Process of conducting PSA
The process and documentation of PSA required working together with national actors in order to
analyze and demonstrate the relevance of population issues in a country’s development strategy, and
practical implications for public policies. Imperatively, the need arose for extensive dialogue involving
participation at high levels of Government for effective identification of priority needs and of proposals
for action, while at the same time building ownership and enhancing national capacities. In this regard,
a task force was formed to provide guidance and oversight during the PSA process, headed by high-
level Government officials and comprising members drawn from various key Government agencies

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSISxii
and civil society. The task force held deliberations over a period of several months during which the
various areas covered by this PSA were discussed. These deliberations took place alongside the work
of independent consultants who were assigned to write chapters of this PSA that related to their
respective areas of specialization.
Key Issues
Overview of Population Dynamics and Development
A key challenge for Kenya is sustaining the high economic growth target set inVision 2030 (over 10%) in
order to enhance the quality of life of the increasing numbers implied in Kenya’s population dynamics
which would in turn facilitate the achievements of the ICPD goals and MDGs including reducing the
high levels of poverty. Some of the specific challenges implied by the current population dynamics
include realizing the full potential of the increasing youth population by creating employment; meeting
the needs of the growing ageing population; putting appropriate social and physical infrastructure
for the increasing urban population; minimizing the adverse environmental impacts arising from the
increased pressure on natural resources due to increasing population density; and enhancing human
capital by investing in health, education and women’s empowerment. Investing in both education
and health would contribute to the attainment of more favourable demographic indicators, such as
lower fertility through enhanced contraceptive use, lower ideal family sizes and reduced under-five and
maternal mortality – indicators which remain high.
The increasing number of people implied by population dynamics and current demographic
transition, including the bulging youth population, and aged population provide both challenges
and opportunities. The increasing number of the youth, for example, can become a powerful force
for economic development and positive change if they are educated, healthier and availed suitable
employment opportunities. On the other hand, women in Kenya can become more productive if
the existing gender inequalities are overcome by empowering them, ensuring that they have equal
employment opportunities with men, but also ensuring they have access to reproductive health
services as they might require, including FP. As implied by the UNDP Gender Inequality Index of 2010,
65.4 percent of potential in human development of the Kenyan woman is not being realized because of
the inequalities. Overcoming inequalities would lower fertility, reduce poverty levels and attain better
health towards overall development. It is further observed that none of the MDGs can be achieved
without promoting women’s reproductive health and protecting maternal and newborn health.
Investing in education and health for the increasing numbers of the youth and empowering women,
providing them with reproductive health services and putting in place programmes for taking care of
the aging population are key challenges arising from the prevailing population dynamics.
Population Size, Growth and Structure
One issue surrounds the realization of the policy objective of reducing TFR from the current level of 4.6
to 2.6 children per woman by 2030. This is because the demand for children is still high and is unlikely
to change unless substantial changes in desired family sizes are achieved.
The quantification of the demographic dividend raises two policy challenges with regard to
achievement of economic growth: the need for rapid decline in fertility; and the substantial increase in
labour productivity. The challenges arise because the demographic dividend is likely to be small given
the large child population that has resulted from the high fertility levels over a long period of time.
The age structure of a population also has implications for political and socio-economic characteristics.
A youthful age structure is likely to undermine sustained development, security and governance will

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS xiii
likely precipitate corruption. However, it can also create opportunities for a country.
Fertility and Family Planning
Although Kenya has made significant progress in increasing the CPR, the level is still below the target of
53 percent by 2005 and 62 percent by 2010 envisioned in the National Population Policy for Sustainable
Development of 2000. At the same time,TFR has remained below the target set by the policy. Moreover,
although the National Reproductive Health Policy of 2007 emphasized reduction in unmet need for
family planning, unplanned births, as well as regional and socio-economic disparities in CPR, the level
of unmet need among Kenyan women remains high.
Health Systems and Service Delivery for Sexual and Reproductive Health
Overall, there is a lack of investment in systems development. Government expenditure in healthcare
has remained flat despite the growing economy and demand for health care. Donors generally do not
provide for infrastructure or systems development as suggested. Current national policy calls for social
healthinsuranceastheprimarywayoffinancinghealthcare.However,thereisstillalackofasubstantive
health financing strategy. While social health insurance has the potential to increase investment in
healthcare, the downside is that it is complex and can potentially leave out the poor and informal
sector. Weak accountability manifested by poor monitoring and evaluation systems means inefficient
health service delivery. Inequity in service provision affects particularly the poor, the informal sector
and consequently, women and their reproductive health needs. Inadequate investment in logistical
systems has resulted in a weak commodity supply chain.
Overall, Infant, Child, and Maternal Mortality
In general, it is noted that high childhood mortality rates pertaining in Kenya make it difficult for
individuals to adopt small family norms. This situation is compounded by persistent regional and
socio-cultural disparities in mortality rates. From available data, it is evident that the level of utilization
of maternal health care services remains low. Raising uptake of maternal health care services such as
facility delivery and skilled attendance to reasonable levels will contribute towards achievement of
national goals in maternal health.
Another major challenge lies in the inadequacy of requisite data to effectively monitor progress towards
the achievement of MDGs 4 and 5. This situation arises due to the inefficiency of the current civil
registration system in Kenya that is supposed to be the principal source of such data. Clear indications
that Kenya is unlikely to achieve set targets of MDGs 4 and 5 is another challenge to the country.
HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections, Malaria and Tuberculosis
Care of HIV infected and affected people is a big problem, especially for families. One component of
this population is the number of AIDS orphans that has been growing steadily from 27,000 in 1990 to
1.2 million in 2002, and further to 2.4 million by 2007. Delayed sexual debut and condom use have been
listed as the main avenues for reduction of HIV prevalence in Kenya.
HIV-related stigma throughout society continues to pose a challenge. It inhibits many people from
seeking HIV testing services and accessing ART, and is also a major contributor to the poor adherence
by many people to ART regimes. Given that about 90 percent of the resources for HIV response comes
from development partners, unpredictability and sustainability of financing for the epidemic remains a
challenge to the Government of Kenya.
To meet the MDG target onTB, several challenges need to be overcome, including: infrastructure.There

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSISxiv
is inadequate space for the increased demand for laboratory and chest clinic services; equipment forTB
diagnosis is limited in supply; involvement of all stakeholders in TB control, especially the involvement
and empowerment of communities hosting people living with or affected byTB; the evolution of MDR-
TB that has a very high mortality rate; threat of HIV which continues to fuel TB; and misconception that
TB is not treatable, delaying infected people’s search for treatment.
Among the current challenges in combating the malaria menace include: impact of investment in
malaria control over the past ten years and the gains made in reducing morbidity and mortality are
difficult to measure within the routine health system as nearly all fevers are diagnosed and treated as
malaria; parasitological diagnosis of malaria is still low; general knowledge about the recommended
malaria treatment in the communities remains low; poor diagnostic equipment; weak distribution of
ITNs, and diversion of the same to other uses; and malaria drug resistance.
The Youth: Status and Prospects
The principal challenge lies in ensuring optimal utilization of the youth’s potential contribution towards
achieving social, economic and political goals. The country will never achieve Vision 2030 without
adequately responding to the needs and challenges of the present and future generation of young
people.
Adolescent pregnancy and childbearing is correlated with low education levels for girls, and poses a
major challenge due to the fact that apart from the inherent health risks, adolescent childbearing and
the conditions associated with it are fundamental factors determining the quality of life and role of
women in society.
Due to idleness, especially after formal education, the youth become restless, with some ending up in
crimeorwithdeviantbehaviour,includingself-destructivetendencies.SlightlymorethanhalfofKenya’s
prison population is persons aged between 16 and 25. Poverty coupled with drug and substance use
are responsible for the increased vulnerability of youth to crime. High unemployment rates among
the youth means that the Government misses out on their potential contributions to social security
systems. Analysis of youth employment context shows that Kenya faces five key challenges, namely:
high unemployment; rapidly growing labour force; under-employment; problem of the working poor;
and gender inequality in employment.
Marriage and Family
In Kenya, the Civil Registration Department has never published annual marriage statistics, thereby
limiting research work on household transformations and productivity. Furthermore, national censuses
which provide vital data for planning and policy formulation also lack information on the specific date
at first marriage, type of marriage and duration of marriage. It is estimated that among the 13.7 million
youth in Kenya in 2011, 7.6 million lived in poverty. Poverty often triggers early entry into marriage,
motherhood and family establishment, denying young people greater prospects for further career
development.
The programmes of free primary education and subsidization of secondary education create
suitable opportunities for delaying entry into marriage, if effectively implemented. However, their
implementation is a challenge to the Government because of the enormous resources required, human
capital investment and infrastructure development. In Kenya, 60 percent of the active labour force
consists of young people and 80 percent of the unemployed are youth. Such a situation creates critical
challenges in families and the society in terms of security, petty crimes as well as drug and alcohol
abuse that involve majority of unemployed youth and cause marital abuse and instability.

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS xv
The key messages for policy are as follows: Marriages are still stable; there is a slow shift from early
age at first marriage to intermediate ages among women; new forms of marriages are still few and not
adequately captured by data; and poverty is more likely to be associated with early entry into marriage.
Emergency Situations and Humanitarian Response
Kenya does not have a coordinated framework for the management of emergency situations based
on clear mandates and responsibilities. Consequently, the country’s approach to managing situations
such as disasters has been ad hoc, often characterized by fire-fighting. However, the Government’s
awareness of this deficiency in preparedness and long-term capacity, has led to its taking measures to
build a national framework. Kenya’s current legal framework is fragmented and hence the need for a
single framework law that could specifically deal with issues of management of emergency situations
in the country.
One of the critical concerns is Kenya’s lack of preparedness for emergency management. For example,
during the post election violence of the 2007/2008, public healthcare system was unprepared to
deliver critical services within an emergency situation due to several factors: massive displacement of
people in a short time span; lack of sufficient capacity to bring healthcare services to the community
level because provision of health services is fundamentally premised on physical access; and disruption
of logistics and supply chain coordination severely caused shortages of medical supplies even where
there were adequate supplies in stock.
The continuing influx of refugees (especially from Somalia) has overstretched existing facilities in
the host communities around Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps. For example, the inter-agency
assessment of the education sector in Dadaab noted that the pupil-classroom ratio is 113:1, while
the teacher-pupil ratio is 1:85, with over 48,000 refugee school-age boys and girls are currently out of
school. In the Kakuma Refugee Camp Primary School, classrooms can only accommodate 37 percent of
school going population.
Urbanization and Internal Migration
Since urbanization is inevitable, the main challenge is not to slow it down, but rather to learn how
to deal with the rapid growth it generates. Already, it is estimated that about 50 percent of Kenya’s
population will be living in urban areas by the year 2015.
The growth of Nairobi city has spilled over to adjacent urban centres, pointing to prospects of a
metropolis. Other large urban centres will gradually experience the same growth trend. At the same
time, there is no doubt that small and medium-size urban centres will continue to grow and absorb a
larger proportion of the urban population.
Urban centres are central places where people converge on a daily basis. Consequently, they serve not
only the urban residents, but also the populations living on the peripheries. However, the itinerant
daytime population of urban centres is hardly ever captured in the population censuses, yet such
inclusion is imperative for comprehensive planning purposes.
Internalmigrationisimportantandisincreasinglybecomingevenmoredynamicandcomplex.However,
informed policy and interest on internal migration have been hampered by lack of adequate, reliable
and comprehensive data, such as can be generated by national-level surveys. More research and data
on all aspects of internal migration are needed to shape academic debates on the phenomenon and
inform policy debates.

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSISxvi
International Migration and Development
Among the biggest challenges in discussing international migration is the dearth of data which
constrains meaningful and detailed analysis and interpretation of context. In Kenya, while the periodic
censuses have generated immigration data, and lately emigration data, a number of potential datasets
remainuntapped.Suchsourcesincludedataonvisasandworkpermits,border-postdataandpassenger
surveys at international airports. Second, no international labour market surveys have been undertaken
to inform Kenya about its immigrant labour, especially those trafficked and smuggled to undertake
jobs that Kenyans are overqualified for. Third, information on emigrant Kenyans is incomplete, leaving
room for speculation on the size and profile of the Diaspora, including such information as current and
previous employment and residence. While the nature and character of the Diaspora can be gleaned
from its involvement in Kenya’s development, its meetings at emigration destinations, and occasional
homecoming ventures, these do not provide a comprehensive perspective of the phenomenon.
Kenya’s comparative peace, stability and prosperity in Eastern Africa means it is likely to continue to
offer refuge to people from unstable states, making it imperative for policy-makers to address refugee
burden in the context of the country’s international obligations.
Immigration to Kenya, and emigration from it, has taken place devoid of a national migration policy. It
is time, however, for Kenya to devote attention to desirable effects of immigration and emigration with
a view to sustaining them while taking steps to eliminate undesirable effects. To this end, the Kenya
Citizen and Foreign Nationals Management Services Board has the onerous task of reviewing existing
migration management policies, and promptly acting on the findings.
Inequalities and the Exercise of Rights
For the design, implementation, follow-up and evaluation of policies, statistical information is an
indispensable tool. During the past decade, there have been efforts globally to use population
information in the field of social public policies, and in inequality and poverty analyses, in order to
improve the design of interventions with which to improve the living conditions of middle and low
segments of society. However, targets and indicators employed have not been designed based on the
monitoring of inequalities and entrenched discrimination, or the extent to which social and economic
rights are exercised. Many indicators are based on averages which ignore the disaggregated picture of
how the disadvantaged fare relative to the most advantaged in society.
Another gap is the use of quintiles to assess the extent of poverty and inequalities. Although quintile
scores are now commonly used, there is no necessary correspondence between them and poverty
lines based on income or expenditure; which is to emphasize the possibility that some households
classified as quintile 5 may fall below a country’s income-based poverty line.
Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides for the
developmentoftheappropriaterighttohealthindicators.TheCovenantstates:“Statepartiesareinvited
to set appropriate national benchmarks in relation to each indicator of the right to health by identifying
appropriate right to health indicators and benchmarks to monitor the extant of the framework law.”
This is a critical gap in the health policy framework even though it aims at using the rights to health
approach in developing health interventions. That is, all the Kenyan policy and strategy documents
lack right to health benchmarks. A human rights-based approach to programming must ensure that all
processes, including data collection and use, are in line with human rights principles. It requires taking
into account the extent to which existing services are available, accessible and acceptable to, and of
high quality for, the population.
Although coverage and investments in safety nets have increased overtime, coverage of safety net

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS xvii
programmes remains low in comparison to the population in need, part of the problem lying in the
weak monitoring and evaluation. Additionally, the weak alignment of existing programmes with the
changing social, political, and economic context threatens their sustainability. The Government notes
that previous assessments have indicated insufficient capacity in ministries and other agencies to
implement a coordinated and harmonized social protection system.
Relationships and their Relevance to Public Policies
A number of analysts have tried to identify strengths and limitations of the MDG approach in the
development process. However, some analysts have argued that the MDGs have been misinterpreted
and were less successful at framing the development agenda at country level. MDGs were set in
terms of aggregates and, therefore, mask tracking of progress in reducing inequalities and provide
no incentives to focus on the poorest and hardest to reach. The MDG approach has been criticized
for missing key issues at national level that are critical for development such as; equity, human rights,
sustainability and empowerment as well as important policy areas such as climate change, growth, job
creation,securityanddemographicchange.Evaluationsofeffectofrelationshipsbetweenintervention,
poverty, inequality and parameters of population processes have not been done and therefore no clear
policy directions can be determined. In particular, interrelationships between migration and poverty,
migration and health as well as migration and development.
Recommendations
The demographic dividend due to increase in the youth population relative to adult population is an
opportunity that arises from demographic transition. Kenya should take advantage of Article 55 of the
Constitution of Kenya (2010) which recognizes the importance of investing in the youth. The article
declares the need for “the State to take measures, including affirmative action programmes, to ensure
that the youth: access relevant education and training; have opportunities to associate, be represented and
participate in political, socio-economic and other spheres of life; and access employment”.
Kenya should endeavour to accelerate its demographic transition through increased access to family
planning; a reduction in child mortality; enhanced female school enrolment and general female
empowerment; and the creation of labour market opportunities for women.
Kenya should put in place policies and programmes to address issues of access to information and
services focused on modern contraceptives among various socio-economic groups.
The human rights approach recognizes the need to focus on areas of inequality in provision of services.
This calls for relevant interventions tailored to mortality situations as depicted by sub-regional
differentials.
Further, one of the major challenges is that routine data required for monitoring progress towards the
achievement of the MDGs and Vision 2030 are incomplete and inaccurate. Given the paucity of routine
data, there is need for concerted efforts to ensure that the systems expected to generate these data
are functional. There is also need for specialized surveys that can assist to generate these data in the
short-run to assist the Government and other key stakeholders to monitor achievements of the MDGs
at all levels on a continuous basis.
In order to reduce maternal mortality, it is necessary to address several challenges, including the need
to ensure availability of and access to quality maternity health care services.
HIV-stigma continues to be a challenge that needs attention in order to sustain the decline in HIV prev-

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSISxviii
alence in the country. Priority recommendations for ensuring long-term success in Kenya’s AIDS re-
sponse are as follows:
• Intensified efforts are needed to enhance coordination, harmonization and alignment of the
national response;
• Support should be expanded for grassroots community action and capacity development;
• A high-profile, multi-pronged strategy should be implemented to ensure sufficient financial
resources to address the long-term challenge posed by AIDS;
• Kenya should elevate the priority accorded to efforts to prevent new HIV infections, including
focused efforts to maximize the prevention impact of antiretroviral therapy;
• Strategies to reduce HIV risk must be supported by energetic, courageous efforts to address the
social determinants of vulnerability; and
• Kenya should accelerate scaling up of comprehensive HIV treatment, care and support;
Article 55 of the Constitution of Kenya (2010) calls upon the state to take measures, including affirmative
action, to ensure that the youth have access to relevant education and training. Young people must be
provided with relevant and appropriate tools to develop their capabilities so they can make use of
opportunities presenting themselves in today’s competitive economy. They can do this only if they
are equipped with advanced skills in thinking, behaviour, specific knowledge and vocational skills to
enable them perform jobs that require clearly defined tasks.
To respond to, and address, some of the identified challenges, the Government should collaborate with
other stakeholders to take advantage of the many opportunities that exist in favour of the country’s
adolescents and youth to:
• Ensure effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation of existing youth related policies
across all sectors; and
• Put in place targeted programmes and interventions that address varied needs of adolescents
and youth, particularly in health, education and employment creation.
Recognizing the dynamism in adolescent and youth programming, there will be need for timely
disseminationofdatatoinformthedesignanddevelopmentoftargetedprogrammesandinterventions
for the ever increasing and varied needs of youth in Kenya.
It is recommended that Kenya invests in delaying age at first marriage and first birth. Investment in
social services, such as education for young people will guarantee delays in family formation, promote
entry into formal employment, and make the youth become more responsible citizens.
There is also need to invest substantially in the Vital Registration System in order to produce flows of
data that are more relevant for annual planning for the changing needs of family households. There is
also need to invest in studies on fragile families in order to inform policies and programmes for social
protection.
Political commitment is the most important ingredient to addressing emergency situations. Political
commitment should be demonstrated through declaration, legislation, institution-building, public
policy decisions and programme support at the highest level of national politics. At the policy level,
DRR can be integrated into Vision 2030 and performance contracting in all Government ministries
and institutions. At the local level, DRR should be an integral part of county and community-based
development planning. The right of the people affected by emergency situations to live in dignity is a
matter of principle that should be upheld at all times and by all actors.

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS xix
A comprehensive and up-to-date information database should document all disasters, conflicts, and
displacements in Kenya and provide a basis for risk mapping and vulnerability assessments, and
development of emergency plans focusing on all aspects of DRR. The database will be vital for building
disaster scenarios in the country to inform policy and action (plans, programmes and projects). In
establishing databases, particular attention should be paid to demographics of emergency situations.
These challenges call for a national urban policy to guide urban development countrywide. In
addition, the policy should aim at guiding the urbanization process by reducing risks and maximizing
opportunities attributed to urban growth. The challenges associated with urbanization demand a
proactiveapproachtourbanplanning,whichconsidersfuturedemographicandenvironmentalaspects
while responding to current priorities. Such an approach demands, in turn, a sound understanding of
urban development processes, locally, nationally and internationally.
There is a need to encourage area-wide metropolitan planning and governance, as well as planning for
the spatial growth and development of small and medium-size urban centres, alongside strengthening
their governance capacities.
As Kenya lacks a comprehensive internal migration policy, there is need to integrate internal migration
into the wider urban, regional and national development policies and planning.
Like many other SSA countries, Kenya has a dearth of data on international migration, among the
reasons for this being the lack of a broad-based migration data policy. To this end, the country should
gauge the extent of Kenya’s brain drain, brain waste and brain circulation in the West and in other loci
of emigrant labour, including the Middle East and rest of Africa.
With the dual citizenship policy adopted recently, Kenya must be prepared to compete with the
countries where its citizens reside in wooing them to acknowledge the ambivalence of some of their
lifestyles abroad and its implications for individuals and the country.
Kenya’s involvement in international migration agenda in RECs, at the AU and at the global level should
be manifested in its ratifying and implementing international migration instruments. Given that
Kenya is a country of origin, transit and destination of legal and illegal migrants, it should complete
its commitment to the entire slate of statutory migration management instruments by signing the
Convention Governing the Protection ofWorkers and Members ofTheir Families (1990). However, given
the many challenges in comprehensive adoption or domestication of international instruments, Kenya
has to establish a carefully designed domestic programme for accession to the requirements of such
frameworks.
The country should develop policy to guide the judicious utilisation of Diaspora remittances,
while recognising them as private flows subject to market forces. Such endeavours should draw
on international experiences, such as the Mexican three-in-one system, to ensure the injection of
county and central Government funds into the pool of remittances, thereby augmenting revenue for
development. An important recommendation is for Kenya to appreciate “social remittances”- norms,
non-monetary remittances such as practices, identities and social capital.
With respect to refugees, research should target the South Sudanese, Ethiopians and Somalis to
investigate their unwillingness to return to their countries even after normalcy has been restored.There
could be legitimate apprehension behind their reluctance to return, or they might have become so
Kenyan that returning to their countries might disrupt their lifestyles. Another research area would be
to have a matched survey of home-based citizens to establish the extent to which they share certain

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSISxx
events in Kenya, or whether they are polarised in their perceptions of and attitudes toward each other.
The present stage of development and demographic transition calls for studies that interrogate the past
literature and research results alongside contemporary national and devolved governance structures
in the country. Areas that lack requisite data and information include; migration and its determinants
and consequences, maternal mortality at sub-national levels, cause of death data to determine burden
of disease as well as data and information that link poverty, inequality, population, and reproductive
health indicators.
There is need to include issues of equality and equity as one of the guiding principles underpinning
the whole framework or more goals that specifically focus on inequality by type of inequality (social
economic or political). Inequalities can also be integrated as a concern into goals and targets on
different sectoral issues (politics, security, justice, health, education and poverty) in order to uphold
inclusion, fairness, responsiveness and accountability to all social groups throughout the framework.
The Kenyan education system will have to quickly and significantly ratchet up skills of those who go
through it. This entails building on Kenya’s progress with Free Primary Education, improving school
quality and ensuring that more Kenyans complete secondary school. It is imperative that the Kenyan
education system is better aligned with the job market. This calls for labour-intensive initiatives,
entrepreneurship development, elimination of skills mismatch, policies on labour migration and
productivity improvement. This requires an integrated National Employment Policy which should
integrate all employment opportunities in a time-bound national action plan with clear targets for
different agencies. It is suggested that a National Employment Council with membership, drawn
from workers, employers, private sector and academia, be created to coordinate implementation of a
National Action Plan on Job Creation.
It is, therefore, recommended that the Government targets programmes to nurture, incubate and
encourage talents exhibited by youth at an early age. It is further noted that some sectors – such
as livestock, horticulture production, irrigation, hotels and restaurants – have the potential to yield
more job opportunities than others, and should, therefore, be targeted first. To tackle the challenge of
unemployment in Kenya, the following measures are necessary:
• Simplify business registration processes, improve governance and physical infrastructure, and
reduce crime rates. Financial assistance programmes are a popular intervention to promote
entrepreneurs. International experience indicates that such programmes have been successful
in stemming unemployment;
• The new labour laws should be implemented in a consultative manner to take into account
the concerns of social partners. This will safeguard Kenya’s competitiveness in international
markets;
• Given that the sectors with the largest potential for job creation are agriculture based, there is
need for increased investment in agriculture, such as in livestock management and irrigation
(to reduce seasonal vulnerability);
• The Government should commission a School-to-WorkTransition Survey (SWTS) to improve the
design of employment policies and programmes for the youth. This will help assess the relative
ease or difficulty of the youth’s transition from school to work life. It will also help identify levels
of skills, perceptions and aspirations in terms of employment, job search process, barriers to
entry into the labour market, and preference for wage employment versus self-employment;
and
• Theanalysisofsomeaspectsofunemploymentishamperedbylackofsufficientdata.Thelabour
force survey instrument should be modified to capture unemployment spells and transitions

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS xxi
into and exit from unemployment. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics should deepen the
employment data collection instruments, ensure quarterly data collection and release to show
the number and types of jobs created across Kenya and sectors more frequently.
The Government needs to get serious about eliminating corruption, which acts as a chokehold on the
private sector. Most transactions involving Government officials, from obtaining contracts to paying
taxes, seem to have a corrupt element.TheWorld Bank estimates that if the private sector could redirect
the money it now spends on corruption to creating jobs, it could create 250,000 jobs, sufficient to hire
most unemployed urban Kenyans between the age of 15 and 34. In addition young people seeking jobs
often have to pay bribes to get them, a practice that can discourage would-be entrants into the labour
force. It will be easier to stop petty corruption if the Government takes it seriously, and individuals not
only lose their jobs, but also go to jail for corrupt behaviour.
Kenya needs to continue to make quality education a priority, not just emphasize on quantity. Kenya
has made good progress in providing universal primary education and has greatly increased availability
of secondary education. Kenya will need to continue to make significant investments in education, not
just in expanding access, but also in upgrading quality. It will be imperative for the Government to
make special effort to ensure that education outcomes match the skills needed by the private sector, as
it also expands to meet new opportunities.The Government should focus on facilitating and enhancing
education for all. With greater accessibility to education, young people will spend more years studying,
therefore become more productive, delay marriage and consequently end up having fewer children.
Policies to address population growth and to promote social protection are vital for reducing poverty,
as are national employment strategies formulated and implemented with full involvement of key
stakeholders. Actions to expand jobs and labour productivity should focus on widening access to
complementary inputs such as machinery and equipment, strengthening the business environment
in which the private firms can thrive, boosting quantity and quality of physical and institutional
infrastructure, and improving working conditions.
Policy and decision makers need to recognize that continuing population growth will contribute to
increased urbanization.They will have to develop and implement urban planning policies that take into
account consumption needs and demographic trends while capitalizing on the potential economic,
social and environmental benefits of urban living.
There is dire need to form a National Health Services Commission that will be responsible for regulating
matters in health, quality assurance and standards, monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning and
management, inter-sectoral collaboration, enforcing the Bill of Rights and ensuring universal access to
health care.
Empowering women, removing financial and social barriers to accessing local accountability of health
systems are all policy interventions that will enhance equal access to health services and reduce
mortality.
Kenya should strive to tap into new global resources to strengthen the country’s sustainable
development. Natural resource management strategies, including reforestation that have until now
often been ignored, should be given priority. Similarly, well-thought-out public-private partnerships
for addressing climate change should be brought into play.
Policy and decision makers need to use existing knowledge more effectively and to prioritise research

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSISxxii
in natural and social sciences that will provide innovative solutions to challenges of sustainability.
In order to gain better understanding of the policy and programme environment, there is need to
contribute to undertaking of socio-demographic surveys in order to continue building the knowledge
base on population dynamics, reproductive health, HIV and AIDS and gender equality. It will be
necessary to support further analysis of modules of selected socio-demographic surveys such as the
KDHS, among others. In addition, undertaking of socio-cultural, demographic and health research to
support programme planning and implementation as well as policy dialogues will be added advantage.
On the basis of the challenges identified and the strategic direction for UNFPA, it is recommended that
agency focuses on the following:
a. Universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights
In line with the ICPD Programme of Action, Kenya has two policy instruments that address the issue of
universal access to sexual and reproductive health:
The National Reproductive Health Policy of 2007 which aims at enhancing the reproductive health
status of all Kenyans, and Article 43 of The Constitution of Kenya 2010 which provides that every
person has the right to the highest standard of health, which includes the right to health care services,
including reproductive health care. However, universal access to sexual and reproductive health is still
being constrained by a number of factors that are economic, social and cultural. UNFPA is expected
to be in the forefront in supporting implementation of the RH Policy as well as other policies that
promote attainment of reproductive health and rights within the framework of the new constitutional
dispensation.
b. Improve maternal, new born and child health
In line with MDG 5, relevant policies and programmes in Kenya aim at reducing maternal deaths.
However, trends in maternal mortality ratio provide clear evidence that this is one of the goals at
highest risk of not being met. Uptake of maternal health care and voluntary family planning services
are vital to reducing maternal deaths. This makes family planning critical in its own right. In this regard,
UNFPA should support relevant interventions that promote increased uptake of maternal health care
services including family planning.
c. Support efforts towards a strong information base
SustainabledevelopmentrequiresKenyatobeinapositiontoproactivelyaddress,ratherthanonlyreact
to, the population trends that will unfold over the next decades. Requisite data must inform forward-
looking development policies, strategies, and programmes. To measure progress in population and
reproductive health and rights outcomes, and to hold associated actors accountable, a set of robust
indicators must be clearly defined. The Kenyan community has not only a need, but also a right to
monitortheimpactofthedevelopmentagenda.Developmentresultsdatamustbepositionedtoreveal
the actual impacts on people, environment, economy, security, etc. In all instances, indicators must
allow for impacts to be disaggregated by various characteristics including age, sex, socio-economic
status and related variables, so as to track how the most vulnerable groups progress. UNFPA’s role
will be to enhance capacity of institutions responsible for population related data collection, analysis,
dissemination and use to generate accurate and user-friendly data for integration of population issues
into development planning at all levels.

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS 1
PART 1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background
Globally, people are living longer and healthier lives, and couples are choosing to have fewer children;
yet, huge inequities persist and daunting challenges lie ahead. While rich countries are concerned with
low fertility and ageing, nations like Kenya are still struggling to meet the needs of rapidly growing
populations amid huge disparities between the poor and rich. In developing countries like Kenya,
large shares of the populations are vulnerable to food insecurity, water shortages, weather-related
disasters and conflicts. These circumstances persist despite several national and global initiatives to
ameliorate the effects of these adversities. For example, the world is two years away from end date of
the Millennium Challenge of 2000 which spawned the Millennium Development Goals; yet for majority
of signatory countries, there is little to show for the amount of resources and rhetoric that has gone
into striving for the eight goals and related targets. Indeed, for some countries, experience has been
one of regression rather than progress.Yet, even as multi-faceted obstacles – some self-inflicted; others
unavoidable – emerge to undermine progress towards development, countries like Kenya must acquire
new resolve to tackle adversity. This report analyses the state of the Kenyan population with a view to
generating practical recommendations on the ways in which the human welfare gains to date can be
safeguarded and built on, even as new initiatives are designed and implemented with which to further
the struggle to improve the quality of life of people in the country.
Against the backdrop of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the long-term development
blueprint, Kenya Vision 2030 and in the context of several developmental frameworks agreed upon by
the international community, the Government of Kenya is committed to mainstreaming population
dynamics, reproductive health and gender issues into National Development Strategies. While Kenya
has made significant strides in its bid to contain population growth at levels that are consistent with the
country’sgrowth,developmentpotentialandexperiences,theprevailingpopulationgrowthrateremains
above the means of the country’s resources. The country fully recognises the potential contribution
that can be made to population management by development and sustained implementation of
efficacious reproductive health policies and practices. The Government also appreciates the potential
contribution of effective gender management that appreciates the differentiated impact of policies
and actions on men and women, on the sustained success of population policies in general, including
reproductive health policies and initiatives.
The strategic population, reproductive health and gender axes is anchored on the ability of all
relevant stakeholders to be able to not only understand how population dynamics interrelate with the
development process, but also how to integrate population, reproductive health and gender dynamics,
and their linkages and impacts, in interventions against poverty and inequality. These are among
the underlying rationale behind undertaking a population situation analysis that coincides with the
Government’s development of the second development plan of the KenyaVision 2030 era, the Medium
Term Plan 2014-2019, or MTP II. Critically, MTP II will be the development framework against which, in
the spirit of the development co-operation strategies for aid effectiveness agreed on in Paris (2005),
Accra (2008) and Bushan (2011) where Kenya’s development partners will arrive at their own priority
activities1
.
1 Such as is impending for the Kenya UN Country Team’s fourth UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).

KENYA POPULATION SITUATION ANALYSIS2
Objectives
The purpose of the Population Situation Analysis (PSA) is to document incisively the overall situation
of the well being of Kenyan society, and to inform the citizens, civil society, Government and wider
stakeholder community, of the challenges and opportunities that Kenya has with respect to population
and development. The Assessment will suggest ways to address these challenges even as existing and
emerging opportunities are gainfully employed. Specifically, the PSA is expected to:
• equip users with an instrument for advocacy;
• contribute to greater understanding of population and development paradigm for better
public policy formulation and implementation with specific reference to MTP II of Kenya Vision
2030 and MDGs;
• inform development of the UNDAF, on the critical need to prioritize and integrate population
issues in development planning;
• be utilized by various national actors in Government, civil society and private sector, as well as
cooperation agencies in developing and implementing interventions in the listed policy areas.
The process and documentation of PSA required working together with national actors in order to
analyze and demonstrate the relevance of population issues in a country’s development strategy, and
the practical implications for public policies. Hence, the need arises for extensive dialogue involving
participation at high levels of Government for effective identification of needs and proposals for action,
while at the same time building ownership and enhancing national capacities. In this regard, a task
force was formed to provide guidance and oversight during the PSA process, headed by high-level
Government officials and comprising members drawn from various key Government agencies and civil
society. The task force held deliberations over a period of several months during which various areas
covered by this PSA were aired. These deliberations took place alongside the work of independent
consultants who were assigned to write chapters of this PSA that related to their respective areas of
academic and/or intellectual specialization.
Components of this Report
ThePSAreport comprisessixcorethematicareas,namely:thisintroductorysectionoutliningobjectives
of PSA, its background and guiding principles; a comprehensive overview of the country situation,
including its progress towards meeting national and international development goals; a synthesis
of data and information on population dynamics, sexual and reproductive health in the context of
economic and social processes; an examination of the extent to which inequalities exist, including in
the exercise of rights; highlights of relationships, impacts and relevance of public policies; and a final
section providing a summary of the foregoing issues, including core challenges and opportunities for
action. These thematic areas are better organized along four parts outlined here below.
Part 1: Introduction
This consists of objectives of PSA, background and guiding principles, a comprehensive overview of
the country situation, and progress towards meeting national and international development goals.
Part 2: Overview of Population Dynamics and Development
This forms the background of the country and includes a review of population dynamics and the
potentialities or constraints imposed by the national context. The review consists of: a global analysis
of the country with regard to most important characteristics of demographic transition; economic,
socio-cultural, political and institutional context; the country position with respect to its international
commitments, with emphasis on the MDGs and the ICPD Programme of Action.

Part 3: Population Situation
This identifies more specifically main characteristics of the population processes and main challenges
or problems confronted by the country in these areas. It, therefore, considers all population related
behaviours – whose emphasis will be determined by the importance that each has in the country,
according to the stage of the demographic, epidemiological and urban transitions, as well as the
availability of information. There are 10 thematic areas namely:
1. Population Size, Growth and Structure;
2. Fertility and Family Planning;
3. Health Systems and Service Delivery for SRH;
4. Overall Infant, Childhood and Maternal Mortality;
5. HIV/Sexually Transmitted Infections, Malaria and Tuberculosis;
6. The Youth: Status and Prospects;
7. Marriage and Family;
8. Emergency Situations and Humanitarian Response;
9. Urbanization and Internal Migration; and
10. International Migration and Development.
Part 4: Inequalities and Exercise of Rights; Relationships and Impacts; Challenges and
Opportunities
Inequalities and Exercise of Rights
This serves as a synthesis of results presented in previous chapters as well as examining conceptual
linkages with development parameters. In particular, this chapter presents a detailed overview of
inequalities according to socio-economic, regional and gender groups, thus demonstrating the
contrasting situations that characterize these different groups in the country. The PSA illustrates not
only manifestations of inequality/poverty, but also the extent to which these social inequalities persist
despite advances in the demographic transition. It also describes attempts to reduce these socio
economic inequalities through application of a rights-based programming.
Relationships and Impacts: Relevance for Public Policies
This documents the relationships between components of population dynamics, reproduction
and gender, and their implications for public policies. It also highlights the need to reduce poverty
and inequality as well as extend capacities and protection of rights of the most disadvantaged or
marginalized groups of the population, as basic requirements for overcoming poverty.
Challenges and Opportunities
This is the final section of the PSA, and:
a. serves as a summary and conclusion, and identification of main challenges that confront
the country, and opportunities available for addressing these challenges;
b. defines the context for strategic interventions that the United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA) can undertake as part of joint effort of the United Nations system to support
development of the country; and
c. provides a summary of the trends in key indicators that will serve as baseline information
for utilization in the development of MTP II, UNDAF and the eighth GoK/UNFPA Country
Programme.

Process of conducting PSA
In order to have a succinct and well prepared document that is also owned by, and useful to all stake-
holders, the PSA process required working together with national actors across the board in order to
analyze and demonstrate the relevance of population issues in the country’s development strategy.
a) The PSA process was designed to:
• take place within the context of an extensive process of dialogue involving high levels of
involvement and participation;
• build consensus on, and ownership of, the findings of the report; and
• enhance national capacities in analysis, dissemination and dialogue on matters relating to
population issues and national development .
b) To achieve these objectives, it was necessary to:
• constitute a taskforce that would provide the overall oversight of the PSA process;
• hold orientation workshops to highlight the rationale, guiding principles, methodology, and
their role in the PSA process;
• carry out analysis and compile reports on selected thematic areas and the overall report; and
• hold appropriate review workshops to interrogate the document, build consensus on the
challenges, opportunities and inform various audiences of the findings.
c) Since the PSA methodology and outputs require wide consultations, there was need for technical
assistance from the UNFPA African Regional Office and Headquarters to obtain inputs from, and
experiences of other countries to inform the process, analysis and synthesis of available informa-
tion, as well as on how to disseminate the PSA products.

PART 2
CHAPTER 2: OVERVIEW OF POPULATION DYNAMICS AND DEVELOPMENT
2.1 Introduction
Enhancement of the wellbeing of the population is the key objective of any nation’s development
agenda, objectives for which Kenya is no exception. Such enhancement is achieved through sustainable
development, the broader and more comprehensive concept of development that was adopted by the
Brudtlandt Report of 1987. The key components or pillars of sustainable development are economic
development, social development and environmental protection2
. Sustainability implies that meeting
the needs of the present population does not jeopardize meeting the needs of the future. Wellbeing
has traditionally been reflected in the levels of income and access to basic needs, such as food, housing,
healthcare, education and employment. In the broader definition above, meeting the basic human
rights of the population, including the right to participate in the development process itself, are
also in addition perceived as aspects of wellbeing. These concerns have been included in both the
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action (PoA) (UNFPA,
2004) and MDGs (United Nations, 2012).
The close linkages between population, sustainable development and human wellbeing were
reaffirmed at the 1994 ICPD Conference in Cairo. The Conference observed that everyday human
activities within communities and in countries as a whole are interrelated with population change, the
state of environment as well as economic and social development. Consequently, the conference urged
countries to develop appropriate population policies and programmes in order to enhance the quality
of life of their people. In Kenya, these inter-linkages had been recognized soon after independence
when the country became the first in Sub-Saharan Africa to integrate population management
in its development strategy by establishing a family planning programme in 19673
. Since then, this
population concern has been articulated in several policy documents, including the current population
policy by the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) of 2012.
This chapter examines the interrelationships between population and sustainable development. The
chapter starts with a brief presentation of the country setting covering the key administrative, political,
agro-ecologic and economic features (Section 2). Section 3 reviews the population situation while the
country’s socio-economic situation together with the policy and cultural environment are presented in
Section 4. The conclusions and recommendations are discussed in Section 5.
Country Setting
Kenya is situated in eastern part of the African continent, bordering Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda,
Tanzania and the Indian Ocean (Figure 2.1). The country has a total area of 582,646 sq. kms, with a land
area of 571,466 sq kms. Only about 20 percent of this land is arable, along the narrow tropical belt in
the coast region, the highlands east and west of the Rift Valley and the lake basin lowlands around
Lake Victoria – and consequently accommodates a large proportion of the country’s population. The
arable area includes the very high humid forests and highlands of Mt. Kenya and the Abedares Ranges
in eastern highlands of the Rift Valley, and Mount Elgon, Cherangani, Mau and Nandi Hills in western
highlands; the humid highlands of moist and dry forests with high agricultural potential in central
2 See elaboration in ‘Sustainable Development Policy and Guide for The EEA Financial Mechanism & The Norwegian Financial Mechanism’. Adopted: 07 April
2006 Available at http://www.eeagrants.org/asset/341/1/341_1.pdf - accessed 21/12/2012
3 For a review of Kenya’s commitment to population policy, see Crichton, Joanna (2008).

Kenya; the dry forest and moist woodlands which are of high and medium agricultural potential in Rift
Valley; and the humid and dry transitional areas in lower parts of Rift Valley (NCPD, 2010a). The rest of
the country – the north and north eastern and much of the southern areas towards theTanzania border
– consist of arid or semi-arid lands (ASALs) primarily covered with bushes and shrubs, unsuitable for
agriculture, but affording opportunity predominantly for pastoralism and wildlife conservation. Table
2.1 shows the Agro-ecological Zoning 4 (AEZ) of Kenya‘s total area. Out of 582,646 square kilometres of
area, about 1.9 percent is covered by water and the dry land mass is commonly divided into six major
agro-ecological zones.
Table 2.1: Agro-ecological zones of Kenya
Zone Approximate.
Area (km2)
Percent
of Total
Examples of regions
I. Agro-
Alphine
800 0.1 Mt. Kenya and Mt Elgon areas
Little agricultural value,
except as source of rain and
some rivers/streams
II. High
Potential
53,000 9.3 Parts of Meru, Embu,
Kirinyaga and Nyeri; parts of
the Rift Valley around Mau
and Aberdares mountains
(e.g. Kericho and Nyahururu
respectively); Mt Elgon (e.g.
around Kitale and Webuye).
Highlands between 1980
and 2700 m and occurs as
a forest or open grasslands,
Minimum, rainfall 1000mm
III. Medium
Potential
53,000 9.3 Vast parts of Nyanza, Western
and Central provinces;
Central Rift-Valley (Nandi,
Nakuru, Bomet, Eldoret,
Kitale) and a small strip at the
Coast province.
Between 900-1800 m with
an annual rainfall between
950 and 1500 mm
Most significant for
agricultural cultivation.
IV. Semi-
Arid
48,200 8.5 Naivasha, vast parts of
Laikipia and Machakos
counties; vast parts of central
and southern Coast Province.
Between 900-1800 m with
an annual rainfall between
950 and 1,500mm but with
annual rainfall of about 500-
1,000mm
V. Arid 300,000 52.9 PrevalentinnorthernBaringo,
Turkana, lower Makueni and
vast parts of North Eastern
Province.
Much drier than Zone
IV and occurs at lower
elevations; Annual rainfall is
300-600mm
4 AEZ refers to the division of an area of land into smaller units with similar characteristics related to; land suitability, potential production and environmental
impact (FAO 1996)

VI. Very
arid and
desert area
112,000 19.8 Semi desert areas found in
Marsabit, Turkana, Mandera
and Wajir counties.
The driest part. Annual
rainfall is 200-400mm and is
quite unreliable
Chalbi Desert in Marsabit
County.
Chalbi is a salt desert with
very sparse salt bushes as
the only vegetation found.
It is vast and of beautiful
scenery. Pastoralists use it
as a source of mineral lick
for livestock, particularly
during the rainy season.
Rest
(waters
etc)
15600 2.6
Modified from http://www.infonet-biovision.org/default/ct/690/agrozones_6th March 2013
Kenya attained independence from Britain in December 1963 after a protracted struggle that included
a short-lived guerrilla war. The country is a multi-party democracy and was until March 2013 governed
by a coalition Government that was crafted in the wake of the disputed 2007 General Election. The
new Constitution promulgated in 2010 provides for a republican system with a bicameral Parliament
elected every five years. The Constitution provides for 47 devolved county Governments which are
distinct from, but interdependent with the national Government, each with a governor and a county
assembly. The counties replace the previous 8 provinces and the over 250 districts they presided
over.5 The counties are in turn subdivided into sub-counties, wards and villages. The main distinction
in governance introduced by the Constitution is that while the provinces and districts had been
administered by direct appointees of the President to whom they were accountable, counties elect
their respective governors, which is anticipated to enhance accountability to the grassroots. Each
county elects ward representatives to its county assembly whose role is to legislate locally and to
monitor the performance of the governor’s county executive committee. A major deviation from the
old constitutional order is that the Constitution provides Parliament the powers to legislate for the
mode of recalling non-performing legislators.
Kenya has about 42 ethnic groups, among the largest in number being the Kikuyu, Luo, Kalenjin,
Luhya, Kamba, Kisii, Mijikenda, Somalia and Meru. The smallest ethnic group, the El Molo, is estimated
to number about 400. The main religions in Kenya in terms of following are Christianity and Islam; but
other religions thrive with numerically smaller congregations even if they have high profiles, such as
the religions of the Asian communities.The country also has isolated groups which espouse indigenous
faiths. English is the official language while Kiswahili is the national language.
5 On the August 26, the eve of the promulgation of the new Constitution, Kenya had 41 legally established districts. From the early 1990s, the sub-division
of districts for political expediency led to about 71 districts by 2008. This practice eventually led to some 250 ad hoc districts which were ignored by the
Committee of Experts which drafted the Constitution, to set the number of constitutional counties at 47.

Figure2. 1: The Map of Kenya
Map of Kenya showing the 47 counties
Photo: www.herstorycentre.org
2.3 Overview of Kenya’s Population Situation
The status of Kenya’s population is contained in several recent population policy and situation reports,
as well as other documents (NCPD, 2009; 2010a; 2010b; 2011; 2012; KNBS, 2010). Analyses of these
documents reveal that Kenya’s rapid population growth first noted in the early 1960s will continue
against the backdrop of relatively high fertility and mortality rates, even if these indicators reflect
substantial regional variations. The country will, therefore, continue to experience demographic and
development challenges associated with a rapidly growing population, such as an increase in the
numbers of youth. In turn, and especially in the face of constrained employment growth, population
growth could lead to a high dependency burden. In addition, the population growth momentum
created by the youthful population is such that overall population would increase even if Kenya were
to attain an immediate reduction of its current total fertility rate (TFR) of 4.5 births per woman to the
replacement level of about 2.2 births per woman.
Population trends have resulted in increased population densities in some of the rural areas, such

as Kiambu, Kakamega, Vihiga, Kisii and Kisumu counties, with densities of over 500 persons per sq
km, compared to a national average of 68. Such high densities have created increasing pressure on
the land and other natural resources, the consequences being evident in the extensive loss of forest
cover, land degradation, dwindling water resources and emerging climate change (NCPD, 2010a). A
further characteristic of the distribution of the population is the rapid urbanization rate even if current
urbanization levels remain relatively low. The 2009 Population and Housing Census shows that slightly
less than one-third of the population lived in urban areas, a substantial increase from the 19.3 percent
recorded in the 1999 census. The growing urban population has over-stretched existing infrastructure
and services, leading to growth of informal settlements characterized by overcrowding, and the lack
of basic infrastructure (such as sewage, safe drinking water and decent housing), and consequently
increased poverty and delinquency.
Although the Government continues to implement measures to influence demographic trends, the
population of the country currently estimated at 42.0 million, is expected to reach nearly 60 million
in 2030 and 77 million by 2050. On average, each woman will be expected to have attained a fertility
level of less than 3 births (TFR= 2.6) by that time with an associated infant mortality rate of 25 per
1000 children born alive, a life expectancy of 64 years, and a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 200,
resulting in a population growth rate of 1.5 percent per annum (Republic of Kenya, 2012). Even with
the attainment of the above targets, these statistics will still not be comparable to those of developed
countries which often have zero population growth rates due to fertility rates below replacement levels,
with child and maternal death rates below 3 per 1000 population and 100,000 live births respectively,
and a life expectancy above 80 years. The development challenges of the demographic scenario as
indicated in the Sessional Paper no. 3 of 2012 will include attaining and sustaining economic growth
levels that create employment, reduce poverty levels and enhance accumulation of human capital
through improvements in the status of health and education.
In spite of the expected increase in population size, Kenya can benefit greatly from the changing age
structure arising from the demographic transition that the country has been undergoing since the late
1980s (Cross et al., 1991). This could result in a situation in which a large number of the working age
population is sufficiently productive to support the dependent population, namely children and old-
age population. This situation is often referred to as the Demographic Dividend, in which the changing
age structure results in the increase in proportion of the working age population relative to the youthful
population, consequently releasing resources for investments in economic development. Such a
transformation occurred in South Korea in the mid-1960s when falling birth rates reduced elementary
school enrolment with the resulting savings being invested in improving the quality of education at
higher levels. In appreciation of the opportunity afforded by the demographic transition, ICPD@15
urged countries to invest in education and create employment opportunities for young people so as
to reap the dividend.
Population growth and development are inter-linked in complex ways. Economic development
generates resources that can be used to improve education and health, the two key contributors to the
quality of human capital. Such improvements, along with associated changes, can reduce both fertility
and mortality rates. Conversely, high rates of population growth eat into investment resources for
economic and social development, and can hinder improvements in both education and health, and
the reduction of poverty. A growing population also poses challenges over housing and employment
and increases the risk of social unrest, amongst other concerns. These potential linkages have been
recognized in Kenya and are articulated in past policy and other documents, such as Sessional Paper
No. 1 of 2000 on National Population Policy for Sustainable Development. The foregoing dynamics are
expounded on in the next section.

2.4 Socio-economic, Policy and Cultural Context
The following sub-sections review the status of the Kenyan economy and that of various rights, policies
and programmes, and constraints encountered, in the context of population dynamics.
2.4.1 Status of Economy
The growth of the economy and the re-distribution of its benefits were recognized early as the bases
for raising the standards of living of the Kenyan people. Soon after independence in 1963, Kenya
produced its inaugural development blue-print, Sessional Paper No. 10 of 1965 on African Socialism
and its Application to Planning in Kenya (Republic of Kenya (RoK), 1965), which became the source of
policies and strategies for many years. In retrospect, the Sessional Paper was problematic: it advocated
the focus of scarce investment resources in high absorption areas in the hope that their benefits would
trickle to the rest of the country; but provided no effective framework for the anticipated trickle down,
underscoring the inequalities inherited from nature and colonialism. However, the Sessional Paper’s
championship of free enterprise became the bedrock of the Kenyan economy whose performance
under successive KANU party regimes was chequered due to internal and external factors, reaching its
nadir in 2002. The accession of the National Rainbow Alliance Coalition (NARC) party regime led to the
launch of the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation 2003-2007 hereafter,
ERS, whose focus on wealth creation was the unsuccessful strategy adopted to reduce poverty (GoK,
2003). In the successor long-term framework, Kenya Vision 2030, the economy is conceived to consist
of three pillars of development, namely economic, social and political pillars (GoK, 2008).
Traditionally, the Kenyan economy has been predominantly agricultural, though the services sector
has grown in importance especially against the backdrop of weak growth in manufacturing. Directly
or indirectly, the agriculture sector contributes about 50 percent of GDP, 65 percent of exports and 18
percent of formal employment.The other key sectors that are expected to contribute to the attainment
of the 10 percent economic growth anticipated by Vision 2030 are tourism, wholesale and retail trade,
manufacturing and financial services (such as business process outsourcing (BPO)). The Economic
Survey of 2010 lists some of the sectoral contributions to Kenya’s overall growth of the economy of 4.6
percent in 2010, including: agriculture (6.3%); wholesale and retail trade (7.8%); manufacturing (4.4%);
and money, banking and finance (8.8%) (GOK, 2011).
During the first and second independence decades, the Kenyan economy recorded remarkable growth
due to the entry of numerous Africans into small-holder cash crop production, which had previously
been barred under colonialism. As the limits of agricultural growth set in, coinciding with the double
oil crises of the 1970s, the decades of the 1980s and 1990s saw a rise in poverty to a 1997 peak of
57 percent, the product of poorly implemented and/or ineffective structural adjustment policies, and
general poor governance. The 2002 general elections ended the 40-year tenure of the Kenya African
National Union (KANU) party, giving way to NARC party and its highly successful ERS which raised
growth year on year from 0.5 percent in 2002 to seven percent in 2007.This positive trend was, however,
interrupted in 2008 following the post election violence when the economy grew at only 1.7 percent.
Although post-violence recovery has occurred, growth performance is still far below the 10 percent
envisaged by Vision 2030: In 2010, the economy grew by 5.6 percent compared to 2.6 percent in 2009,
with the 2012 outlook being 4.5 percent.

Figure 2.2: Trends in Economic Growth in Kenya: 2000-2011
Source: Economic Survey (various) Reports
The described performance is also reflected in the overall Human Development Index (HDI) which is a
composite index capturing a country’s attainments with respect to per capita income, education and
life expectancy at birth (UNDP, 2003)6
. Kenya’s HDI grew during the strong economic performance of
the 1970s but declined during the economic recession between 1990 and 2000, standing at 0.533 and
0.513 respectively. In 2011, Kenya still scored a lowly 0.509 giving it a rank of 143 out of 187 countries
(UNDP, 2011). Substantial regional disparities exist within the country, with highest-performing Nairobi
and Central provinces having HDI scores of 0.653 and 0.624 respectively compared to the lowest
performers North Eastern and Nyanza provinces at 0.417 and 0.497respectively, according to UNDP.
According to World Bank classification, Kenya remains a low income country. The World Bank’s Report
of 2011 shows that Kenya’s GDP was estimated at US$18.0 billion in 2009, making it the eleventh largest
economy in Africa, but a mere one-tenth the size of South Africa’s, and second to that ofTanzania in the
East African region (World Bank, 2011).The resulting Kenyan GDP per capita of US$452 was much lower
than the African average of US$879. If the economic growth rate of 10 percent per annum projected in
Vision 2030 were realized, then the GDP would expand by about 6.7 times to US$121 billion by 2030.
Taking the population size of 60 million projected for 2030 (NCPD, 2012), this translates to a GDP per
capita of slightly over US$2,000 thus the economy should expand to US$180,000 billion (roughly the
current size of South Africa’s economy or Maryland State in US) to attain the projected GDP per capital
of US$3,000 to make Kenya a middle level income economy by 2030.
2.4.2 Poverty
Poverty is a multi-dimensional indicator of the lack of- well-being, reflected in the lack of access to
necessities, such as food, clothing and shelter. While the possession of money is important for access
to basic necessities, it is not imperative: self-provisioning communities’ access necessities without
using money. This is one reason why poverty measures focus on consumption (expenditure) rather
than income7
. Poor households are characterized by low consumption of food and on-food needs,
including poor access to services such as water and sanitation, healthcare and education among
others. Consequently the poor experience poor health and low productivity. Poor health is reflected
in health indicators and higher fertility which are revealed in KDHS and census reports. Poverty is
reflected by whether households have enough resources or abilities to meet their needs, inequalities in
6 HDI indicates how far the country is from attaining a life expectancy of 85 years, 100 percent access to education and per capita income of US$40,000. It ranges
between 0 and 1 with best performing country for 2006, Norway, scoring 0.965.
7 For Kenya, KNBS estimates regional baskets of basic consumption choices as the basis of estimating household consumption. For self-provisioning households,
KNBS imputes what would have been spent on the basket.

the distribution of income and consumption and vulnerability defined as the risk of being in poverty or
falling deeper into poverty in the future. UNFPA (2012) notes that although there are many advantages
of defining poverty in terms of income or consumption — such as enabling policy makers to monitor
levels of poverty and/or the impacts, this definition has limitations. For example where schools and
health services infrastructure does not exist or some sections of the society are discriminated against,
even with income these services may not be accessible.
Overcoming poverty has, therefore, been a key Kenyan development objective since independence
and has been emphasized in several Government documents (GOK, 1965: 2001: 2003: 2004: 2010:
2012). In spite of the policy initiatives contained in these documents, sustained progress has not been
made. Poverty levels in Kenya remain high and incomes unequally distributed (World Bank, 2008). The
overall poverty level was estimated at 47 percent from the 2005-2006 household budget survey, which
is nearly the same level as the 44.8 percent estimated in 1992 although the levels rose in the second
half of the 1990s and early 2000s, reaching 56.0 percent in 2003 (IMF, 2010) and most recent estimates
put it at 46.0 percent.
Although the percentage of population below the poverty line in recent years has continued to decline
(55.5% in 2000 to 46% in 2006), the absolute numbers have increased, one report estimating the figure
to have increased from 13.4 million in 1997 to 16.6 million in 2006 (KIPPRA, 2009). The same report
also illustrates inequalities in expenditure distribution: the 10 percent poorest households in Kenya
control only 1.63 percent of total expenditures, while the richest 10 percent control nearly 36 percent
of expenditure. This inequality is also captured by the 2009 Gini coefficient estimated at 0.41, a status
that compares badly with other African countries, such as Ethiopia,Tanzania, Egypt and Ghana (KIPPRA,
2009)8
.
Poverty levels vary substantially across and within regions (i.e. counties) and residence (rural versus
urban), often closely corresponding to population dynamics, the rate being higher in regions with
unfavourable demographic indicators. Thus, poverty levels are higher in rural areas (50%) compared to
urban areas (34%), and lower in Central Province (30.4%) and Nairobi (21.3%) and substantially higher
in North Eastern (73.9%) and Coast (69.7%) regions (GOK, 2008). Some of the strategies being adopted
to reduce poverty and inequalities are: increasing resources in the social sector (education and health),
development infrastructure, decentralized funding, such as Constituency Development Fund (CDF),
and creation of development institutions for disadvantaged regions such as Ministry for North Eastern
and Other Arid Lands. The Constitution also provides further opportunities to reduce poverty through
the devolved 47 county Governments; while anti-poverty initiatives have to date been based on the
national capital and policy-makers’ understanding of the scourge, devolution enables the local level
design of policy and interventions.
2.4.3 Education
Education is recognized as a basic human right in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR), and in other international conventions and regional charters, such as in Article 17
of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and Welfare of the Child. Indeed, under these
conventions, as in MDG 2 on universal primary education, countries are required to ensure access to free
primary education or full basic education9
. The significance of education for demographic processes is
also reflected in ICPD/PoA, and in MDG 2 which requires countries to ensure that children — both boys
8 The Gini coefficient ranges between 0 and 1, with 0 implying perfect equality and 1 perfect inequality (when all income is accounted for by one individual).
9 While some countries emphasise full primary education, others recognize the inadequate preparation that primary education offers for the employment
market, including for self-employment. Such countries instead follow the global Education for All ideal of basic education which in many countries translates
into the 14 pre-university years whose graduates are more mature for informed life decisions.

and girls — complete a full course of primary schooling. Further, successive demographic and health
surveys show that education is associated with lower levels of fertility and mortality. Finally, education
is also closely linked to the reduction of poverty as it raises productivity among better informed citizens
and broadens livelihood options (Keriga and Bufra, 2009).
Consequently, the Kenya Government has committed to offering quality education and training as a
human right in accordance with the Constitution and the above conventions, for the development
of human resources needed to attain national development goals. This commitment is reflected in
policy and other Government documents since independence, and has resulted in extensive growth
in budgetary allocations to the sector, with public education’s share of the national budget rising from
23 percent in 2004/2005 to 32 percent in 2008/2009 (KIPPRA, 2010: 13). There has been a matching
expansion of educational facilities, primarily financed by catchment communities through harambee
fund-raising activities. At the time of independence in 1963 for example, there were 6,058 primary
schools with 891,533 pupils, and 150 secondary schools with 31,120 students (GOK, 2004). These
numbers have increased to 27,567 primary schools with 9.86 million pupils and 7,297 secondary schools
with 1.77 million students in 2011 (KNBS, 2012). However, these impressive national aggregates hide
extensiveregionalinequalities:researchhasshownthatthedistributionofcommunity-driveneducation
infrastructure favours the less poor (Miguel, 2000). While Kenya has had a free primary education and
tuition free secondary education since 2003 and 2008 respectively, the resulting upsurge in enrolments
has undermined quality teaching, as there has not been a proportionate growth in teacher numbers.
The introduction at the university level of the parallel degree programmes has also created an influx
into university studies, which have also admitted students without substantive qualifications, but who
are attractive for their fee-paying capacity. These developments have over-stretched the teaching
capacity, with adverse implications for quality.
The gross enrolment rate (GER) and net enrolment rates (NER) at primary schooling level suggest that
Kenya is likely to attain the MDG targets on primary education by 201510
. Since 2004, primary school
GER has been over 100 percent, rising to about 110 percent in 2010, compared to a growing NER which
stood at 91.4 percent in the same year (GOK, 2012). However, a number of challenges remain in the
sector including: high primary level drop-out rates; low transition rate to secondary and higher levels
of education. Completion rates at primary level has improved substantially in recent years from about
43 percent in 1990 to 78.2 percent in 2010 while transition from primary to secondary has similarly
improved to reach 72 percent in 2010 (GOK, 2012). Secondary school GER was only 32 percent in 2010,
having improved marginally from 26.8 in 1990. According to the 2009 census, a total of 2.8 million
boys and girls of school going age were not enrolled in a school. In spite of the recent expansion in
university education opportunities, enrolment levels remain low with 2003/2004 data estimating a
secondary school to university transition rate of 12 percent. Indeed, much of the growth in university
enrolment is accounted for by already employed people across the country, seeking to augment their
paper qualifications.11
In addition, the Kenya national adult literacy survey report of 2007 indicates
that 38.5 percent (7.8 million) adults aged 15 years and above were illiterate, most of them females.
There are greater gender disparities in education at higher education where only 36 percent of those
admitted in public universities in 2007 were females.
Projections based on the 2009 census data reveal that there shall be substantial increases in the school
going population at the pre-primary, primary and secondary levels of education between 2010 and
2030, from 3.5 to 5.5 million, 8.5 to 13.0 million and 3.5 to 5.7 million respectively (KNBS, forthcoming).
10 Gross enrolment refers to enrolled students of all ages, while net enrolment refers to the share of students only of the official school going age, such as 6 to
14 for primary school education. Thus GER data included the late Maruge while NER did not.
11 This search for additional paper qualifications is a major driver behind the mushrooming of rural-based constituent colleges of urban universities which are
especially targeting primary and secondary school teachers.

These growth numbers underscore the emerging challenges of managing existing shortfalls while also
coping with the anticipated increases.
2.4.4 Health
Improved health has increasingly been recognized as a fundamental right of every human being since
the establishment ofWorld Health Organization (WHO) in the mid 1940s. Health is related to well being
and to other rights, such as food and housing. In addition, improved health contributes to economic
growth through, amongst other avenues, reducing production losses caused by workers’ illness.
Countries are, therefore, encouraged to provide basic medical services (preventive and curative) to the
entire population including access to reproductive health and family planning services.
Since independence in 1963, the Government of Kenya has considered good health of the people as a
fundamental right. While public health services have focused on prevention, eradication and control of
diseases, a disproportionate share of spending has focused on curative, hospital-based health care.This
bias arguably breeds a cost-ineffective health care delivery system which allows people to fall sick, then
tries to cure them.This wrong strategy of provisioning health care has added to the constraint provided
by Kenya’s fast-growing population, rising poverty and inadequate Government support. Consequently
the Government has adopted policies and strategies since 1992 to reform the sector, with varying levels
of success. These reforms began with the development of the Kenya Health Policy Framework (1994-
2010), which has been implemented through successive strategic plans, the National Health Sector
Strategic Plans (NHSSP). Since the first plan (1994-1999) was never implemented, the current status
of the health sector is the product of the implementation of NHSSP I (1999-2004) and NHSSP II (2005-
2010). The implementation of these plans, however, produced modest improvements — and indeed,
reversals — in human resources and infrastructure for health, as well as in health status outcomes
(GOK 2008; NCAPD, 2004; GOK 2012). While improvements have been made in health determinants
during NHSSP II (such as on maternal education, and provision of safe water and adequate sanitation),
little improvement has been made on nutritional status while coverage in maternal and child health
stagnated, with improvements only recorded in use of modern contraceptives. Interventions against
HIV and AIDS had positive impacts, TB control improved and malaria related deaths were reduced.
In spite of the desire by the Government to improve health services, these remain inaccessible to most
of the population with slightly over half of the population being within a five kilometre radius of a
health facility (GOK, 2012). Yet, the actual situation is even worse considering that over 50 percent of
the equipment in these health facilities is not operational alongside the facilities lacking essential
medicines and non pharmaceuticals. Additionally, Kenya has an average of 16 doctors and 53 nurses
per 100,000 population, compared to the recommended 36 doctors and 356 nurses respectively.
These ratios translate to about 5,000 doctors and slightly over 21,000 nurses, implying that Kenya will
require about 7,500 doctors and about 30,000 nurses just to maintain the current doctors and nurses
ratios respectively, when the population reaches the anticipated 60 million in 2030. However, if the
WHO ratios were to be achieved, this would imply over 21,000 doctors and 210,000 nurses, alongside
proportionate increases in the budget and other resources. The spending in the health sector was only
US$12.6 per capita in the financial year 2010/2011, far below WHO’s recommended US$44 per capita
(GOK, 2012). Further, Government public health spending has never risen above 10 percent of total
public spending, despite the Abuja agreement of 2000 to raise this to 15 percent (KIPPRA, 2010: 34)
In response to the challenges identified in implementing health policies and strategies to date, the new
KenyaHealthPolicy2012-2030, was developed in line with the Constitution and the goals of KenyaVision
2030.The policy has, therefore, adopted a rights-based approach to health, and seeks to make the right
to health for all Kenyans a reality. The objectives of the new health policy include the: elimination of

communicable diseases and reversing the rising burden of non communicable diseases; reduction of
the burden of violence and injuries; provision of essential health care; minimization of exposure to
health risk factors; and strengthening collaboration with health related sectors. These objectives will
be attained through supporting provision of equitable, affordable quality health care to all Kenyans
using the primary health care approach. This, in turn, is expected to result in the attainment of health
indicator targets that are comparable to those of a middle income country by 2030` including: a life
expectancy of 72 years up from 60 in 2010; crude death rate of 5.4 down from 10.6 per 1000 in 2010;
and a reduction of the years lived with disability from 12 to eight over the same period.
2.4.5 Population Policies
Since 1965, Kenya has recognized the potentially adverse effects of high population growth on the
benefits of economic growth, to emphasize the trade-off between high population growth and the
ability to deliver quality education and health to as well as reduce poverty. Indeed, the Government’s
Economic Survey of 1979 noted that a high population growth rate would require higher levels of
investment to achieve a given increase in GDP per capita12
, or expansion of infrastructure for education
to accommodate the increasing demand for places occasioned by the youthful age structure.
Kenya espoused FP in 1967 as one of strategies to contribute to the achievement of its development
goals. However, the programme which had a narrow focus within the Ministry of Health was largely
ineffective (Ajayi and Kekovole, 1998). The subsequent National Population Policy of 1984 adopted a
broader perspective which managed various notable achievements outlined in the succeeding policy,
Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2000 on National Population Policy for Sustainable Development. The 1984
policy’s achievements included a decline in population growth and fertility, increasing knowledge of
family planning (FP) methods and raised levels of contraceptive use, reduction in ideal family sizes, and
increased immunization among children. However, the following challenges were encountered in the
policy’s implementation: unmet need for FP; quality of services; regional and rural-urban disparities in
fertility and mortality; high prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS; and
high adolescent fertility (NCPD, 2012).
The Sessional Paper No 1 of 2000 domesticated ICPD/PoA of 1994 which had also identified the
above challenges. The 1994 action plan had emphasized the interdependence between population,
development and the environment. It noted that population change is interrelated with patterns
and levels of use of national resources, the state of the environment as well as the pace and quality
of economic and social development (UN, 1994). However, as the plan had noted, population
considerations are often not taken into account in economic growth and development policies in the
context of long-term sustainability.
Several issues related to population which PoA had recommended for inclusion in national population
and development policies included: poverty; inequalities in the participation of men and women in
economic and political activities; family as basic unit of society; promotion and access to health and
reproductive health services, including FP. Implementation of these initiatives would reduce fertility,
infant under-five and maternal mortality, and enhance the standard of living. It would also accelerate
economic growth, reduce poverty, enhance education uptake, and ensure safe and sanitary living
environments by avoiding crowded housing conditions, ensuring access to clean water and sanitation,
and improving waste management.
12 For example, that year’s population growth rate of 4 percent required an economic growth rate of 7 percent to attain the projected GDP per capita growth of
3 percent.

The Population Policy for National Development.
Photo: NCPD
Some of the above issues that were addressed in the Sessional Paper of 2000 include: integration of
population in development; attention to gender disparities; attention to the population structure
covering, children, youth and the elderly; persons with disabilities; reproductive health and rights;
sexually transmitted diseases as well as HIV and AIDS; population and environment; population
distribution; urbanization and migration; plus population, development and education. These
activities were expected to stabilize population growth by reducing fertility, infant, under-five and
maternal mortality, and enhancing access to, and utilization of, health services, and raising educational

attainment levels for both sexes.
While Kenya has made substantial progress in implementing population policies to date, several
challenges remain. As noted in the progress reports on the implementation of the ICPD/PoA 1994-
2004 and ICPD@ 15, the integration of population concerns into national development strategies and
district development plans has not been fully achieved because of the limited use of population data
in planning and capacity. Review of several sectoral plans also reveals this situation. However, these
documents do not, for example, indicate whether the projected population is taken into account in
planning for the provision of health, education and security, among other areas, and whether their
budgetary implications have been considered. For example, it is not clear how many more doctors
will be needed by 2030 to attain the WHO-recommended ratios given attrition rates. The status of the
education sector is also not clear given, for example, the recommended teacher-pupil ratio of 1: 42.
Additionally, it is also not clear whether the projected 2030 income per capita of Vision 2030 takes into
account the increased numbers.
The high population growth estimated at 2.9 percent in 2010 remains a key challenge in the
attainment of the goals of Kenya Vision 2030, ICPD-PoA and the MDGs, due to the previously discussed
interrelationships between population growth and socio-economic development. Similarly although
both fertility and mortality have started to decline again, the levels remain high above replacement
levels and the regional variations persist. Thus, articulating strategies to facilitate the integration of
population into development strategies, and for the continued reduction of population growth, fertility
and mortality, and the reduction of regional disparities, appears to be the greatest challenge in NCPD’s
development of the new population policy. As with other sectors in the economy, the other challenge
is that of acquiring the increased resources needed to attain the demographic and other operational
targets. For example, the attainment of the target contraceptive prevalence rate of 70 percent by 2030
translates into more than a 3-fold increase in the number of users from about 2 million in 2010 to about
6.7 million in 2030, which in turn more than doubles new acceptors of FP from 140,000 to 316,000
(NCPD, 2012).
Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2012 on Population Policy for National Development succeeds Sessional
Paper No. 1 of 2000 on National Population Policy for Sustainable Development., which guided
implementation of population programmes up to 2010. Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2012 presents a policy
framework whose goal is to attain high quality of life for the people of Kenya by managing population
growth to a level that can be sustained with the available resources. The principal objective of this
Policy is to provide a framework that will guide national population programmes and activities for
the next two decades. It recognizes and puts into consideration national and international emerging
and continuing population concerns. It also responds to Kenya’s development agenda as articulated in
Kenya Vision 2030 blueprint and the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. This Policy will be implemented in a
multi-sectoral approach. Specific targets have been identified to guide successful implementation. The
various sectoral policies and strategies will complement this Policy and guide the implementation of
the identified population concerns in each sector.
2.4.6 Cultural Environment
Someoftheculturalpracticesthatareassociatedwithpopulationdynamicsincludelowageatmarriage,
high levels of polygyny, low social status of women, large desired family sizes, widow inheritance and
circumcision of males and females. Marriage is universal and occurs earlier in some communities, such
as among the Maasai, and is associated with low status of women and low educational levels. Polygyny
is more common in Nyanza and at the Coast and is associated with low contraceptive use (Kimani et al.,

2012). Male circumcision is less common among the Luo, absence of the practice being associated with
high HIV prevalence (KNBS et al, 2010). Further, female circumcision is associated with adverse maternal
health outcomes, and is prevalent among Somalis and Maasai, but is not practised by the Luo and
Luhya. On the other hand, the low status of women due to a number of socio-cultural and economic
factors is associated with low use of contraception, large ideal family sizes, low use of reproductive
health services and high unmet need for contraception.
2.4.7 Status in Achievement of ICPD Goals, MDGs and Progammes/Plans of Action
Kenya is a signatory of ICPD-PoA endorsed by the 179 countries in Cairo in 1994, and of the Declaration
of the Millennium Summit in 2000 endorsed by 189 countries, from which the MDGs arose. The goals
agreed on by the two meetings integrate those of several previous agreements, conventions and
declarations to which Kenya is a signatory and which are aimed at guaranteeing human rights and
promoting development. Among the pertinent documents are the: UN Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (adopted in 1948); International Convent on Civic and Political Rights (1976); universal primary
education; promote gender equality and empowerment of women’s; reduce child mortality; improve
maternal health; combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and TB, and other diseases; ensure environmental
sustainability; and develop global partnerships for development.
Several ICPD-PoA areas that overlap with the MDGs include: the integration of population issues in
sustainable development and environment strategies; the role of sustainable economic growth in
raising the quality of life and achieving poverty reduction; the promotion of gender equality, equity
and the empowerment of women in order to realize their full potential through involvement in
policy and decision-making processes; elimination of all forms of discrimination against the girl child;
development of laws and policies to enhance the stability of the family; facilitating the demographic
transition to achieve a balance between demographic processes and social, economic and environment
goals; meeting the needs of children and youth, elderly and persons with disability; establishing a
suitable socio-economic and political environment to arrest brain drain and skilled manpower and
attracting foreign investment; and achieving universal access to quality education and combating
illiteracy. The programme also recognized the role of research on sexuality and gender roles, and
vaccine development for HIV prevention and fertility regulation.
Implementation of MDGs in Kenya started in 2002 with the assistance from development partners who
have committed substantial resources towards meeting the targets. These initiatives included setting
up of a unit within the Ministry of Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 to be responsible
for mainstreaming MDGs in Kenya’s development processes, championing increased allocations of
resources to MDGs, and monitoring sectoral indicators for progress. The fourth and most recent MDGs
status report published in 2010 concluded that progress has been slow except over universal primary
education for which NER had reached nearly 93 percent in 2009. The report in particular, notes that
poverty in Kenya remains high, currently estimated at 46 percent. Gender equality and empowerment
as reflected in the participation of women in political and economic decision-making remains low.
Although the 2008/2009 KDHS revealed that infant and child mortality declined substantially between
2003 and 2008/2009, the levels are still above the MDG targets. Similarly, although some progress has
been made for maternal health, such as increased contraceptive use, maternal mortality is still high
and visits to antenatal care and delivery of births in health facilities remain below targets. Although
progress has been made against HIV and AIDS between 2003 and 2008-2009, and the incidence of
malaria reduced, the incidences of tuberculosis remain high.
Progress has also been made at the policy level in integrating sustainable development principles into

development planning, as reflected by several policies, such as Sessional Paper No. 6 on environment
and development. The destruction of forests has, however, continued, and air pollution remains above
recommended levels (GOK, 2010). Some progress has also been made on MDG 8 on global partnerships
for development which were aimed at ensuring that all exports from Kenya to developed countries
entered these countries duty free. The impact of reforms in the ICT sector since 1997 has resulted in
increased subscription to cellular phones to 36.7 percent in 2010 and internet usage per 100 population
(GOK, 2010). A summary of the status in the implementation of the MDGs is provided in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2 Status in attainment of MDGs in Kenya
Goal Indicator Baseline Baseline MDG Current
Year Status Target Status
Goal 1:
Eradicate
extreme
poverty and
hunger
Proportion living below poverty
line (%)
2002 48.4 23.5 46.0 ( 2010)
Goal 2:
Achieve
universal
primary
Education
Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) 2005 82.8 100 92.9 ( 2010)
Primary Completion Rate (PCR) 2008 83.2 100 76.8 ( 2010)
Goal 3:
Promote gender
equality
Gender Parity Index at Pry 2007 0.94 100 0.98 (2009)
Proportion of female in modern
sector (%) 2003 29.6 50 30.1 (2007)
Proportion of female MPs (%) 2002 8.1 50 8.6 (2012)
Goal 4:
Reduce child
mortality
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) 2003 77/1000 26/1000 52 (008/09)
Under five Mortality Rate 2003 115/1000 33/1000 74 (2008/09)
Goal 5:
Improve
maternal health Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) 2003 414/1000 130/1000
488
(2008/09)
Goal 6:
Combat HIV and
AIDS, malaria
and other
diseases
HIV Prevalence for adults 15-49
(%) 2003 6.7 6.3(2008/09)
TB Prevalence (%) 2000 6.0 5 (2006)
Goal 7:
Ensure
environmental
sustainability Forest cover (% of land area) 10 1.7 (2012)
The status of the implementation of ICPD-PoA is reported in most recent of the three ICPD status
reports such as ICPD +5, ICPD +10 and ICPD@15, and in several statements to UN meetings. Generally,

the conclusions of the status reports are consistent with the updates on the MDGs.The implementation
of the Economic Recovery Strategy 2003-2007 enabled a recovery of the economy that peaked at an
annual growth rate of seven percent for 2007. Population issues are being integrated into development
concerns by incorporating population variables in national, sectoral and other plans.The constitutional
imperatives around basic rights provide additional challenges and opportunities. Regarding gender
equality, equity and empowerment of women, several policy and legislative measures have been
taken to promote the participation of women in development processes, and to promote their rights
and those of boys and girls. A lot more needs to be done to improve reproductive health since most
births still take place outside health facilities and under the assistance of unskilled personnel (KNBS
and ICF Macro, 2010). Although the use of contraceptives has increased, one in every four women has
unmet need for contraception. In addition the desired family size of four children remains above the
replacement level of 2.1, presenting a continuing fertility reduction challenge.
The various aspects of human rights and development are also captured in several Articles in the
Constitution of Kenya 2010 particularly in Chapter 4 on the Bill of Rights where these are recognized
as human rights. The Constitution requires the state to take legislative, policy and other measures to
achieve progressive realization of the economic and social rights guaranteed under Article 43, and
to enact and implement legislation to fulfil its international obligations in respect of human rights
and fundamental freedoms. In particular the Constitution obliges the state to ensure access to justice
for all persons, non-discrimination, attainment of gender parity (including in marriage (Article 45))
and implicitly outlaws Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). It reiterates access to healthcare (including
reproductive health), education, food, clothing and clean and safe water and social security. Thus,
the Constitution provides a legal framework for the realization of both the ICPD goals and MDGs. In
addition, a framework for monitoring the realization of the various rights has been put in place through
the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) which was originally established by the
Government in 2002 and was eventually transformed into a constitutional commission in 2010. KNCHR
acts as the principal organ of the State in ensuring compliance with obligations under the international
and regional treaties and conventions relating to human rights and prepares annual progress reports
to the Universal Period Review (UPR) on the implementation of international human rights instruments.
2.5 Challenges and Opportunities
The population of a country is recognized as its most important and valuable resource that contributes
to the development activities and also benefits from it. NCPD (2011) has identified the key challenges
and opportunities that the 42 million Kenyan population faces. The key challenge is sustaining the
high economic growth target set in Vision 2030 (over 10%) in order to enhance the quality of the life
of the increasing numbers implied in Kenya’s population dynamics which would in-turn facilitate the
achievements of the ICPD goals and MDGs including reducing the high levels of poverty. Some of the
specific challenges implied by the current population dynamics include realizing the full potential of
the increasing youth population by creating employment; meeting the needs of the growing ageing
population; putting appropriate social and physical infrastructure for the increasing urban population;
minimizing the adverse environmental impacts arising from the increased pressure on natural
resources due to increasing population density; and enhancing human capital by investing in health,
education and women’s empowerment. Investing in both education and health would contribute to
the attainment of more favourable demographic indicators, such as lower fertility through enhanced
contraceptive use, lower ideal family sizes and reduced under-five and maternal mortality – indicators
which all remain high.
Thus,theincreasingnumberofpeopleimpliedbythepopulationdynamicsandthecurrentdemographic

transition, including the bulging youth population, and the increase in the aged population provide
both challenges and opportunities. The increasing number of the youth, for example, can become a
powerful force for economic development and positive change if they are educated, healthier and
availed suitable employment opportunities. On the other hand, women in Kenya can become more
productive if the existing gender inequalities are overcome by empowering them, ensuring that they
have equal employment opportunities with men, but also ensuring they have access to reproductive
health services as they might require, including FP. As implied by the UNDP Gender Inequality Index
(based on reproductive health, empowerment and labour force participation) of 2010, 65.4 percent of
potential in human development of the Kenyan woman is not being realised because of the gendered
nature of inequalities.
Overcoming inequalities would, as observed in the UNFPA 2011 State of the World Population Report,
lower fertility, reduce poverty levels and attain better health towards overall development. Thus
investing in education and health for the increasing numbers of the youth and empowering women,
providing them with reproductive health services and putting in place programmes for taking care of
the ageing population are key challenges arising from the prevailing population dynamics.
The 2010 promulgation of the new constitution, the Kenya Vision 2030, the new population policy, the
on-going reforms in various sectors (such as health and education) and Kenya’s commitment to fulfilling
its international obligation provide a favourable environment for overcoming the above population
and sustainable development challenges.
2.6 Conclusions and Recommendations
Although Kenya’s population is its greatest resource for enhancing wellbeing, the population’s ability
to do so may be constrained by its poor health status, low levels of education and skills, and weak
employment opportunities. Enhancing the status of this population is closely associated with the
country’s population dynamics. However, Kenya can seize the opportunity afforded by the on-going
demographic transition to capitalize on the ‘demographic dividend’ by investing in education and
creating employment for the youth. It is important to note that there is heavy education investment
(30% of the budget). The big question is probably whether that investment is well focused to produce
expected results. Additionally, but related to expected education outcomes is the weak employment
creation over the past decade almost 90 percent of the jobs created have been in the informal sector
jobs with low pay.
TheoverallstandardoflivingofKenya’spopulationiscompromisedbypersistenthighlevelsofinequality
(see Chapter 14 in Part 4 for discussions). This has, in turn, resulted in high levels of poverty and low
accessibility to health services. The majority of the population lives in crowded households in poor
environments without water and sewerage services. While progress has been made in the attainment
of universal primary education, access at secondary and higher levels remain below expectation
while levels of illiteracy are still high in some parts of the country. In addition, a considerable part
of the population belongs to culturally conservative ethnic communities characterized by low status
of women, high levels of gender violence, early and universal marriages, female circumcision and
polygyny.The unfavourable socio-economic and cultural context noted above is reflected in the overall
population dynamics situation which is characterized by high population growth, and a youthful
population structure as a result of the high fertility. Mortality levels remain high with wide regional
variations.
Given the unfavourable socio-economic conditions for the majority of the population, and the resulting

demographic situation and their interrelationship, formulating and implementing socio-economic and
population policies to improve both situations seems to be the greatest challenge.
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PART 3
CHAPTER 3: POPULATION SIZE, GROWTH AND STRUCTURE
3.1 Introduction
The population and development policy goal of the Kenya Government is to attain a high quality of
life for the people by managing population growth to a level that can be sustained with the available
resources. A people’s quality of life is closely interrelated with population change in relation to the
patterns and levels of use of natural resources, the state of environment as well as the pace and quality
of economic and social development. Demographic parameters, such as population growth, structure
and distribution, strongly influence and are in turn influenced by poverty and social inequalities, such
as gender inequalities. Therefore, there is need to explicitly integrate population issues into economic
development strategies as specified in Sessional Paper Number 3 of 2012 (GoK, 2012). This Chapter
presents the nature of Kenya’s population, addressing its size, structure, composition, changes over
time, and its impact on social and economic development.
3.2 Trends in Trends in Size and Growth
The population of Kenya has increased greatly since it stood at 2.5 million in the first count in 1897,
rising to 5.4 million by 1948 (KNBS, 2010). During the first post-independence census in 1969, the
population was estimated at 10.9 million, and had increased to 38.6 million by the time of the 2009
census (KNBS, 2010). The crude birth rates (CBR) and crude death rates (CDR) presented in Table 3.1
are the primary determinants of the growth in the population growth since international migration
to Kenya is negligible (KNBS, 2012). Both CBR and CDR declined by 25 percent since 1979, which is the
year of highest fertility. The rates of change of both CBR and CDR have meant that annual growth has
averaged three percent over the review period. The current growth rate increases the total population
by about 1 million persons every year, with an expectation that it will double in the next 23 years.
Table 3.1 Trends in Population Size and Growth Indicators, 1948-2009
1948 1962 1969 1979 1989 1999 2009
Population (millions) 5.4 8.6 10.9 15.3 21.4 28.7 38.6
Size relative to 1948 (1948=100) 100 159 202 283 396 532 715
Absolute increase per annum (‘000) 135 258 360 581 792 850 992
Crude birth rate(CBR) (per 1000) 50 50 50 52 48 41.3 38.4
Crude death rate (CBR)(per 1000 25 20 17 14 11 11.7 10.4
Annual growth rate (% p.a.) 2.5 3.0 3.3 3.8 3.3 2.9 3.0
Doubling times (Years) 27.7 23.1 21 18.2 21 23.9 23.1
Source: Kenya 2009 Population and Housing Census. Analytical Report on Population Dynamics. Vol. III
Population growth rates in developing countries like Kenya are largely driven by levels of fertility.
Bongaarts (1978) indicated that four factors account for most of the differences in fertility levels across
societies; marriage initiation and prevalence, contraceptive use, induced abortion, and duration of
breastfeeding.However,thesefactorsareaffectedbycomplexprocessesthatinvolvechangesindemand
for children, diffusion of new attitudes about birth control and greater accessibility to contraception
provided by family planning programmes (Cleland and Wilson, 1987; Freedman and Freedman, 1991).

Potts (1997) noted that the primary factor responsible for fertility decline is the unconstrained access
to fertility regulating technologies. Thus changes in fertility occur not only as a result of changes in the
desired number births but also the ability of couples or individuals to implement their fertility desires.
The high fertility rates observed in Kenya in the 1970s had been attributed to low ages at first marriage,
low levels of education, low contraceptive use, high infant mortality rates, cultural norms and practices
that value children, and improvements in socio-economic development (CBS, 1984). Rapid fertility
decline in Kenya began in the mid-1980s, with the total fertility rate (TFR) dropping from 8.1 births in
the mid-1980s to 6.7 births in 1989.This was attributed to increased contraceptive prevalence that rose
from seven percent in 1977/1978 to 33 percent in 1993 and to 39 percent in 1998. The rapid decline in
fertilitywasattributednotonlytoagreateruseofcontraception,butalsotochangingmarriagepatterns
and the decline in desired family sizes. Studies also show that increased utilization of contraceptives
was driven by attitudinal and behavioural changes that resulted from balancing the costs and benefits
of high fertility amidst socio-economic and culture changes (Blacker, 2002; Population Council, 1998;
Brass and Jolly, 1993; Robinson 1992; Watkins, 2000). For example, in a review of findings based on
small-scale surveys conducted in a number of parts of the country, Robinson (1992) observed that
fertility declined in rural and urban areas because many adults perceived large families as an economic
strain.
However, fertility decline stalled in Kenya in the late 1990s and early parts of 2000 due a deficit in
contraceptive supplies and a slight increase the desire for more children, the stall being more
pronounced in urban areas (Shapiro and Gebresellassie, 2008; Garenne, 2007; Ojakaa, 2007; Westoff
and Cross, 2006; Bongaarts, 2005). The stall has been associated with the upsurge in the childhood
mortality between 1993 and 2003 largely attributed to HIV and AIDS through reduced breastfeeding
and the demand for children (Westoff and Cross, 2006; Monica and Agwanda, 2007). More recently,
the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) 2008-2009 indicated that after the stall in fertility
decline, there has been a modest decline, with TFR falling to about 4.6 births per woman compared
to 4.9 births in 2003 (KNBS and ICF Macro, 2010). This outcome was corroborated by the 2009 census
estimate of 4.4 births per woman. The sustained fertility decline has been attributed to falling infant
and under-five mortality and the increase in contraceptive use from 39 percent in 2003 to 46 percent
(KNBS and ICF Macro, 2010). Since 2003, fertility has declined in all provinces except Nairobi and Central
which have respectively experienced a slight increase and a stalling.
3.3 Changes in Age Structure
The age structure of a population is simply the distribution of its various age groups in that population,
and is influenced by parameters of population change such as fertility, mortality and migration (KNBS,
2011). Table 3.2 shows trends in distribution of the Kenyan population by age since 1969. The share of
children (under age 15) declined from 48 percent in 1969 to about 43 percent in 2009. In the recent
past, the share of the youth (aged 15 to 24) has remained about one fifth while that of persons aged 25
to 34 has increased from about 12 percent in 1969 to nearly 15 percent in 2009. As a result of high birth
rates in the last two decades, and the declining mortality in the early part of 1980s, the population in
age group 35-39 has increased while the share of the elderly has remained at around five percent since
1969.

Table 3.2 Trends in Percentage Distribution of Population by Age 1969-2009
Age groups 1969 1979 1989 1999 2009
0-4 19.2 18.5 17.7 15.8 15.4
5-9 16.5 16.3 16.2 13.8 14.5
10-14 12.6 13.5 13.9 14.1 13.0
15-19 10.1 11.4 11.1 11.9 10.8
20-24 8.0 8.7 8.9 9.9 9.8
25-29 7.0 6.9 7.6 7.9 8.3
30-34 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.9 6.5
35-39 4.7 4.0 4.3 4.9 5.2
40-44 3.6 3.5 3.4 3.6 3.8
45-49 3.1 2.9 2.7 2.9 3.3
50-54 2.5 2.4 2.2 2.4 2.5
55-59 2.0 1.8 1.7 1.6 1.8
60-64 1..8 1.4 1.5 1.4 1.5
65+ 3.6 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.5
Not stated - 0.2 0.1 0.7 0.1
Total 10,944,664 15,329,040 21,450,763 28,688,599 38,610,097
Source: Kenya 2009 Population and Housing Census. Analytical Report on Population Dynamics Vol. III
3.4 Projections
Projections of the size, composition and distribution of population are important for planning for
service delivery and for capacity to monitor the same. Kenya’s population stands at approximately 43
million (medium variant) and is projected by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs/Population Division (UNDESA/PD) to reach 53.4 million by 2020, and 67.8 million by 2030 (see
Table 3.3)13
.
Table 3.3 Projected Population 2012-2050
Variant 2012 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050
Low 42,911,515 46,388,253 52,283,533 58,231,961 64,377,086 70,697,142 77,014,342 83,091,892 88,749,456
Medium 43,038,833 46,813,114 53,460,584 60,440,476 67,812,732 75,661,869 83,936,674 92,448,096 100,960,657
High 43,166,150 47,237,974 54,637,633 62,648,989 71,257,758 80,689,497 91,070,768 102,297,804 114,088,560
Source: UNDESA/PD (2011).
Figure 3.1 shows estimates and projected populations to 2050 by broad age groups. During the same
period, the children’s share of the population is expected to decline from the current 43 percent to
about 32 percent, while that of the working age population (25-64) is expected to increase from the
current 33 percent to about 41 percent. Meanwhile, the elderly’s share is expected to reach nine percent
from the current 4.5 percent.
13 The national projections are lower than UN projections by about 6 percent between 2015 and 2030. However, for international comparisons, the UN
projections will apply since national projections are only up to 2030. The differences between various projections are based on the assumptions and data
utilized, and not necessarily on the relative accuracies of the data.

Figure 3.1 Estimates and Projections of the Age Structure of the Kenyan Population, 1950-2050
Source: UNDESA/PD (2011)
3.5 Youth and the Working Population
A notable feature of Kenya’s population structure is the increase of the youth. Some authors note that
a youth share of at least 20 percent of total population, or 30 percent of adult population, constitutes
a “youth bulge” (Urdal, 2006, UNFPA, 2010), which Westley and Choe (2002) explain to represent a
transition from high to low fertility about 15 years earlier. In effect, the‘bulge’of adolescents and young
adults are the product of the last births before fertility declined.
The passage of bulge through the age structure can produce a “demographic dividend”, also known
as a ‘demographic bonus’ or ‘demographic window of opportunity’ (Gribble, 2012). Such a window of
opportunity arises when a country’s population is dominated by people of the working age, resulting
in a low dependency ratio (of those below and above the working age to those of working age),
and occurs late during the demographic transition (Mason, 2008; Mason et al., 2003). The reduced
dependency burden enables increased savings and investments towards improved economic growth,
such as by increased education investments improving the quality of labour, and through agriculture
modernization (Gribble, 2012).
Table 3.4 compares Kenya’s ratio of the youth to the adult population to those for South East Asian
countries, which are currently enjoying a demographic dividend, starting from the 1960s when the
fertility rate was comparable across the whole sample. At the onset, Kenya’s proportion of the youth to
adult population was the lowest except for Vietnam. The most significant feature of the table, however,
is that Kenya’s proportion grew consistently to 2000, and eventually closed the 50 year period – many
family planning interventions later – at a higher level than that of all the other countries 50 years earlier
in 1960. By definition, Kenya has had a youth bulge throughout the review period.
Table 3.4 Proportion of Youth age 15-24 Relative to Adult Population
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Kenya 29.5 31.4 35.7 37.9 38.4 38.6 38.9 39.0 39.3 38.9 36.2
South Korea 31.5 30.6 30.8 33.9 33.5 30.2 27.6 24.1 20.7 17.8 16.2
Malaysia 31.8 32.4 35.3 35.6 35.8 34.3 30.6 29.2 28.2 27.3 25.8
Philippines 33.9 34.5 37.0 38.5 37.1 35.6 34.2 33.4 32.8 31.9 30.8
Singapore 30.6 31.1 35.5 35.6 33.1 26.9 23.8 18.4 16.5 15.8 16.3
Thailand 32.8 31.7 32.6 34.2 34.6 33.2 30.3 27.0 22.5 20.6 19.1
Vietnam 24.5 24.6 29.6 34.6 35.4 34.6 32.8 30.7 29.6 28.9 26.7
Indonesia 31.8 29.8 30.2 32.8 34.2 34.0 33.0 31.3 29.5 27.2 24.7
Source: UNDESA/PD (2011).

Demographic dividend occurs when the growth rate of the Economic Support Ratio (ESR) – that is,
the ratio between the economically active part of the national population is higher than the ratio of
economically inactive part to the total population (Mason 2008, Mason et al 2003, Lee and Mason 2011,
NTA, 2012, Olaniyan 2012)14
. This ratio is often derived from the accounting identity that links income
per capita (Y/N) to labour productivity (income per worker) and the labour force15
. The growth rate of
output is composed of (i) the growth rate of productivity, and (ii) the growth rate of ESR. In turn, ESR is
the growth rate of the difference between the growth rate of effective producers (working population)
and effective consumers (total population). The demographic dividend is thus derived from the ESR
growth rate.
Table 3.5 shows demographic and economic indicators derived from national transfer accounts (NTA)
for some low and middle low income countries. The support ratio is the effective number of workers
divided by the effective number of consumers (column six). The effective number of workers is less
than one-third for Kenya and Nigeria, partly due to high fertility rates and partly to very low income for
young adults (NTA, 2012). While Kenya’s ESR begun to improve from around 1981, this was from a very
low level, undermining sustained improvement (NTA, 2012). However, Kenya’s ESR growth rate is above
the group average.
Table 3.5 Demographic and Economic Indicators for Low and Middle Income Countries (NTA)
Total
Population
(‘000’)
Total
Fertility
Rate
(TFR)
Gross National
Income (GNI)
per capita
international
dollars
Effective
Workers
(% of total
population)
Effective
Consumers
(% of total
population)
ESR Annual
ESR
Change
2005-
2010
Group
average
45.3 83.8 0.54 0.6
Cambodia 14,137 2.8 2,080 57.5 83.6 0.69 0.9
India 1,224,614 2.7 3,330 47.3 85.3 0.55 0.54
Indonesia 239,871 2.2 4,180 51 88.1 0.58 0.68
Kenya 40,513 4.8 1,640 32.5 82.1 0.40 0.75
Nigeria 158,423 5.6 2,160 30.9 74.9 0.41 0.24
Philippines 93,261 3.3 3,950 43.2 88.5 0.49 0.46
Senegal 12,434 5.0 1,910 46.5 76.6 0.61 0.33
Vietnam 87,847 1.9 3,050 53.2 91.4 0.58 0.81
Source: NTA Bulletin December 2012
Figure 3.2a presents the estimated and projected growth rates of effective producers and effective
consumers, with the latter dominating the former until the 1980 to 1985 period. The growth rate of
effective producers peaked at four percent between 1990 and 1995, a full ten years after the peak
growth rate of effective consumers. The two periods represent the highest growth and rapid fertility
decline respectively, with the 1980 to 1990 decline in birth and death rates reflecting the largest
difference between the two indicators. Between 2000 and 2005, fertility decline stalled while both
childhood and adult mortality surged creating a‘plateau’in growth rate of consumers as well as decline
14 A support ratio of 0.5, for example, means that each worker is, on average, supporting own consumption and that of one other consumer.
15 Given total income Y, the total population N and the total number of workers L; then
Y (t)/N (t) = (Y (t)/L (t)) x (L (t)/N (t))…………………………………………………………………. (1)
Taking natural log on both sides of equation (1) and differentiating with respect to time leads to growth rates as: gy=gz+(gl -gn) ……(2)
Where gy is the growth rate of per capita income, gz is the growth rate of income per worker, gl is the growth rate of labour force and gn is the growth rate of
total population.

in growth rate of effective producers. This was partly due to the impact of HIV and AIDS which often
affected society’s most productive members. While a large difference between effective producers and
consumers is anticipated, it should be of a lower level than that of 1990s. For example, the growth in
effective producers will peak again at about 3.1 percent between 2015 and 2020.
Figure 3.2a The Growth Rate of Effective Consumers and Effective Producers, 1950-2050
Source: computed from UNDESA/PD (2011)
The difference between the growth rates of effective producers and that of consumers determines the
population window of opportunity. A prospect for the first demographic dividend (Figure 3.2b) was
unfavourable up to 1980, after which it peaked at just about one percent between 1990 and 1995.
This was followed by a rapid declined to a low of 0.14 percent between 2005 and 2010. A modest
recovery is projected to about 0.6 percent between 2025 and 2030, after which the rate will decline
again. Experience from other countries show that the typically transitory dividend period lasts between
30 to 60 years (Olaniyan, et al, 2012), the average for industrial countries being 29.7 years. For Kenya,
the on-going window of opportunity should have a larger effect on income growth if fertility declines
rapidly, alongside an immediate substantial improvement in output per worker, but its gain is unlikely
to average above 0.7 percent per annum.
Figure 3.2b Kenya’s First Demographic Dividend, 1950-2050
Source: computed from UNDESA/DP (2011).
Figure 3.2c shows the first demographic dividend for selected African countries, including Kenya,

Namibia, Ghana and South Africa. Bloom et al (2007) had indicated that as at 2007, only Ghana, Ivory
Coast, Malawi, Mozambique and Namibia, were likely to experience a demographic dividend hence
the selection of Ghana and Namibia while South Africa have had substantial decline in fertility rate
but have high rates of HIV and AIDS that affects the potential labour force. The onset in South Africa
and Ghana of favourable demographic circumstances was much earlier than was the case for Namibia
and Kenya whose sequence of highest peaks quickly followed each other, the likely effect of rapid
fertility decline in fertility. Subsequently, all the countries experienced rapid dividend declines which
coincided with high HIV prevalence rates.While Kenya and South Africa’s patterns of prospects towards
demographic dividend have been similar, the latter country should expect a substantial decline in the
near future (between 2015 and 2050) while the former should expect a second lower peak between
2025 and 2030.
Figure 3.2c The First Demographic Dividend Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and
Namibia,1950-2050
Source: computed from UNDESA/DP (2011).
The demographic dividend played a role in the“economic miracles”of the East Asian Tigers –Thailand,
Malaysia,SouthKorea,TaiwanandSingapore(Gribble,2012;Ezehetal.,2012;Bongaarts,1997),countries
which had similar development indicators to many African countries, including Kenya. The magnitude
of the demographic dividend depends on the ability of the economy to absorb and productively
employ the extra labour joining the work force, rather than such labour being a mere demographic
characteristic. The ratio of workers to dependents in the country improved due to lower fertility, an
increase in female labour force participation, and a reversal of outward migration to a net inflow. The
‘Asian Tigers’ were able to take advantage of the demographic window of opportunity to accelerate
growth in their economies, investing heavily in improving the quality of their labour force, agricultural
modernization and social services, such as education, health and housing. Smaller family sizes and
lower dependency ratios reduced population pressure, enabling higher savings and investments to
drive economic development.
3.6 Future Population Size under Different Scenarios of Reproductive Health
Family planning has been considered the main policy instrument for lowering fertility rates in countries
experiencing high fertility and consequent rapid population growth. However, the achievement of this
policyoptioniscomplicatedbydifferencesbetweenindividualfertilitypreferencesanddesirablefertility
levels in these countries (Bongaarts, 2009). For instance, while the ideal family size in Kenya averaged
3.82 based on KDHS 2008/2009, this is likely to change in the long run; but there is no guarantee that

such change will be brought about by reliance solely on family planning. Changes in individual fertility
preferences will depend on structural transformations, such as rising levels of education, urbanization,
greater participation of women in the labour market, and extension of social protection schemes, such
as old age pensions. The possible interactions between these indicators offer multiple scenarios with
competing policy implications and possible outcomes.
Scenario 1: Substantial decline in unwanted fertility
Bongaarts (2009) projected Kenyan population using the decomposition method which was based on
the 2008 revision of the World Population Prospects of the United Nation Population Division (UNPD),
in which unwanted fertility was factored out. The population would reach 73 million by 2050, which
would be a lower figure than UNPD’s medium projection of 85.4 million. This would represent a 14.5
percent reduction in the 2050 population, and a reduction in the average annual growth rate from
1.86 percent to 1.46 percent between 2010 and 2050. This method assumes that during the period
from 2010 to 2050, the proportion of unwanted fertility will gradually fall to zero by 2050, in addition
to the fertility reduction already implied by the Medium population projection. While these effects
are significant, the underlying assumptions are based on more than just the elimination of unwanted
fertility from 2010. An implicit assumption is that UNPD’s fertility reduction projections are purely
structural, with the unwanted fertility elimination simply being added on. To assume otherwise would
result in double counting the family planning effect.
Scenario 2: Reduced fertility rates but unwanted fertility remains constant
The second approach which is more or less similar to the first method bases population projections on
Age Specific Fertility Rates (ASFR) of respective 5-year periods starting in 2010, using an adjustment
factor16
. It assumes that fertility preference will remain at 3.8, which may not hold over time. However,
under this relatively simple‘reduced TFR’scenario — represented by the green lines in Figures 3.3 and
3.4 – population growth would initially register a moderate if erratic decline, such as within the 2.72
percent to 2.14 percent range between 2010 and 2015. Eventually, the growth rate would converge
around two percent per year, the same rate that the UNPD Medium Projection — the 2010 revision,
rather than the 2008 revision used by Bongaarts — would reach by about 2036. By 2056, the projected
population size under the wanted fertility scenario would exceed that of the UNPD Medium Projection.
This projection is based on the arguably unrealistic assumptions that the effect on ASFR in all age
groups will be the same, the ideal family size of 3.82 would unlikely change over time, and that birth
spacing and maternal and child mortality would remain unchanged.
Scenario 3: Perfect reproductive health
To overcome the above limitations, projection is done for the “Perfect Reproduction Health” scenario.
This scenario assumes that ASFR for women aged below 20 and above 40 is equal to zero (meaning
births occur only between ages 20 and 40), and that women have a birth interval of 2.5 years. It also
assumes that dead children are not replaced, and that the mortality and migration rates are the same
ones used in the original UNPD medium projection for each respective period. The population growth
rates implied by this scenario are moderately higher than the previous scenario, converging at just
below 2.5 percent, rather than two percent. By 2050, the population implied by this scenario would be
104.1 million, compared to 96.9 million under the UNPD medium projection, and 94.6 million under
the previous scenario with uniform reduction of the ASFRs. By 2070, the Perfect Reproductive Health
scenario would imply a population of 168.6 million, compared to the 127.3 million projected by UNPD.
If maternal mortality is completely eliminated and a further reduction of 50 percent in child mortality is
assumed, the former number rises to 176.1 million.
16 ASFR measures the annual number of births to women of a specified age or age group per 1,000 women in that age group.

Policy Implications of three reproductive scenarios
The main implication of the foregoing is that the immediate attainment of perfect reproductive health
scenario would lower population growth rates in the short run. However, without changes in fertility
preferences, such improvements would soon exhaust their potential, resulting in long-term population
growth rates rising to 2.5 percent. In order for long-term population growth to fall below this level,
other structural transformations will be needed to change women’s and couples’ preferences over
ideal family sizes. Thus the main policy focus for reduced population growth lies in reducing fertility
preferences in addition to providing appropriate family planning services.
Figure 3.3 Projected Annual Population Growth Rates under Alternative Scenarios
Figure 3.4 Projected Population Sizes under Alternative Scenarios
3.7 Existing Policies and Programmes
Kenya has had comparatively good and facilitative policy frameworks on population issues. It was the
first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to establish a national family planning programme in 1967, even
if this saw no action for many years (Ajayi & Kevole, 1998). The National Council for Population and
Development (NCPD) was established in 1982, to guide population policy and coordinate all research
activities in the country.
Following the review of the 1967 Family Planning Programme, the Government issued its Population
Policy Guidelines in the form of Sessional Paper No. 4 of 1984, to guide the implementation of an
expanded population programme. Following the 1994 International Conference on Population and
Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, the Population Policy Guidelines were reviewed to integrate the
ICPD Program of Action. This culminated in the development of the National Population Policy for
Sustainable Development presented in Sessional Paper No.1 of 2000, designed to guide the country’s
population programme up to 2010. The Government has recently developed Sessional Paper No.3 of

2012 on Population Policy for National Development, as the new population policy from 2012 to 2030.
The Sessional Paper incorporates continuing and emerging national and international population
concerns, and is designed to contribute to the realization of the Kenya Vision 2030, which aims to
uplift the quality of life of all Kenyans through the management of population growth given available
resources.
SessionalPaperNo.3of2012isgearedtowardsfurtherreducingfertilitythroughtheimprovedprovision
of family planning services and attention to reproductive rights. The policy envisages that fertility will
decline to 2.6 children per woman by 2030, with contraceptive prevalence increasing to 70 percent.
This will be achieved through:
• regular updating of a comprehensive National Population Research Agenda that generates relevant
baseline data;
• an expansion of family planning service delivery points, including community-based distribution
that promotes male involvement;
• ensuring appropriate contraceptive method mix and commodity security in service delivery points;
• strengthening the integration of family planning, HIV and ADS, reproductive health and other
services;
• an intensification of advocacy for increased budget allocation for population, reproductive health
and family planning services;
• enhancing advocacy and public awareness on population issues at the national and county levels;
• mobilizationofadequateresourcestoincreaseavailabilityanduseofpopulationdataforintegration
of population variables into development planning in all spheres and at all levels; and
• improving the performance of population programme to accelerate population stabilization and
to bring a balance between population and economic growth at all levels.
3.8.1 Challenges
The first challenge lies in the realization of the policy objective of reducing TFR from the current level
of 4.6 to 2.6 children per woman by 2030. This is because the demand for children is still high and is
unlikely to change unless substantial changes in desired family sizes are achieved among the poor in
general, notably in the northern arid and semi-arid areas of the country (see next section on fertility and
family planning). The growth scenarios presented in this chapter indicate that a rapid decline in fertility
can only occur if fertility preferences declined substantially. Thus the challenge is how reduce further
the continued high demand for children. The high demand for children need to take into account the
need for further reductions in childhood mortality17
.
The quantification of the demographic dividend raises two policy challenges with regard to
achievement of economic growth: the need for rapid decline in fertility; and the substantial increase in
labour productivity. The challenges arise because the demographic dividend is likely to be small given
the large child population that has resulted from the high fertility levels over a long period of time.
Bloom et al. (2007) argued that despite the fact that many African countries, like Kenya, were expected
to have a marked growth in the working-age share of the population between 2005 and 2025, not all
such countries have strong institutions and economies to take advantage of the bulge in workers. Two
major factors will determine Africa’s future economic growth prospects (including Kenya’s): growth
17 Demographic transition hypothesizes that mortality must decline substantially before further fertility decline. High childhood mortality makes families have
more children.

in the working-age share of the population; and institutional quality (Bloom et al., 2007). Thus the
challenge is how to convert youth bulge into dividend.
The age structure of a population also has implications for political and socio-economic characteristics.
A youthful age structure is likely to undermine rapid and/or sustained development, security,
governance, and precipitate corruption; but it can also create opportunities for a country. For instance,
during the 1990s, countries with a very young age structure were three times more likely to experience
civil conflict than countries with more mature age structures (Leahy et al., 2007).
3.8.2 Opportunities
The demographic dividend due to increase in the youth population relative to adult population is
an opportunity that that arises from demographic transition. Since these opportunities are unlikely
to reoccur, country must act expeditiously to implement the policy mix required to accelerate
the demographic transition and make its beneficial effects more pronounced (Bloom et al., 2001).
Experiences of South East Asian countries indicate that demographic dividend is delivered primarily
through three mechanisms (Bloom et al., 2003: 39):
• Labour supply – the numbers available to work are larger than the non-workers, and women
are more likely to enter the workforce, while family size decreases;
• Savings – the working age people tend to have a higher level of output and a consequent
higher level of savings; and
• Human capital investments – with smaller numbers of children and cultural changes there will
be greater investment in education and health.
Gribble (2012) recently noted that what contributed to the early economic growth of South Korea
and the other Asian Tigers was that, as they were making investments in health, education, and family
planning; Governments also created policies that attracted foreign investment, promoted export of
locally manufactured goods, and created substantial minimum wages that raise the standards of living.
For Kenya, at least one policy opportunity is found in Article 55 of the Constitution which recognizes
the importance of investing in. the youth. The article declares the need for “the State to take measures,
including affirmative action programmes, to ensure that the youth:
(i) access relevant education and training;
(ii) have opportunities to associate, be represented and participate in political, socio-economic and
other spheres of life;
(iii) access employment.
3.9 Conclusion
In conclusion, Kenya’s population growth and age structure have important implications for socio-
economic development. Kenya has a large population share of young people and a high rate of
population growth. Such a large youth share of the population which drives the dependency ratio
adds a considerable burden to the country’s budget for providing health, education and other social
services. However, the large youthful population also offers opportunities which require investments
in human capital development, and appropriate economic reforms and policies to ensure that the
surplus labour force is gainfully employed and facilitated to make savings and investments as Bloom
et al., (2003) report for East Asia. These factors suggest the country could accelerate its demographic
transition through expanded family planning access, a reduction of child mortality, enhanced female
school enrolment and general female empowerment, and the creation of labour market opportunities
for women.

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United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2011). World
Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision, CD-ROM Edition
United Nations (2008).The Madrid International Plan of Action on Aging: Guiding Framework and
Toolkit for Practioners and Policy Makers. New York.
United Nations (2007). World Population Aging. New York.
UnitedNations(1999).WorldPopulationMonitoring1999:Populationgrowth,structureanddistribution.
UNFPA 2010. Taking advantage of the demographic bonus in Vietnam: Opportunities, Challenges, and
Policy Options. UNFPA Vietnam Country Office
Velkoff,V.A., P.R. Kowal. 2007. Population Ageing in Sub-Saharan Africa: Demographic Dimensions 2006:
International Population Reports. US Census Bureau. Washington DC.
Waithaka, J.K., F.Anyona, and A.Koori. 2003. Ageing and Poverty in Kenya: Country Report for the
Regional Workshop on Ageing and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dar es Salaam. Tanzania.
Watkins, S. C. (2000).“Local and Foreign Models of Reproduction in Nyanza Province, Kenya.”Population
and Development Review 26(4): 725-759.
Westley, B. and Choe, M.K., 2002. Asia’s Changing Youth Population, pp. 57-67 in East-West Center, The
Future of Population in Asia, East-West Center, Honolulu.
Westoff, C.H. and A. K. Cross. 2006. The Stall in the Fertility Transition in Kenya. DHS Analytical Studies
No. 9. Calverton, Maryland: ORC Macro.

CHAPTER 4: FERTILITY AND FAMILY PLANNING
4.1 Introduction
The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) gave new impetus for the
international community and Governments to focus on reproductive health. For the first time, many
Governments recognized and adopted reproductive rights as contained in international human rights
documents (UN/DPI, 1995). According to the ICPD and World Health Organisation (WHO), reproductive
health refers to the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters related to the reproductive system and to its functions
and processes (UN/DPI, 1995; WHO, 2013). Reproductive health, therefore, implies that people are able
to have a satisfying and safe sex life, and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom
to decide if, when and how often they want to have children (UN/DPI, 1995). In particular, the ICPD
emphasised the rights of individuals and couples to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods
of family planning (FP) of their choice, as well as the right of women to safe pregnancy and childbirth
services (UN/DPI, 1995).
As a signatory to the ICPD declaration, Kenya embarked on formulating reproductive health policies
aimed at improving the quality of life and well-being of her people. With substantial national
commitment and international support, there have been notable reproductive health attainments in
the country. For example, there had initially been considerable progress in increasing the contraceptive
prevalence rate (CPR)18
from 17 percent in 1984 to 39 percent in 1998 (Magadi and Curtis 2003), and in
reducing the fertility rate from 8.1 to 4.7 children per woman between 1977/1978 and 1998 (Westoff
and Cross, 2006). However, since 1998, the pace of improvement in reproductive health indicators has
been slow (Askew et al., 2009).
This chapter examines the status of reproductive health in Kenya with emphasis on fertility from
1977/1978 to 2008/2009. It uses data from the 1977/1978 Kenya Fertility Survey (KFS), the 1989-2009
Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), published reports, policy documents and materials
provided by Government agencies. Analysis is descriptive and entails examining changes in fertility-
related indicators over time, by socio-economic characteristics, such as region, urban-rural residence,
education level and household wealth status. The indicators include the total fertility rate (TFR)19
, CPR,
unmet need for family planning, wanted and unwanted fertility and birth intervals.The chapter ends by
highlighting existing policies and strategies as well as gaps, opportunities and challenges in addressing
reproductive health issues in the country.
Rationale
Fertility is one of the dynamics of population change, alongside mortality and migration. Fertility
analysis is, therefore, important for understanding past, current and future trends in population size,
composition and growth. In addition, childbearing is linked to other reproductive health components,
such as sexual health, antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care. For instance, pregnancy signifies
exposure to sexual intercourse; hence the need for sexual health services. Moreover, expectant women
need access to skilled antenatal, delivery and postnatal care services to realize safe pregnancies and
childbirth, as stipulated by the 1994 ICPD. Information on levels, patterns and trends in fertility and
related indicators in the country is, therefore, important for socio-economic planning, monitoring and
evaluation of reproductive health programmes.
18 CPR is the percentage of currently married women aged 15-49 years who are using any method of family planning.
19 Total fertility rate is the average number of children a woman would give birth to if she went through her entire reproductive life at the prevailing age specific
fertility rates.

4.2 Fertility
4.2.1 Fertility Levels and Trends
The World Fertility Survey (WFS) of 1977 showed that Kenya had one of the highest fertility rates in the
world, with a TFR of eight children per woman. The high fertility rate in the 1970s has been attributed
to good economy, good climate, large land holdings by families, and affordable essential commodities
such as food, health care, housing and education (Ekisa, 2009). However, as illustrated in Figure 4.1, the
country experienced a remarkable fertility decline from the early 1980s to the late 1990s, attributed
in part to socio-economic development, improvements in child survival and educational attainments.
There was also increased contraceptive uptake due to vigorous national and international support of
family planning programmes (Blacker, 2002; Kizito et al., 1991).
A key feature of Kenya’s fertility transition is the stall between 1998 and 2003 (Figure 4.1). Much of
the literature that has sought to explain stall in fertility transition has identified three models, namely;
the reproductive behaviour, socio-economic and institutional (Askew et. al., 2009; Ezeh et al., 2009;
Cetorrelli and Leone, 2012). The reproductive behaviour model attributes stall in fertility transition
to a lack of improvements in proximate determinants. For instance, Westoff and Cross (2006) found
that stalls in fertility transition were due to the levelling off in contraceptive use and a decline in the
proportion of women who want no more children. The socio-economic model, on the other hand,
attributes the stalls to declines in the levels of socio-economic development, as reflected in changes in
women’s education, infant and child mortality and real per capita economic growth (Bongaarts 2006;
Westoff and Cross, 2006). According to the institutional model, the stalls are due to deterioration in
family planning programmes resulting from declining national and international commitments as
resources are diverted to other programmes such as HIV and AIDS.
However, the models are not conclusive over the ultimate determinants of such stalls. In Kenya, it is
possible that the three models jointly explain the stall in fertility transition between 1998 and 2003.
For example, while the same period was characterized by a stall in CPR, the 1980s and 1990s were
characterizedbydeterioratingsocio-economicconditionsrelatedtostructuraladjustmentprogrammes
(SAPs) (Riddell, 1992). Additionally, there was a decline in support for family planning programmes at
national and international levels between 1990s and 2000s as the focus shifted to HIV and AIDS (Askew
et al., 2009).
Figure 4.1 Trends in Total Fertility Rate, Kenya, 1977/78–2008/09
4.6
4.9
4.7
5.1
6.7
7.78.1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1977-78 1984 1989 1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Totalfertilityrate
Sources: CBS (1980; 1984); CBS, MOH and ORC Macro International (2004); KNBS and ICF Macro (2010);
NCPD, CBS and Macro International (1994; 1999); NCPD and IRD (1989).

4.2.2 Fertility Patterns by Socio-economic Characteristics
Table 4.1 presents TFR trends by place of residence, level of education and region. Kenyan women
living in rural areas bear on average two or more children than those living in urban areas. Whereas
fertility decline occurred in both rural and urban areas, the magnitude of the decline was greater in
urban areas. For example, between 1989 and 2008/2009, urban TFR declined by 36 percent compared
to 27 percent in rural areas.The urban-rural disparity in fertility was due to; higher literacy levels, higher
contraceptive use, and later age at first marriage in urban compared to rural areas. However, fertility
trends in rural and urban areas mirror the national trend of steady decline between 1989 and 1998, a
stall between 1998 and 2003, and further decline between 2003 and 2008/2009.
Fertilitytrendsbyeducationalattainmentshowthatamongwomenwithnoeducation,fertilitydeclined
sharply between 1989 and 1998 ad then rose to a plateau by 2003 (Table 4.1). Despite the 2003 kink
for women with primary education, the general trend for them and those with secondary and above
education was a steady decline from 1989 to 2008/2009. Overall, the greatest fertility decline over the
last two decades was among women with at least secondary education. These findings suggest that
women’s education has strong influence on their fertility.
Table 4.1 Trends in TFR According to Place of Residence, Education and Region, Kenya 1989–
2008/2009
Socio-economic
characteristics
1989 1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent change
(1989-2008/09)
Residence
Urban 4.5 3.4 3.1 3.3 2.9 35.6
Rural 7.1 5.8 5.2 5.4 5.2 26.8
Education
No education 7.5 6.0 5.8 6.7 6.7 10.7
Primary 6.9 5.7 5.0 5.5 5.2 24.6
Secondary + 4.9 4.0 3.5 3.2 3.1 36.7
Province
Nairobi 4.2 3.4 2.6 2.7 2.8 33.3
Central 6.0 3.9 3.7 3.4 3.4 43.3
Coast 5.4 5.3 5.0 4.9 4.8 11.1
Eastern 7.2 5.9 4.7 5.1 4.6 36.1
Nyanza 6.9 5.8 5.0 5.6 5.4 21.7
Rift Valley 7.0 5.7 5.3 5.8 4.7 32.9
Western 8.1 6.4 5.6 5.8 5.6 30.9
North Eastern n/a n/a n/a 7.0 5.9 -
Kenya 6.7 5.4 4.7 4.9 4.6 31.3
Sources: CBS, MOH and ORC Macro International (2004); KNBS and ICF Macro (2010); NCPD, CBS and
Macro International (1994, 1999); NCPD and IRD (1989).
Note: n/a = Not applicable because the region was not covered in the surveys.
The table shows there are also substantial regional differences in fertility levels across Kenya. For
instance, between 1993 and 2008/2009, TFR was consistently lower in Nairobi and Central provinces,
the two provinces which experienced the greatest fertility decline between 1989 and 1998. Over the
last two decades, Central Province also had the greatest fertility decline, followed by Eastern, Nairobi

and Rift Valley provinces respectively.
Table 4.2 presents fertility trends by household wealth status. Over the years, fertility remained more
than twice as high among women from the poorest 20 percent of the population – the‘lowest quintile’
– compared to those from the richest 20 percent households. This lowest quintile’s fertility was erratic,
resulting in little substantial change between 1993 and 2008/2009. This allowed the gap to increase
between it and the other quintiles whose period declines stood above 10 percent over the same period.
In effect, fertility decline mostly occurred among women from better-off households.
Table 4.2 Trends in Total Fertility Rate According to Wealth Quintile, Kenya 1993–2008/2009
Wealth Quintiles 1993 1998 2003
2008-
2009
Percent change
1993-2008/2009
Lowest 7.2 6.5 7.6 7.0 2.8
Second 6.2 5.6 5.8 5.6 9.7
Middle 5.6 4.7 5.1 5.0 10.7
Fourth 5.3 4.2 4.0 3.7 30.2
Highest 3.3 3.0 3.1 2.9 12.1
Macro International (1994, 1999).
Age-Specific Fertility Rates (ASFRs)
ASFR measures the annual number of births to women of a specified age or age group per 1,000 women
in that age group, and consequently allows the comparison of fertility behaviour at different ages or
within different age groups. Figure 4.2 presents the age-specific fertility rates for the period 1998 and
2008/2009. The ASFR pattern has remained largely unchanged over the years: low in the age 15 to 19
bracket, increasing rapidly thereafter before declining sharply from age 30. Fertility rates also declined
sharply for the 15 to 44 years group between 1989 and 1998.
Figure 4.2 Trends in Age Specific Fertility Rate, Kenya 1989–2008/2009
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49
Birthsper1000women
1989 1993 1998 2003 2008-09
The results further show that adolescent fertility remains high in Kenya. ASFR among women aged
15–19 was estimated at 103 in 2008/2009, contributing about 11 percent of total fertility. Besides
its contribution to overall population growth, adolescent fertility has been singled out as a major
contributor to overall maternal mortality (WHO, 2008). Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are

the leading causes of mortality among women between the ages 15 and 19 mostly because of poor
access to good-quality health care, including antenatal care and skilled delivery. WHO estimates show
that the risk of maternal death is twice as great for women between 15 and 19 years as it is for those
between the ages of 20 and 24. Moreover, babies born to adolescent mothers also face a significantly
higher risk of early death compared to those born to older women.
4.2.3 Regional Comparisons of Fertility Rates
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest fertility levels compared to other parts of the world: TFR of 5.1
children per woman compared to 1.6 in Europe, 2.2 in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and 2.5
in Oceania (Population Reference Bureau, 2012). On the African continent, fertility ranges from 2.5 in
Southern Africa to 5.9 in Central Africa, according to the Bureau. In Eastern Africa, the average is 5.3,
slightly higher than the Sub-Saharan Africa average. Kenya’s fertility rate is, however, comparatively
lower than that of the countries in Eastern Africa region, except Zimbabwe, as shown in Figure 4.3.
Figure 4.3 Average TFR for Eastern African Countries, 2007–2011
4.1
4.6
4.6
4.8
5.4
5.7
6.2
6.2
0 2 4 6 8
Zimbabwe 2010/11
Kenya 2008/09
Rwanda 2010
Ethiopia 2011
Tanzania 2010
Malawi 2010
Uganda 2011
Zambia 2007
Total fertility rate
Source: ICF International, 2012. MEASURE DHS STATcompiler - http://www.statcompiler.com - July 10
2012.
Note: reported rate if the average for the three years to the survey.
4.3 Family Planning
4.3.1 Levels and Trends in Family Planning
Figure 4.4 shows trends in the use of contraceptives by type of method between 1978 and 2008-2009.
There was a steady increase in CPR between 1977/1978 and 1998, largely driven by the use of modern
methods. However, CPR stalled between 1998 and 2003 before increasing to 46 percent in 2008/2009.
The sustained increase in the use of FP during 1990s has been identified as the main driving force
behind rapid fertility decline in Kenya (Ajayi and Kekovole, 1998). During late 1990s, the national FP
programme was substantially affected by declining Government and donor funding resulting from the
shift of priorities to HIV and AIDS (Aloo-Obunga, 2003; Crichton, 2008).This adversely affected the large-
scale community-based distribution (CBD) programmes that had facilitated low-cost contraceptive
information and services, together with information education and communication (IEC) campaigns
advocating for small families and the use of contraception. The effect of the decline in the institutional

support for FP was reflected in the stall in CPR, and the corresponding stagnation in fertility decline
between 1998 and 2003 (Askew et al., 2009).
Figure 4.4 Trends in CPR in Kenya, 1978–2008/2009
6
10
18
27
32 32
39
3
7
9
6
8 8
6
46
4039
33
27
17
7
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1978 1984 1989 1993 1998 2003 2008-09
CPR
Any method Any modern method Any traditional method
Sources: CBS (1980, 1984); CBS, MOH and ORC Macro International (2004); KNBS and ICF Macro (2010);
NCPD, CBS and Macro International (1994, 1999); NCPD and IRD (1989).
Figure 4.5 shows changes in current use of specific FP methods since 1998. Injectables have been most
popular throughout, followed by the pill. Subscription to the various contraception options has been
unstable, the most significant development being the sustained growth in the use of injectables.
Figure 4.5 Trends in Current Use of Specific Contraceptive Methods, Kenya 1998 –2008/2009
9 8
7
3 2
2
12 14 22
1
1
26 4
5
6 6
5
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1998 2003 2008-09
Pills IUD Injectables Condoms Female sterilization Rhythm method
Macro International (1999).
4.3.2 Use of Modern Contraceptives by Place of Residence
The urban and rural use of modern contraception has risen consistently in the two decades to 2009, as
shown in Figure 4.6. However, the use rate has been higher among urban compared to rural women,
although the gap has been narrowing over time.

Figure 4.6 Use of Modern Contraceptives by Place of Residence, Kenya, 1993–2008/2009
25.5
37.9
41.0 39.9
16.4
25.4
29.0 29.2
37.2
46.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1989 1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent
Urban Rural
4.3.3 Use of Modern Contraceptives by Level of Education and Wealth Status
There is a strong relationship between contraceptive use and levels of education, as is illustrated
in Figure 4.7. Over the years, the use of modern contraceptives has been consistently lower among
women with no education compared to those with primary or secondary and above level of education.
In addition, the gap in the use of modern contraceptives between women with no education and those
with some education has widened since 1998. While the gap between primary education women and
those with a higher level of education widened to 2003, it had closed substantially by 2008/2009.
Figure 4.7 Use of Modern Contraceptives by Education Level, Kenya, 1993–2008/2009
15 16
8
12
26
28 29
38
45 46
52 52
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent
No education Primary Secondary+
In terms of wealth status, Figure 4.8 shows that over the years, poor women in Kenya are the least likely
to use modern contraceptive methods. Although CPR has increased in the last two decades, the wide
gap in contraceptive use between poor women (lowest quintiles) and better-off women (fourth and
highest quintiles) implies that poor women have benefited less from FP programmes. These results are
consistent with other findings that show that contraceptive use is lower in developing compared to
developed countries and among poor compared to better-off women (Clements and Madise, 2004). In
the Kenya data, the use gap between the poorest and richest women has narrowed considerably, from
a factor of 4.5 in 1993 to close at 2.8. Additionally, while quintile 4 use has been unstable, its closing
level was above quintile 5.

Figure4. 8 Use of Modern Contraceptives by Wealth Quintiles, Kenya, 1993–2008/2009
10
6
12
1716
25 24
33
27
35
33
43
38
33
41
50
45
36
45
48
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent
Lowest Second Middle Fourth Highest
The gap in the use modern contraceptives between poor and non-poor women and between non-
educated and educated women could be due to complex pathways relating income and enlightenment
to both the demand for and supply of contraceptive information and services.
4.3.4 Regional Variations in CPR
Extensive differences exist in the regional CPR trend for both modern methods and any other, as
presented in Table 4.9. Nairobi, Nyanza and Rift Valley provinces experienced wide fluctuations in CPR
between 1993 and 2008/2009. Conversely, Central, Coast, Eastern, and Western provinces experienced
steady increases over the same period. Excluding North Eastern Province which was not covered by the
1989-1998 surveys, CPR remained consistently lower in Coast compared to other regions over the years.
For the years covered, however, North Eastern Province’s use rate for any contraceptive is remarkably
low, and makes her TFR of eight look quite modest.
Table 4.9 Regional Trends in Contraceptive Use by Type of Method, Kenya, 1993–2008/09
ANY METHOD MODERN METHOD
1993 1998 2003 2008-09 1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Region
Nairobi 45.4 56.3 50.7 55.3 37.7 46.8 44.3 49.0
Central 56.1 61.1 66.4 66.7 49.8 54.8 57.9 62.5
Coast 20.3 22.1 24.1 34.3 16.7 20.0 19.1 29.7
Eastern 38.4 45.6 50.6 52.0 30.5 36.0 38.4 43.8
Nyanza 23.8 28.2 24.7 37.3 21.5 25.0 21.0 32.9
Rift Valley 27.9 37.7 34.4 42.4 21.0 26.4 24.5 34.7
Western 25.1 30.2 34.1 46.5 21.7 21.9 27.3 41.4
North Eastern - - 0.2 3.5 - - 0.2 3.5

4.3.5 Unmet Need for Family Planning
A woman has ‘unmet need’ for FP or contraception if she is sexually active and does not want a child
for at least two years (spacing), or wants to stop childbearing altogether (limiting), but is not using any
effective contraceptive methods (Westoff, 1988). Women who rely on traditional FP methods may be
regarded as having unmet need because of the higher probability of becoming pregnant. The 1994
ICPD recognised access to safe and effective contraceptive methods as a fundamental human right
(UN/DPI, 1995).
A couple explores suitable family planning methods at a health clinic.
Photo: UNFPA
Trends in unmet need for spacing and limiting in Kenya over time are shown in Figure 4.9. Although
the total unmet need has been declining since 1993, it has remained above 25 percent. The persistent
high levels of unmet FP need have largely been attributed to poor access to services, persistent FP
commodity stock-outs, and limited resource allocations by the Government (Republic of Kenya, 2007a).
Women could also choose not to use FP methods for other reasons, including fear of side effects, health
concerns, cultural and religious objections, lack of knowledge, and objections from a spouse (Mills et al.,
2010). Figure 4.9 further shows that prior to 2008/2009, unmet need for spacing has been consistently
higher than unmet for limiting (KNBS and ICF Macro, 2010).

Figure 4.9 Trends in Unmet FP Need in Kenya, 1993–2008/09
25.6
12.5
15.216.0
20.7
13.1
12.211.914.6
27.427.9
35.3
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent
Spacing Limiting Total
Unmet Need for FP by Place of Residence
Acrossthesurveyyears,ruralwomeninKenyahavehigherunmetFPneedthantheirurbancounterparts
(Figure 4.10). Trends over time indicate that between 1993 and 1998, there was a remarkable decrease
in total unmet need in both rural and urban areas. For subsequent surveys, however, the decline slowed
in rural areas while it stalled in urban areas.
Figure 4.10 Unmet Need for FP by Place of Residence, Kenya, 1993–2008/2009
23.8
20.4 19.5 19.6
30.0 29.7
27.5
37.3
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent
Urban Rural
Macro International 1994, (1999).
Unmet Need for FP by Level of Education and Wealth Index
Across the survey years, total unmet FP need was greater among women with primary education than
among those with no education or those with secondary and above, as shown in Figure 4.11. The total
unmet need decreased among women of all education categories between 1993 and 1998, after which
the pattern is mixed, the gap between the educated women widening considerably.

Figure 4.11 Unmet FP Need by Level of Education, Kenya 1993-2008/2009
35.2
28.9
23.9
26.5
38.7
32.1 33.3
30.2
26.4
18.8
16.2 16.5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent
No education Primary Secondary+
Trends in unmet need by wealth quintiles are shown in Figure 4.12. Across the survey years, unmet
need was greater among the poorer women than among the non-poor women. However, the trend
shows a mixed pattern in unmet need for women of various wealth quintiles.
Figure 4.12 Unmet FP Need by Wealth Quintiles, Kenya 1993-2008/2009
38.4
32.4
20.1
35.0
40.8
44.4
33.0
32.1
40.7
22.9
30.226.4
38.5
20.925.3
31.8
18.319.6
15.4
21.8
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent
Lowest Second Middle Fourth Highest
4.4 Wanted and Unwanted Fertility
4.4.1 Levels and Trends
The level of unwanted fertility — defined as the actual fertility in excess of desired fertility — declined
rapidly during the 1989-1998 period after which it stalled, as shown in Figure 4.13. Unwanted
fertility declined by almost 50 percent during the period 1989-1998, mainly due to highly effective
contemporaneous FP programmes, according to Askew et al. (2009). Wanted fertility also declined by
25 percent between 1989 and 1993, after which it stabilised at about 35 percent. Interestingly, the 50
percent rate of decline in unwanted fertility over the two decades was nearly double the decline in
wanted fertility.

Figure 4.13 Trends in Wanted and Unwanted Fertility, Kenya, 1989–2008/2009
3.4
1.2
3.63.53.4
4.5
1.31.2
2.02.2
0
1
2
3
4
5
1989 1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Totalfertilityrate
Wanted fertility Unwanted fertility
4.4.2 Wanted and Unwanted Fertility by Wealth Index
The poorest women are less likely than the least poor to achieve their desired fertility, as reflected in
Figure 4.14.The data for the four surveys reported show an average difference of two children between
their TFR and their preferred fertility for the poorest women in contrast to an average of less than
one for the least poor women. There has been an increase over time in wanted TFR (WTFR) among
poorest women while their unwanted TFR (UTFR) reflects no clear trend. The persistently high UTFR
among the poorest women suggests that FP programmes are not effectively reaching this segment
of the population. This may be due to service delivery outlets serving the growing number of users in
higher wealth quintiles, and the increasing role of the private sector in providing FP services, with a
corresponding increase in fees for services (Askew et al., 2009).
Figure 4.14 Wanted and Unwanted Fertility rates by Wealth Quintiles, Kenya 1993–2008/2009

4.4.3 Wanted and Unwanted Fertility Rates by Education Level
Figure 4.15 presents the patterns of WTFR and UTFR by level of education. The data show that WTFR
amongwomenwithnoeducationhasbeenincreasingconsistentlysince1993whiletheirUTFRdeclined
by half during the same period.The net effect was an overall increase inTFR among this segment of the
population. In contrast, WTFR among women with secondary and above level of education generally
declined between 1998 and 2008-2009, as did their UTFR which halved. It is also interesting to note that
women with primary level education have higher UTFRs than both those with no education and those
with secondary and above level of education.
Figure 4.15Trends inWanted and Unwanted Fertility Rates by Education, Kenya 1993-2008/2009
4.5 Birth Interval
A birth interval refers to the length of time between two successive live births and it indicates the
pace of child bearing. The interval between births plays an important role in improving the health of a
mother and her child. Shorter and longer intervals between pregnancies are independently associated
with increased risk of adverse maternal, perinatal, infant and child outcomes (Rutstein, 2008). WHO has
recommended an interval of at least 24 months before a mother considers becoming pregnant again
in order to reduce the risk of adverse maternal and perinatal infant outcome (WHO, 2006). In Kenya,
the median open birth interval has remained more or less the same at about 33 months (KNBS and ICF
Macro, 2010).
Figure 4.16 presents data on spacing of non-first births in the five years preceding the survey by number
of months since previous birth. The number of non-first births occurring less than 23 months reduced
from 28 percent in 1989 to 23 percent in 1998, but has since stalled. The proportion of births occurring
between 24 and 35 months dropped from 40 percent in 1989 to 34 percent in 2008/2009. Since 1998,
however, majority of non-first births to Kenyan women have been occurring 36 months or more after
the previous birth.

Figure 4.16 Non-first Births by Number of Months since Previous Birth, Kenya, 1989–2008/2009
28.1
25.2 23.1 22.9 22.6
40.0 41.2
34.5 36.5
34.2
32.0 33.7
42.5 40.9
43.1
0
10
20
30
40
50
1989 1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent
< 23 months 24-35 months 36+ months
Sources: CBS, MOH and ORC Macro International 2004; KNBS and ICF Macro 2010; NCPD, CBS and
Macro International 1994, 1999; NCPD and IRD 1989.
The majority of non-first births within 7-17 months occur among younger women, notably those in the
15 to 19 age bracket (Figure 4.17). This implies that younger mothers continue to experience greater
risk of poor child and maternal health outcomes. On the other hand, the percentage of women within
each age bracket with non-first births declined over time across all age groups.
Figure 4.17 Non-first births occurring between 7-17 months by age of the mother, Kenya 1993-
2008/2009
14.5
11.1
25.7
22.4
29.1
11.4 10.7 10 10.8 10.9
9.8
8.1 7.1 7.5 7.46.4 7.5
4.6
7.6
4.7
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1989 1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent
15-19 20-29 30-39 40+
Macro International 1994, 1999; NCPD and IRD 1989.
4.6 Emerging Issues in Fertility and Related Indicators
4.6.1 High-risk Births
Births are defined as‘high risk’if the mother was under age 18 or over age 34; already had three or more
children; gave birth less than 36 months after a previous live birth; or gave birth more than 60 months
after a previous live birth (KNBS and ICF Macro, 2010). Women are classified as having a single high-risk
factor if only one of these criteria applies, and multiple high-risk in case of more than one criterion.

Figure 4.18 shows trends in the distribution of children born in the five years preceding the survey by
risk category, and percentage of currently married women by category of risk if they were to conceive
a child at the time of the survey. The percentage of births falling in the single high risk category in the
last five years preceding the survey is higher than those falling in the multiple-risk category. There has
been a greater increase in the levels of single high-risk compared to multiple high-risk births between
1993 and 2008/2009. In addition, the percentage of women with multiple high-risk births increased
dramatically between 1993 and 1998 before stabilizing at between 41 and 43 percent thereafter (Figure
18). These results underscore the need for targeting FP services to prevent high-risk births and thus
reduce maternal and infant mortality.
Figure 4.18 Trends in High Risk Fertility-related Births, Kenya, 1993–2008/2009
Macro International 1994, 1999.
4.6.2 Vulnerable Groups
Vulnerable and marginalized groups include adolescents, people with disabilities, people living with
HIV and AIDS, internally displaced persons, and refugees. In Kenya, these groups are systematically
disadvantagedintermsofaccesstoreproductivehealthcare.Inequitiesinaccesstoreproductivehealth
services exist mainly due to weak health infrastructure especially in remote areas and among the urban
poor (NCAPD and KNBS, 2008). In addition, there is lack of disaggregated data on the reproductive
health of disadvantaged populations to inform decision-making (NCAPD and KNBS, 2008).
Figure 4.19 provides information on women with disabilities aged 12–49 years who are currently
using family planning based on data from the 2007 Kenya National Survey for Persons with Disabilities
(KNSPWD). Use of family planning among these women is generally low compared to the general
population, with only 16 percent of them using any method while about five percent use traditional
methods. In terms of place of residence, disabled women in rural areas use contraceptives more than
their urban counterparts.

Figure 4.19 Contraceptive Prevalence among Women with Disability aged 15-49 years, Kenya,
2007
10.8
16
0
6.3
4.9
17.9
0
5
10
15
20
Urban Rural Kenya
Percent
Any method Traditional method
Source: NCAPD and KNBS 2008
This section discusses the policy framework relating to fertility and related indicators in Kenya. Kenya
was among the first sub-Saharan African countries to establish a family planning programme through
the National Family Planning Policy of 1967 (Graff, 2012). By the late 1980s, the national FP programme
was considered a success story in the region. In 1984, the Government developed the first population
policy (Population Policy Guidelines) that involved an update of the National Family Planning Policy. In
2000, Kenya developed the National Population Policy for Sustainable Development that integrated a
domesticated Programme of Action (PoA) of the ICPD to guide the implementation of population,
health and development programmes in the country for the period 2000-2010 (Republic of Kenya,
2000).
With respect to fertility-related indicators, the policy aimed to increase: (1) the availability, accessibility,
acceptability and affordability of quality family planning services; and (2) the involvement of men in
family planning (Republic of Kenya, 2000).The policy set to reduceTFR from 5.0 in 1995 to 4.0 by the year
2000, 3.5 by 2005 and 2.5 by 2010 (Republic of Kenya, 2000). The policy further aimed to increase CPR
from 33 percent in 1993 to 43 percent by 2000, 53 percent by 2005 and 62 percent by 2010 (Republic of
Kenya, 2000). In 2012, the Government issued a new population policy after the expiry of the previous
one: Population Policy for National Development (Republic of Kenya, 2012). In terms of fertility-related
indicators, the new policy aims at; reducing fertility, providing equitable and affordable reproductive
health services including family planning, and assisting individuals and couples who desire to have
children but are unable to (Republic of Kenya, 2012). The targets include; reduction of fertility from
TFR of 4.6 in 2008/2009 to 2.6 children per woman by 2030 and increasing CPR from 46 percent to 70
percent over the same period (Republic of Kenya, 2012).
There are also a number of international, regional, and national legal and policy frameworks in place
guiding the fulfilment of citizens’ rights to sexual and reproductive health goals. For example, Kenya
committed herself to implementing the ICPD Programme of Action that emphasized equality between
women and men in reproductive decision-making, voluntary choice in determining the number and
timing of one’s children, and freedom from sexual violence, coercion and harmful practices (UN/
DPI, 1995). In 2003, the Government developed the Adolescent Reproductive Health and Development
(ARH&D) policy to address adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights as well as other
developmental issues. One of the objectives of the policy was to strengthen the capacity of institutions,

providers and communities to offer appropriate information and services such as family planning to
adolescents and youth (Republic of Kenya, 2003).
In 2007, the National Reproductive Health Policy was developed with the overarching goal of enhancing
the reproductive health status of all Kenyans by increasing equitable access to reproductive health
services; improving the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery; and improving
responsiveness to client needs. One of its objectives was to reduce unmet need for family planning,
unplanned births as well as regional and socio-economic disparities in contraceptive use (Republic
of Kenya, 2007a). In addition, the Constitution of Kenya 2010 promotes various rights aimed at
removing any barriers that hinder men and women from accessing FP services. In particular, Article
43 (1) (a) provides the right to health including reproductive health care (Republic of Kenya, 2010).
The Government further developed various strategies to operationalize these policies including the
Adolescent Reproductive Health and Development Policy Plan of Action, the National Reproductive Health
Strategy 1997-2010 and the National Reproductive Health Strategy 2009-2015 (Republic of Kenya 1996,
2005,2009).Theavailabilityofmultiplepolicyframeworkscoveringvariouscomponentsofreproductive
health including fertility and family planning is clear evidence of a favourable policy environment for
achieving the goals set in the ICPD PoA and the health-related MDGs.
4.8 Gaps, Challenges and Opportunities
4.8.1 Gaps
Although Kenya has made significant progress in increasing the CPR, the level is still below the target of
53 percent by 2005 and 62 percent by 2010 envisioned in the National Population Policy for Sustainable
Development of 2000. At the same time,TFR has remained below the target set by the policy. Moreover,
although the National Reproductive Health Policy of 2007 emphasized reduction in unmet need for
family planning, unplanned births, as well as regional and socio-economic disparities in CPR, the
level of unmet need among Kenyan women remains high. The State of Kenya Population report, for
example, shows that approximately 1.1 million currently married women would like to delay or stop
childbearing, but are not using any contraception, and another 1.8 million women have unplanned
births each year (NCAPD, 2011).
Although Kenya has put in place numerous policies focusing on population and reproductive health,
the complete operationalization and implementation of the policies and strategies is to a large extent
lacking partly due to lack of funding. For instance, Kenya is far from delivering on the promise made in
Abuja in 2000 to allocate 15 percent of the national annual budget to the public health sector. Moreover,
there is lack of proper coordination among the donor community. In particular, although intra-donor
coordination and adherence to the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda’s principles on ownership
remain shared common long-term goals, progress has been slow in the health sector (OECD n.d.). It
is also unclear how various stakeholders in the country implement their reproductive programmes
and/or projects. Lack of monitoring and evaluation of existing policies makes it difficult to assess the
progress made.
4.8.2 Challenges
Poverty and Inequity: The socio-economic disparity between the rich and the poor in Kenya remains
a major impediment to the achievement of sexual and reproductive health goals. There is clearly a
correlation between wealth status and education on the one hand, and access to, or utilization of,
sexual and reproductive health services on the other. Women from the poorest 20 percent households
continue to have high unmet need for contraception, which translates into high fertility rates. Poor
people do not have access to sexual and reproductive health information and services thereby making

them vulnerable to poor health outcomes, such as unwanted pregnancies, higher maternal mortality
and morbidity, HIV infection and sexual violence.
Social and cultural factors: Despite the Government’s commitment to provide reproductive health
and family planning services to all Kenyans, cultural and religious beliefs and values pose persisting
challenges, which affect the realization of goals on sexual and reproductive health and rights. For
example, early marriages among some communities contribute to high fertility rates in many settings.
The inability to negotiate sex on equal terms, such as use of contraception, exposes women and girls
to the risk of unwanted pregnancy, illness and death from pregnancy-related causes and sex-related
diseases.
Funding: Over the years, reproductive health has received little attention in terms of financing. The
end result has been inadequate access to services, poor service delivery and high maternal and child
mortality rates. Although maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) have received specific budgetary
allocation since 2008, funds allocated remain too little. Furthermore, a major challenge is the fact that
the MNCH budget and projections is not broken down by service components such as FP, maternal and
infant care, management of sexually transmitted infections, and management of other SRH problems.
As a result, costing of SRH has not been properly done.The bulk of essential SRH services continue to be
funded by donors and international aid agencies in a context where budget predictability and donor
funding are becoming even more uncertain due to the global financial crisis.
Parallel management structures: Although efforts have been made towards integrating SRH with
HIV and AIDS services, it is evident that greater attention has been paid to the latter. In Kenya, the
Government declared HIV and AIDS a national disaster and a public health emergency in 1999. For this
reason, key responsibilities in the HIV and AIDS campaign were transferred from the Ministry of Health
to the Office of the President. Consequently, this created parallel systems for managing the response to
HIV and AIDS, which undermined initiatives to strengthen health systems and provide integrated SRH
and HIV and AIDS services.
Weak operationalisation of the joint financing agreement: The Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) was
adopted in Kenya in 2005 and was intended to bring increased sector coordination, national leadership
and management in order to improve aid effectiveness. However, progress has been slow and it is
impossible to assess if aid effectiveness has improved in Kenya.
4.8.3 Opportunities
The various policy statements and action strategies provide an enabling environment for addressing
population issues. Many of these documents are aimed at promoting universal access to reproductive
health services. If implemented, Kenya is well-placed to achieve the envisioned sexual and reproductive
health goals. The Bill of Rights in the Constitution (Chapter 4) guarantees healthcare services, including
the provision of reproductive health and family planning services, to all Kenyans. It therefore provides
an enabling framework for scaling up access to contraceptives and the expansion of family planning
services in Kenya.
The devolved system of Government under the Constitution provides an opportunity to bring
reproductive health services closer to the people, and to better deploy health workers in all parts of the
country. Although implementation will be challenging, including competition over funding, devolution
in the health sector represents a good opportunity for advocacy over SRH at the local level, especially
in areas that have lagged behind in development. People will be able to participate freely in decision-
making on issues affecting them, including reproductive health issues.This can lead to better provision

and use of health services, including reproductive health services.
The new drive to reposition family planning under the Population Policy for National Development
provides impetus for the implementation of family planning programs accelerating achievement of
the health-related MDGs and objectives of ICPD PoA. Kenya’sVision 2030 — the development blueprint
that aims to transform the country into a new industrializing, middle-income nation by 2030 —
emphasizes the Government’s commitment to reducing health inequalities and to providing access to
those previously excluded from health care for financial reasons (Republic of Kenya, 2007b).
The Government has continued to finance the free primary education program and to subsidize
secondary education while also enabling the expansion of public and private universities. These
initiatives present good opportunities for realizing reproductive health goals as they will enable many
women to be educated. Education, in turn, enhances women’s bargaining power within the family
while keeping girls in school will reduce instances of early marriages and early childbearing.
A number of bilateral donors have increased their financial assistance specifically for reproductive
health. A new financial commitment by donors and the private sector at the 2012 London Summit on
Family Planning presents funding opportunities for developing countries to increase allocations for
family planning services. Although it is unlikely that Kenya will meet the MDG 5 by 2015, the initiative
presents an opportunity to improve further the reproductive health indicators in the country.
From left: Former NCPD Director General Dr. Boniface K’Oyugi; former UNFPA KCO Representative Mr. Fidelis
Zama Chi; former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 Dr.
Edward Sambili; and Hon. Wycliffe Oparanya, the Minister of Planning, Natuional Development and Vision 2030
at the re-launch of the Family Planning Campaign in Kenya 2012.
Photo: UNFPA

4.9 Conclusion
Although Kenya had made significant progress in access to, and utilization of, reproductive health
services in the past, progress has been slow in the last decade. The analysis shows changing trends
regardingfertilitydeclineinKenya,withinitialrapiddeclinefollowedbyastallinthetransition.Moreover,
the pace of the decline was not the same among different socio-economic groups. Much of the decline
took place among the better educated and better-off women, while little change occurred among the
less educated and poor women. During the stall, fertility increased among those with no education
and those in the lowest wealth quintile, while the decline continued among the most educated.
The stall or slow fertility decline is probably due to increases in wanted fertility among women who
are poor or non-educated. The gradual reduction in investment in strategies for influencing fertility
preferences and family size, such as information, education and communication and community —
based distribution programmes, may be responsible for such trends. With sustained gap in the use of
modern contraceptives among various socio-economic groups, it is likely that inequalities will persist
unless some active policies to address issues of access to information and services are put in place.
Theinitialsustainedincreaseintheuseoffamilyplanningserviceswasamajorfactorinfertilitytransition.
The stall in CPR coincided with the stagnation in fertility rates. There are also disparities in the use
of modern contraceptives among Kenyan women of different socio-economic groups. Contraceptive
prevalence rates for women residing in urban areas continue to be higher than the rates for their rural
counterparts. Over the years, there has been a wide gap in the use of modern contraceptives between
poor and non-poor women as well as between non-educated and educated women. There is also
continuous change in the method mix, with an increase in the use of injectables and a decline in the use
of the pills, sterilization and IUD which are regarded as the most reliable and cost-effective methods.
There has been no significant progress in reducing the levels of unmet need for family planning.
About one-quarter of currently married women do not have access to safe and effective contraceptive
methods, which are a fundamental human right. The highest levels of unmet need are among women
living in rural areas, those who have completed primary education, and those in the lowest wealth
quintiles.The wide poor-rich gaps in the utilization of reproductive health services present major social
and economic challenges. The failure to achieve the desired targets for fertility and contraceptive use
are to a large extent a result of programmes not meeting the reproductive health needs of the poor
who tend to be non-educated and from rural areas. Poor women continue to have more children and
are least likely to achieve their desired family size.

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CHAPTER 5: HEALTH SYSTEMS AND SERVICE DELIVERY FOR SEXUAL AND
REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
5.1 Introduction
A good health system delivers quality services to all people, when and where they need them. In order
to do so, there must be reliable information on which to base service delivery policies and interventions;
a robust financing mechanism; a well-trained and adequately paid workforce; and well maintained
facilities and logistics to deliver quality medicines and technologies. A health system can be defined as
“all the organizations, institutions, and resources that are devoted to producing health actions”(WHO,
2000). The World Health Report 2000 identifies four key functions of the health system: stewardship or
governance; financing; human and physical resources; and organization and management of service
delivery. The interaction of these four functions is illustrated in Figure5.1.
Figure 5.1 Functions of the Health System
Source: Adapted from WHO (2001)
The Government has the responsibility of providing stewardship for the sector by developing,
implementing and enforcing policies that affect functioning of the whole health system. Health
financing is a key determinant of health system performance because it directly affects equity,
efficiency and quality of health services. Health financing refers to “the methods used to mobilize the
resources that support basic (public) health programmes, provide access to basic health services and
configure health service delivery systems” (Schieber and Akikiom, 1997). The third group of functions
of the health system is recruitment, training, deployment and retention of qualified human resources
as well as procurement, allocation and distribution of essential medicines and supplies. It also includes
investment in physical health infrastructure including facilities and equipment. These three functions
combine into‘service delivery’. However, some the determinants of health status lie outside the health
care system. These include factors such as state of the economy, level of education of individuals and
infrastructure such as all weather roads.Therefore, the health care system is dependent on a multiplicity
of factors most of which lie outside the system itself.
Reproductive health addresses reproductive processes, functions and systems at all stages of life. This
implies that people are able to have a responsible, satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the
capability of reproducing and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so.

By definition, a system is made up of interrelated parts that interact with each other. As such, no single
indicator or group of indicators, easily capture health system performance. Nevertheless a simple
model, such as the WHO health system building block in Figure 5.2, can be used to examine the health
system, allowing diagnosis of its performance by identifying system strengths and weaknesses (Islam,
2007).
Figure 5.2 Health System Building Block
Source: Adapted from WHO (2000).
The goal/outcomes of the health system — improved health status and equity; responsiveness;
financial risk protection; and improved efficiency — can be used to gauge overall health system
performance. Improved health levels begin with access to health-producing interventions inside and
outside the health sector. Access to health care can be defined as “the ability to secure a specified
range of services at a specified level of quality, subject to a specified maximum level of personal
inconvenience and costs, whilst in the possession of a specified level of information (Goddard and
Smith, 2001).Equity in health care can be framed in terms of horizontal and vertical (Culyer, 2001), with
Figure 5.3 presenting a conceptual framework for the same. An equitable health care policy should
seek to reduce inequality in health (life expectation, self-reported morbidity, quality of life in terms of
personal and social functioning) at every stage of the life cycle.
Figure 5.3 Conceptual Framework for equity in healthcare
Equity in
Healthcare
Equal access for
people in equal need
Equal treatment for
those in equal need
Equal treatment
outcomes for people
in equal need
Source: Boeckxstaens et al. (2011).
Thechapterreviewsthehealthsystemwithspecialreferencetoreproductivehealthusingthesixbuilding
blocks framework. Key policy documents used in this analysis are Kenya national policy documents and
sector strategic plans. To determine performance, a couple of surveys have been reviewed, including
the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), Kenya Service Provision Assessment (KSPA) and
relevant published research papers. The period under review is the last 10 years.

5.2 Policy Background
It is widely accepted that health is a key component to good development, a claim validated by policy
and research (Suanders, 2004). Poor health slows down economic growth directly as societies lose
potential workers and consumers to disease and disability. In Kenya, the Vision 2030 development
blueprint recognizes the role of health in development. Its overall vision is to “create a globally
competitive and prosperous nation with a high quality of life by 2030 that aims to transform Kenya into
a newly industrializing, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030
in a clean and secure environment” (Republic of Kenya, 2008). The Vision is based on three key pillars;
economic, social and political, with the health sector falling under the social pillar.Vision 2030 has three
main objectives for the health sector: 1) Revitalize the health care infrastructure; 2) Strengthen health
care service delivery; and 3) Develop equitable health care financing mechanisms.
Recent health policy reforms can be traced to the Kenya Health Policy Framework (KHPF) of 1994-2010,
whose strategic theme was‘investing in health’(Ministry of Health (MoH), 1994).
The Kenya Health Policy Framework’s six strategic imperatives:
1. Ensure equitable allocation of Government resources to reduce disparities in health status
2. Increase the cost effectiveness and cost efficiency of resource allocation and use
3. Continue to manage population growth
4. Enhance regulatory role of the Government in all aspects of health care provision
5. Create an enabling environment for increased private sector and community involvement in
health service provision and finance
6. Increase and diversify per capita financial flows to the health sector
With an overall goal of restructuring the health sector to make it more effective, affordable and
accessible, KHPF was expected to guide the country towards maximizing its health stock. Besides its
strategic theme of ‘investing in health‘, its overall stated goal was ‘to promote and improve the health
of all Kenyans through the deliberate restructuring of the health sector to make all health services more
effective, accessible and affordable.’
The goal was to be achieved through six strategic imperatives that were operationalized in the first and
second National Health Strategic Plans (NHSSP) I of 1999-2004 (MoH, 1999) and II of 2005–2012 (MoH,
2005). A Health Ministry evaluation of KHPF concluded that “(F)or the most part of the period of the
health policy, there was little impact on overall health in general terms”(MOPHS, 2011).
Based on the Vision 2030, ‘Comprehensive National Health Policy Framework 2011–2030’ has been
developed and its goals include 16 percent improvement in life expectancy at birth, from the current
60 years; 50 percent reduction in deaths, from the current 11 deaths per 1,000 persons; and 25
percent reduction in ill health (years lived with disability) from the current 12 years. Of significance for
reproductive health is that the policy is based on two obligations of health: the human rights based
approach, and health contribution to development.
Thecurrentnationalreproductivehealthpolicy,EnhancingReproductiveHealthStatusforAllKenyans,has
the following goals: increasing equitable access to reproductive health services; improving the quality,
efficiency, and effectiveness of service delivery at all levels; and improving responsiveness to client
needs (MoH, 2007). Reproductive health is deemed an essential priority in the KEPH system, with the
minimum package for sexual and reproductive health and rights being defined as: essential antenatal

and obstetric care; family planning; adolescent reproductive health; and gender-based violence issues.
Out of 363 interventions listed in the KEPH, 104 — about 29 percent — are on reproductive health.
5.3 Reproductive Health Delivery System
Asinmanyotherdevelopingcountries,reproductivehealth(RH)servicesinKenyaaredeliveredthrough
a multi-sectoral approach involving many implementing partners coordinated and supervised by the
Division of Reproductive Health in the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MOH, 2007). There
are two major RH delivery mechanisms and these are the clinic based systems and non-clinic based
delivery systems (which include the community based delivery arrangements) (Miller et al., 1998). The
major provider of RH services in Kenya is the Government through the Ministry of Public Health and
Sanitation: for example, in 2008-2009, more than half of the current family planning (FP) users (57%)
obtained their methods from public facilities, with 36 percent being supplied by private facilities while
six percent obtained supplies from other sources, such as shops (KNBS et al, 2010). Nearly all the 3,807
public health facilities (hospitals, health centres and dispensaries) which are distributed across the
country offer FP/RH services (NCPD et al, 2005, 2010).
A view of the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency
headquarters in Nairobi.
Photo: www.businessdailyafrica.com
A view of the Casualty Department of the Kenyatta
National Hospital, which is the largest referral hospital
in East and Central Africa.
Photo: Photo: www.businessdailyafrica.com
The public health facilities are organized in a pyramidal structure. At the peak of the hierarchy are the
two national referral and teaching hospitals (Kenyatta National Hospital and Moi Teaching and Referral
Hospital), distinguished in the KEPH framework as Level 6 facilities. The national referral hospitals
provide sophisticated diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative services.The equivalent private referral
hospitals are the Nairobi Hospital, Karen Hospital and the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi. In
the next level are the provincial general hospitals (level 5) to which patients are referred by district
hospitals (level 4) in the KEPH framework. The provincial hospitals also provide specialized care and act
as intermediaries between national and district levels. The district hospitals coordinate and supervise
mplementation of the health policy — including FP and RH policies and guidelines – at the district
level. They also maintain quality standards as well as coordinate and control all district health activities
(NCPD et al, 2005). The district hospitals provide health services at the district level and act as referrals
for the health centres (level 3) and dispensaries (level 2). Finally, at the bottom of the KEPH pyramid is
Level 1, the household and community which is the focus of all preventive and promotive health care
interventions, such as behaviour change campaigns.
a) Clinic based delivery of FP& RH services
This is the traditional approach in which FP and other RH services are offered in health facilities (clinics)
by trained service providers. Clinic-based programmes offer the widest range of contraceptive methods

including those that can only be administered by clinical personnel (male and female sterilization; intra-
uterine devices (IUDs) implants; and injectables), as well as the non-clinical methods (the pill; condoms;
spermicides; and diaphragms) (Miller et al, 1998).
In this delivery system the personnel serving the public facilities have received extensive clinical
training as medical doctors, nurses and in some cases midwives. Consequently, they are capable of
doing clinical examinations in the course of providing FP/RH services. In addition to their training as
health professionals, they have also been trained specifically on FP/RH. They also receive in-service
training to upgrade their knowledge and skills as often as necessary, in order to keep them abreast of
new advances in contraceptive technology and new procedures. Generally, these clinicians will have
basic gynaecological equipment, such as FP kits; and in urban areas, they will usually have access to
laboratory facilities (either on the premises or nearby) (Miller et al, 1998). The focus of this is to provide
a wide range of permanent and temporary FP methods.
During the country’s second National Development Plan 1970/1974, the Government decided to
establish an integrated mother and child health (MCH)/FP programme launched in 1975. This was
followedbytheestablishmentofacomprehensiveIntegratedRuralHealthandFamilyPlanningProgram
(IRH/FP) which aimed at promoting more cooperation with the non-Governmental organizations
(NGOs) and introducing new innovative strategies, such as Primary Health Care (PHC), and demand
creation.This shift in policy and strategy led to the establishment of the National Council for Population
and Development (NCPD), with members drawn from the public and private sectors as well as civil
society and religious organizations. The Council was mandated to coordinate the implementation of
the multi-sector FP initiative, and to formulate population policies, mobilise resources and coordinate
donor support for the population programme (Vice President’s Office and Ministry of Home Affairs,
1994).
A woman is served by a nurse inserting an injectable
family planning method, which is one of the popular
contraceptives among women in Kenya.
A sampling of family planning methods.

Since the 1970s, FP services have been provided as part of the MCH/FP programme in most of the public
health facilities, as well as in a few private and faith-based health facilities throughout the country.
The number of facilities have been expanded and upgraded in order to increase supply of FP and RH
services to those who need them. For example, in 2004, there were 4,742 registered health facilities
in the country (NCPD et al, 2005). The number has increased to slightly over 8,326 registered health
facilities in the country in 201220
. In 2010, 85 percent of all health facilities in the country offered some
type of temporary modern FP methods, including counseling services; 95 percent of the public health
facilities and 84 of the private, and 44 percent of the faith based facilities were offering modern FP
services (NCAPD et al., 2011). Public health facilities supply about one-quarter of all modern methods to
current users, including a large proportion of long term methods, such as female sterilization, implants,
and injectables (KNBS et al., 2010). Almost a third of women who are sterilized obtained the procedure
at a private facility, especially mission facilities, private hospitals and clinics (KNBS et al., 2010).
Figure 5.4 shows the distribution of the health facilities by province/region, and the population being
served. It is evident that North Eastern has the lowest density of health facilities, followed by Western,
Rift Valley and Nyanza provinces in that order. Nairobi and Coast provinces have the highest density of
health facilities in the country.
Figure 5.4 The ratio of health facilities to population by province, 2010
Source: Luoma et al 2010
However, despite the expansion in the number of health facilities that provide FP/RH services in the
country, there are still are number of challenges including:
• Inadequate access to FP/RH services. About 75 percent of all the facilities in the country offer
FP/RH services; but these are not evenly distributed with high concentrations in urban areas;
• Very few health facilities offer youth-friendly FP/RH services, meaning the clinic based delivery
system leaves out substantial groups of adolescents and the youth;
• The lower level health facilities usually do not provide permanent FP methods, such as female
and male sterilization, implants and IUD.Yet these are the facilities preferred by the majority for
being near;
• Frequent problem of contraceptive stock out in health facilities;
• Majority of the health facilities in the country (75%) do not have the necessary facilities for
quality counseling on FP methods;
• A low percentage of the facilities (34%) provide routine staff training on FP/RH; and
• Long waiting hours is a common feature of the lower level public health facilities.
20 See www.e-health.or.ke/facilities

b) The Community Based Delivery (CBD)
Community Based Delivery (CBD) programme refers to the non-clinic based delivery approaches that
use community based organization (CBOs), structures and institutions to promote the use of safe and
simple FP methods, such as oral pills, foam tablets and male condoms (Philips et al., 1999; Lewis et al.,
1992). CBD programmes providing FP services and information were started in the 1950s in rural areas
to complement clinic-based services (Foreit and Haifman, 2011). Due to the need to expand access to FP
services, and relying on the success stories of CBD programmes in Asia (Indonesia,Taiwan,Thailand and
Korea) and Zimbabwe, Kenya adopted the CBD strategy in the early 1980s (Lewis et al, 1992; Chege and
Askew, 1997). As in other countries, the Kenyan CBD strategy was based on the premise that making
contraceptives available at convenient locations would increase their acceptability and availability
to those who live far from clinics, and those who may not have time to obtain them at the health
facilities during the normal working hours. Also, it was assumed that enlisting community members
as contraceptive service providers would reduce the social distance usually experienced between FP
clients and medically trained providers (Lewis et al, 1992, Chege and Askew, 1997).
As in other developing countries, the CBD programs in Kenya were implemented through various
models. They included home visits, fixed and mobile CBD posts, workplace based outlets, as well
as one-on-one and group education meetings at which FP commodities were often distributed to
continuing and new clients. The services most commonly offered through CBD include distribution of
contraceptives (oral pills, foaming tablets and condoms), health education (such as FP, reproductive
health and child health), provision of FP information, education and communication (IEC) materials
and referrals for clinic-based services. Some of the first CBD programmes were integrated with existing
health infrastructure and services were provided by incumbent health programme staff as a means
of maintaining efficient service delivery (Philip et al, 1999; Chege and Askew, 1997; Pathfinder Fund
International, 2005).
In the mid 1980s and early 1990s, the Kenyan CBD programme consisting of over 25 different initiatives,
was considered strong (Philips et al., 1999). Assessments done on some CBD programmes in Kenya
indicate that by and large, they led to an increase in FP use (Chege and Askew, 1997; Goldberg et al.,
1989; Pathfinder Fund International, 2005). However, the CBD programmes in Kenya began to decline
in the mid 1990s due to the declining funding for FP from development partners who shifted their
priorities towards HIV and AIDS. The decline has been so dramatic that the 2008-2009 KDHS data
indicated less than one percent of the current users of modern FP methods obtain their supplies/
services through the CBD system (KNBS et al., 2010).
b) Social Marketing of FP Services
The Social Marketing of FP/RH Services is another approach that seeks to increase access to, and
availability of, FP commodities through market-based outlets, such as retail shops and supermarkets
(UNAIDS, 2000). The prices of the commodities are usually subsided and, therefore, controlled.
1. Social Marketing of Condoms
In Kenya, the social marketing of FP commodities started in late 1980s. In 1990, Population Services
International (PSI) Kenya was founded to implement a general social marketing program to support
Government efforts to increase access to, and use of, condoms and other products, such as the use of
mosquito nets to prevent malaria.
With regard to the social marketing of condoms, the initiative involved creating an affordable brand,
establishing a distribution system and generating demand through media campaigns. A key focus was

to increase accessibility in rural and urban outlets by getting more retail outlets to sell a packet of three
Trust Condoms at ten (10) Kenya Shillings. The focus was also obviously on the reduction of HIV and
STI incidences, the prevention of pregnancy and minimization of the embarrassment associated with
condom purchase. The subsidized Trust Condoms are available in retail outlets across the country.
2. Clinic Social Franchising/Marketing
Clinic social franchising is being spearheaded by PSI through the TUNZA programme, a clinic-based
social franchise which was launched in 2010 with the purpose of engaging private health providers
and empowering low income Kenyan women to avoid unplanned pregnancies through access to high
quality FP services (Tunza Health Network/PSI/Kenya, 2010).
The Tunza programme engaged private health providers to offer high quality FP and other RH services.
Tunza clinics provide FP services with an emphasis on the long-term reversible methods, such as the
IUD and sub-dermal implants. PSI Kenya provides the FP commodities at highly subsidized prices to the
providers who are then required to offer affordable and quality services to their clients.These providers
have established a network called Tunza Family Health Network, which is composed of 261 private
health practitioners in Kenya as of 2012.
5.4 Financing of FP/ RH Services
In Kenya, the FP/RH services within the health system are financed through a mix of public, private, and
donor resources. The public funding is through budget allocations to the Ministry of Public Health and
Sanitation and Ministry of Medical Services21
.
a) Government Funding
Before 2008, there was only one ministry responsible for health in Kenya. Table 5.1 shows the Ministry
of Health’s (MoH) budget allocations during the financial years (FY) 2003/2004 to FY 2007/2008 period.
It is evident from the table that total health budget increased during this period, but the MoH share
of Government spending has fluctuated. Since the fnancial year 2003/2004, MoH’s share has been
less than half of the recommended Abuja Declaration’s goal of ring-fencing 15 percent of all public
spending for health22
, never rising above 10 percent share of total public spending. This failure over
the Abuja commitment underscores the political weakness of the (Kenyan) health sector’s lobby in
capturing public resources (Cieza and Holma, 2009).
Similarly, the rate of per capita spending falls far below WHO’s recommended rate of US$34 per person
in 2007. Although Kenya’s per capita spending rose between financial years 2005/2006 and 2007/2008,
it remained only 40 percent of WHO’s recommended rate. Recurrent expenditures have captured
the largest share of the health budget, although that share has decreased throughout the financial
year 2003/2004 to 2007/2008 period, falling from a high of 94 percent of the budget in financial year
2003/2004 to a low of 70 percent in financial year 2007/2008.
21 From May 2013, the two ministries have been re-merged into a single Ministry of Health in line with the Constitution’s objective of minimizing Government
ministries.
22 See http://www.who.int/tb/features_archive/commission_for_africa/en/index2.html

Table 5.1 Trends in Kenya’s Health Budget, Financial Year 2003/2004 to 2007/2008
Item 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08
Total Gross Health Budget
(Constant 2007/2008 US $Million) 317 332 385 437 543
MOH Health Share of GOK Budget (%) 7 6.1 5.7 7,6 6.4
MOH Health Expenditure per capita
(Constant 2007/2008 US$)
9.4 9.6 10.8 11.9 15.6
Preventive/Promotive Health (FP/RH) 5 9 8 10 20
Recurrent Expenditure’s share of the
Health Budget (percent)
94 91 86 78 70
Source: Cieza and Holm (2010)
In 2008, the MoH was split into two ministries, namely Ministry of Medical Services (MOMS) and Ministry
of Public Health and Sanitation (MoPHS). In 2008/2009 the Government allocated 6.7 percent of the
national budget to the combined ministries of health, which rose in financial year 2009/2010 to a seven
percent share (Kshs39.9 billion), equivalent to 1.7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). MOMS
took 59.5 percent of the allocation while MoPHS took 40.5 percent. Within MoPHS, only 12.7 percent
was allocated to Preventive and Promotive Health Care (which includes FP/RH) (Cieza and Holm, 2009).
As shown in the Figure 5.5, RH accounted only for 14 percent of the total health expenditure on priority
areas.
Figure 5.5 Percentage distribution of total health expenditure according to priority areas,
Kenya
Source: Cieza and Holm (2009) Donor Funding
Development partners (donors) have been supporting FP/RH since independence. Historically, the
development partners have provided funds for procurement of all contraceptive commodities in Kenya
and supported the CBD programmes in the country. For instance, the financial year 2009/2010 Printed
Estimates show that MoMS and MoPHS combined were to receive Kshs 7.1 billion from development
partners, with each respectively getting Kshs 3.8 billion and Kshs 3.2. The MOPHS share supported the
upgrading and strengthening of rural health centres and dispensaries as well as environmental, FP and
maternal and child care programmes (MoMS and MoPHS, 2010; Cieza and Holm, 2009).
The majority of FP/RH costs are borne by the Government and donors. Donors fund nearly all the
procurement costs of all contraceptive commodities except condoms, including all contraceptives
provided by NGOs. However, 75 to 80 percent of the total FP service delivery-related costs are met

by the Government through provision of personnel, facilities and other infrastructure and support
activities (Policy Project, 2005). In the recent past, the Government has increased its financial obligation
to FP through an inclusion of a specific budget item in the annual budget.
b) Cost-sharing
As part of the response to declining public sector resources since the 1980s, the Government has been
implementing a“cost-sharing”programme in the health sector, under which fees are charged to service
recipients to cover part of the costs. In its new National Condom Policy and Strategy (RoK/NACC, 2001),
for instance, the Government has made the long-term commitment to gradually introduce fees for all
public sector health services, including FP, in an effort to shore up the health system and expand access
(MoH, 2001). At the same time, the Government is committed to the effective application of a system
of waivers and exemptions from fees for poor clients and other designated groups (e.g., youth, persons
living with HIV and AIDS)23
.
According to the MOH fee guidelines, MCH/FP and antenatal and postnatal services are to be provided
for free. In practice, however, the District Health Management Boards (DHMBs) have directed public
health facilities to put in place an “access fee” for FP/RH services. However, these charges are very
modest, usually about Ksh 20 for all the services provided.
The 2008-2009 KDHS established that about 20 percent of women using a modern contraceptive
method received the method free of charge. The 2008-2009 KDHS data also showed that 28 percent
of the women who obtained their contraceptive methods from the public sector (Government health
facilities) did not pay for the service. This figure compares with eight percent who obtained their
methods in the private sector (KNBS et al, 2010).
c) Results/Output-based Financing (RBF) Programmes
Results Based Financing (RFB) is a‘strategy for using explicit results or performance based subsidies to
supportthedeliveryofbasicserviceswherepolicyconcernswouldjustifypublicfundingtocomplement
or replace user-fees (GPOBA, 2009). In RH, the results or output based financing programmes aim to
address hurdles on both the supply and demand sides of factors affecting the use of FP and other RH
services by incentivizing provision of a variety of quality services, while removing barriers to access for
women in need of those services. Incentives in RBF programmes can come in a variety of forms like
subsidies or fees paid to clinics and vouchers sold to women (Morgan, 2012).
In Kenya, the RBF programme was started in 2005 when the Government and the Federal Republic of
Germany (through the KfW banking group) entered into an agreement to fund a safe motherhood,
FP, and gender violence recovery using a voucher system24
. The MoPHS-led project was initially
implemented on a pilot bases for three years and targeted economically disadvantaged people in
three rural districts (Kisumu, Kiambu and Kitui), as well as two urban slums in Nairobi (Korogocho and
Viwandani). In 2012, however, it was scaled up to include Uasin Gishu District.
In Kenya, utilization of assisted deliveries and FP increased at contracted clinics after the voucher
programme was implemented. Between 2006 and 2011, 96,000 deliveries were performed in the
contracted clinics and 27,000 long-term FP users were serviced at the same clinics (Morgan, 2012; KFW,
2012).
23 A waiver is a release from payment based on financial hardship and is not automatic. Clients must request waivers and a judgment is made to determine the
deserving cases. An exemption is an automatic excuse from payment based on MOH conditions.
24 See www.output-based-aid.net/e012

In summary, Government furnishes the bulk of FP commodity acquisition and offers such commodities
to both public and non-public providers. In addition, social marketers, such as PSI, also provide
some commodity supply to non-public providers. This arrangement has grown from the inability of
Government to mobilize enough timely financial resources to fund procurement of commodities, even
though the relevant Government coordinating mechanisms to ensure availability of RH commodities
have been set up. Part of the budgetary gap is supplemented by other agencies such as UNFPA, USAID,
World Bank, DFID and KfW (MoPHS and MoMS, 2012).
From an equity perspective, inadequate public contraceptive commodity security exacerbates the
high regional and socio economic disparities in FP/RH access25
. Low participation of the private
sector in FP service delivery also provides additional challenges. The proposed National Social Health
Insurance Fund (NSHIF) scheme is meant to finance curative and rehabilitative services, thus leaving
the Government health system to concentrate on prevention, research and policy (Republic of Kenya,
2008). However, this shift has implications: health insurance is traditionally better at paying for curative
care than preventive services. The private sector is also better at accessing insurance funds compared
to public sector. A shift of financing has potential to reduce funding to public sector and in turn worsen
commodity security (see Table 5.1 in the appendix to this chapter)
.
5.5 Health Workforce
Quality service delivery depends on having sufficient numbers of well-trained health workers providing
servicesinallhealthfacilities.Kenyahasarelativelyhighnumberofhealthworkersascomparedtoother
countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region, with a rate of 1.69 health workers per 1,000 populations
(Louma et al., 2010). However, there are shortages of some critical health workers, especially when the
distribution of workers by urban/rural areas, regions and level of care, is taken into account (Louma et
al., 2010). Table 5.5 below provides a breakdown of health workers by type in 2009. The total number
of registered medical personnel increased by 4.7 percent from 76,883 in 2008 to 80,464 in 2009 (see
Table 5.2).
Table 5.2 Number of registered medical personnel and personnel in training, 2008 and 2009
2008 2008 2009 2009
Type of personnel No. No. per 100,000
population
No. No. per 100,000
population
Doctors 6,693 17 6,897 17
Dentists 974 3 1,004 3
Pharmacists 2,860 7 2,921 7
Pharmaceutical Technologists 1,815 5 1,950 5
B.Sc. Nurses 657 2 778 2
Registered Nurses 14,073 37 15,948 40
Enrolled Nurses 31,817 83 31,917 81
Clinical Officers 5,035 13 5,888 15
Public Health officers 6,960 18 7,192 18
Public Health Technician 5,969 16 5,969 15
Total 76,883 80,464
Source: NACPD et al 2010.
Other than the total and newly trained numbers, key factors in human resources are the distribution
and attrition rate of all health workers. The geographical distribution is reflected in the distribution of
25 Regional Disparity: for example; CPR in Central region is 63 percent while in North Eastern it is only 4 percent. (RH commodity strategy 2013-2017

healthfacilitiesacrossthecountry.Distributionbyfacilityownershipshowsthatmosthealthworkersare
found in the non-Government sector. Certain cadres are hardly found in the public sector. For example
only 25 percent of doctors are found in the public sector while for pharmacists and pharmaceutical
technologists, it is just 13 percent.
Healthworkersattritionratesfrom2004to2005weresimilaracrosstypeofhealthfacility,withprovincial
general hospitals losing on average four percent of their health workers, compared to three percent for
district hospitals and five percent for health centres (Louma et al., 2010). However, there are differences
in the patterns of attrition rates by cadre. Attrition among doctors and registered nurses was much
higher at the provincial hospitals than at district hospitals or health centres, whereas the opposite
pattern was observed for laboratory and pharmacy staff (lost at a higher rate in lower-level facilities).
The major causes of attrition are death and resignation. Figure 5.6 illustrates the age-structure of health
personnel, and shows that we can expect the attrition rate for nurses, health managers and community
health workers to accelerate in the coming years as they have a significant portion aged above 51 years.
Figure 5.6: Health Workers by Age-group and Cadre
Source: Louma et al, 2010
5.6 Migration of Health Workers
The migration of health-care workers has closely followed general trends in international migration.
However, health workers likely fall into a special category because many possess sets of skills and
competencies that are so specialized or in such short supply, that they are being sourced globally
(Stilwell et al., 2004). Loss of skilled health professionals from care systems in poorer countries weakens
the countries supply of care considerably. Against the immediate shortages resulting from staff flight,
the long lead times required for training to qualify for many specialized roles in health services can
mean that the loss of even small numbers of health professionals cannot be compensated for in a
short time. The total cost of educating a single medical doctor from primary school to university is
US$65,997; and for every doctor who emigrates, Kenya loses about US$517,931 worth of returns from
investment in their education (Kirigia et al., 2006). The corresponding figures for a nurse are US$43,180
and US$338,868 respectively.
However, a possible silver lining is the economic slow down of developed country economies. An
analysis by‘The Economist’finds that over the ten years to 2010, six of the world’s ten fastest-growing
economies were in sub-Saharan Africa. The IMF forecasts that Africa will occupy seven of the top ten
places in terms of economic growth over the next five years to 201826
. In addition, rationalization of
26 Africa’s impressive growth: http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart /2011 /01/daily_chart, [accessed 20th February 2013]

medical staff following the new Government’s restructuring may reduce existing geographical staffing
disparities.
5.7 Health Information
Reliable and timely health information is an essential foundation of public health action and health
systems strengthening (Aqil et al, 2009). Kenya has relatively good data on health service delivery.
The Health Management Information System (HMIS) monitors health care use. At community and
household levels, community health workers collect some data on the basis of the community health
strategy (Otieno et al., 2012). While data is collected from the facility level up to the district level,
collation and analysis is still relatively poor partially because collection is poor. A study in two rural
district hospitals in western Kenya found that data for the number of antenatal consultations and the
use of human immunodeficiency virus drugs were at least 50 percent incomplete for both facilities
(Chiba et al., 2012). In addition data categories in the registers did not correspond well with those of
monthly reports.
While an online open source district health information system (DHIS) database was launched in
2012, it is still relatively unused. Reports derived from facility HMIS is often incomplete and inaccurate.
However, statistics at the national level report total annual outpatient visits of about 20 million, which
measured against the national population of over 40 million, indicates use of health services is still low
at about 0.5 per person per year27
.
There are regular surveys — Demographic Health Surveys, Service Provision Assessments, Client
Satisfaction Surveys, Household Health Expenditure Surveys, amongst others — that feed into the
health sector’s Annual Operational Plans and reviews especially at national level.
Two indicators that are used to gauge health system performance are; FP gauged by modern
contraceptive prevalence rate and RH reflected in the unmet need for family planning. Between KDHS
2003 and that 2008-2009, use of contraception rose from 39 percent to 46 percent (KNBS and ICF Macro,
2010).
Among recent improvements in the country’s health information systems has been the development of
the Master Facility List (MFL), which aims to identify every health facility in the country using a unique
identifier code. For each facility, the list provides information on the GIS coordinates of facility level
(1 through 6), services offered, facility ownership, and location28
. Gradual reforms outlined in the two
Health Sector Strategic Plans, District Health Management Boards and District Health Management
Teams (DHMTs) have allowed MFL to take on responsibilities for facility-level data operations within
their districts (Ndavi et al., 2009). Despite these efforts to improve on data needed for decision-making
and planning, actual use of such data remains relatively weak.
5.8 Unmet Need For Family Planning
The 1994 ICPD deemed access to safe and effective contraceptive methods a fundamental human
right. Women with unmet FP need are defined as those who are fecund and sexually active but are not
using any method of contraception, and report not wanting any more children or wanting to delay the
birth of their next child. Unmet need for FP among married women in Kenya has remained high and
unchanged since 2003. For married women in 2008, unmet need was evenly split between women who
want to wait two or more years before having their next child (spacers), and those who want no more
children (limiters).
27 The minimum demand should be 1 visit per person per annum, while an adequate demand should be 1.9 per person per annum
28 http://www.ehealth.or.ke/facilities/downloads.aspx

Table 5.7 Unmet need for FP in Kenya 1998-2008
Year Category of Women
% Women
Limiting Spacing Total
1998 Married women 9.9 14.0 23.9
2003 Married women 10.1 14.4 24.5
Unmarried women 0.8 1.9 2.7
All women 6.4 9.4 15.8
2008 Married women 12.8 12.8 25.6
Unmarried women 0.9 2.2 3.2
All women 7.8 8.4 16.3
Sources: KDHS (998, 2003, 2008/9)
As a result of this high unmet FP need, more than one million unplanned pregnancies occur in Kenya
every year (NACPD et al., 2010). Unmet FP need has stagnated at about 24 percent with the poorer
women being more disadvantaged (Republic of Kenya, 2012). This has been largely due to inadequate
service provision and poor access to FP commodities and the lack of support for contraceptive security.
The national reproductive health policy cites possible factors contributing to the stagnation as: wide
regional and socio-economic disparities in CPR29
; lack of security for contraceptive commodities; lack
of sustained demand creation for FP services; relatively low community and private sector participation
in FP service provision, and low involvement of males; method mix that does not permit wide method
choice and cost-effectiveness; inadequate FP training for service providers; and low level of integration
of FP with HIV and AIDS services.
In terms of demand creation, the contraceptive knowledge in Kenya is universal at 97 percent. There
is no notable variation in knowledge of husbands or partners of the use of FP methods by age or
residence. However, knowledge does increase gradually with the education and wealth quintile of the
woman. Less than twenty percent of the spouses believe that contraception is women’s business only,
while 4 in 10 men believe that women who use FP may become promiscuous. The 2008/2009 KDHS
reports that 80 percent of non-users of FP have recently discussed about contraception with a health
worker. Facility-wise, the 2010 KSPA shows that 85 percent of all health care facilities provide modern
FP methods; but just nine percent of all facilities offer female sterilization, according to the 2010 KSPA
survey.
Figure 5.7 Temporary Methods of FP Provided and Availability of Method on Day of Visit
Source: NCAPD et al 2010
29 For example, CPR in Central region is 63 percent while in North Eastern it is only 4 percent.

The majority of facilities offer these services on five or more days per week, but there is significant
difference geographically. Fewer facilities in North Eastern province (67%) and Nairobi province (68%)
were likely to offer modern FP methods compared to over 90 percent of all facilities in Western, Nyanza
and Rift Valley provinces. In addition there is some difference in by facility managing authority.
Figure 5.8 Percent of Facilities offering temporary modern methods of FP by Managing Authority
KSPA 2010 showed that accessibility was not a major deterrent to use as 15 percent of respondents said
the facility they attended was not the nearest to their residence. Reputation and cost were the main
reasons why they did not visit the nearest facility to them for FP services. In terms of quality of services,
a quarter of the clients reported waiting time to see a provider as a major problem. However, the lack
of contraceptive methods and medicines was not a major concern. Regular supportive supervision is
important in ensuring the quality of services, with at least 81 percent of facilities offering FP reporting
having had a supervisory visit in the preceding six months. Cost wise, 70 percent of the clients reported
paying some user fee, with a median payment of Kshs3030
. Three quarters of the facilities charge some
user fee mainly for laboratory tests which may act as a barrier given high poverty levels.
The RH commodity strategy of 2012-2017 indicates that method mix is not expected to change
significantly between 2011 and 2017. Female condom is expected to contribute 0.5 percent of methods
used in 2017 up from zero in 2011. Pills are expected to decline by 0.1 percent from 16.6 percent in 2011
to 16.5 percent in 2017, and vasectomy by 0.3 percent to zero in 2017.
The National Reproductive Health Policy (2007) recognizes that continued unmet RH need among HIV
infected persons remains a challenge. Slightly over half of women who are HIV positive have unmet FP
need.
5.9 Emergency Obstetric Care
Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality
among Kenyan women. Recent estimates suggest that there are 488 maternal deaths per 100,000 live
births (KNBS and ICF Macro, 2010). Over the past 20 years there has been no change in the maternal
mortality figures with actual number of deaths increasing due to increasing population (Figure 5.9).
30 One US dollar approximately 85 Kenya shillings

Figure 5.9 Maternal Mortality Ratio in Kenya 1993-2008
Source: KNBS and ICF Macro (2010).
However, significant geographical differences exist in maternal mortality. For example in 2009,
the highest facility maternal mortality ratio31
was experienced in North Eastern Province (703 per
100,000 live births), followed by Coast Province (428 per 100,000 live births), while the lowest was in
Central Province (122 per 100,000 live births). Overall, the leading five causes of maternal deaths are
haemorrhage (44%), obstructed labour (34%), eclampsia (13%), sepsis (6%) and ruptured uterus (3%).
Figure 5.10 Causes of Maternal Death in Kenya
In an effort to reduce maternal mortality, the policy on pregnancy and childbirth as outlined in NHSSP
II requires that all women attend antenatal clinics during pregnancy and deliver under the care of
a skilled birth attendant. During these visits, pregnant women are given care with emphasis on the
woman’s overall health, preparation for childbirth and readiness for complications.The aim of antenatal
care is to achieve a good outcome for mother and the baby, and to prevent any complications that may
occur in pregnancy, labour, delivery and post partum (MoH, 2007).
Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) refers to care provided in health facilities to manage and treat the
direct obstetric emergencies that cause the vast majority of maternal deaths during pregnancy, labour,
delivery and the postpartum period. Facilities are considered EmOC facilities if they provide a series
of services or interventions known as ‘signal functions’ over a designated three-month period. The six
signal functions include parenteral administration of antibiotics, oxytocic drugs and anticonvulsants,
manual removal of the placenta, removal of retained products of conception and assisted vaginal
delivery. Overall, only three percent of the facilities offering deliveries had performed all the six basic
31 Facility maternal mortality differs from the maternal mortality rates obtained from household surveys as indicated in the next chapter because of omissions
of deaths.

signal functions three months prior to the KSPA 2010 survey.
Whereas the majority of health facilities offer antenatal care (Table 5.8), it is important to note that
79 percent of dispensaries and 17 percent of health centres do not offer normal delivery services.
Hospitals remain the facilities best equipped to offer both normal delivery services across the country.
Even then, Caesarean Section services are available in only half of Kenyan hospitals and just 30 percent
of maternity designated facilities.
Table 5.8 Facilities Offering Maternal Health Services
Type of Facility ANC Normal Delivery Service Caesarean
Hospital 94 95 52
Health Centre 99 83 1
Maternity 93 85 30
Clinic 41 4 0
Dispensary 84 21 0
Nairobi has the highest proportion of facilities capable of providing any Caesarean Section deliveries.
All the other provinces range from three to six percent of the facilities being able to conduct Caesarean
sections (see Table 5.9). Post-natal care is available in 59 percent of all facilities.
Table 5.9 Availability of Maternal Services
Province ANC Normal Delivery Service Caesarean
Nairobi 79 32 13
Central 56 13 4
Coast 70 27 4
Eastern 71 30 3
North-eastern 69 44 4
Nyanza 94 52 5
Rift Valley 74 27 4
Western 94 47 6
According to the 2008-2009 KDHS, just 43 per-cent of births occurred in a health facility, a rate no
different from the 40 percent rate of 2003. Women in North Eastern and Western provinces are least
likely to deliver in a health facility (25% and less) compared to more than 70 percent in Central and
Nairobi provinces. The most common reason women gave for delivering at home was that it was due
to the long distance to the facility, or lack of transport. On average in 2008, 44 per-cent of the births
were delivered with the assistance of a skilled provider, while traditional birth attendants delivered 28
percent of the mothers.
This low level of use of health facilities for delivery may be a reflection of the quality of service available.
According to the KSPA 2010, only half of all delivery facilities had the items needed to handle common
obstetric complications. These included medicines, syringes and needles, intravenous (IV) fluids and
suture materials. Private and faith based organisation-managed facilities were more likely to have
these supplies present. Post delivery, 53 percent of women do not receive any postnatal care, the share
decreasing with increasing levels of education. Similarly, mothers in the lowest wealth quintile are twice
as likely not to utilize postnatal care services as are women in the highest wealth quintile (Figure 5.11).

Figure 5.11 Percent of Patients Attending a Postnatal Check Up
5.10 Obstetric Fistula
Obstetric fistula is a problem in the developing countries, but is almost non-existent in the developed
world. About 90 percent of all fistulas occur in Africa. WHO estimates that between 50,000-100,000
women are affected annually with a higher number being in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
(Hinrichsen, 2004). In Kenya, it is estimated that 3,000 women develop fistula annually, and that there is
a backlog of between 30-50,000 cases (MoH, 2004). Rural women are more likely to develop fistula due
to less access to obstetric care, low socio-economic status, and early childbearing.
A high proportion of genito-urinary fistulas have an obstetric origin. Close to 80 percent of cases result
fromneglectedprolongedobstructedlabour(McFaddenetal.,2011).Thisiscompoundedbyinadequate
availability of emergency obstetric care, poverty, malnutrition, low literacy, low socio-economic status,
gender inequality, adolescent pregnancies as result of early marriages, lack of awareness and low access
tofamilyplanning.Themajorityofthemgotthefistulasintheirfirstpregnancyandatayoungageofless
than 30 years. When obstetric fistula occurs, there is an abnormal communication between the vagina
and the bladder, or the rectum, or across all three openings. Vesico-vaginal fistulas (communication
between the vagina and bladder) are more common than recto-vaginal (communication between
rectum and the vagina) fistulas. Non-obstetric causes of fistula are due to lacerations and sexual trauma
in times of war and civil strife. Most of the cases due to sexual trauma are not being reported. Though
obstetric fistula is rare in developed countries, some of its causes include cervical cancer, radiation
therapy and injuries sustained during surgery. The result is uncontrolled passage of urine or faeces
from the bladder or rectum into the vagina. Patients often have serious physical, mental and social ill
health as a result.
Kenya has about 10 trained fistula surgeons, of whom only four (one retired) are considered sufficiently
expert to handle complicated cases and train others, with three of the experts being based in Nairobi.
Kenya has only 22 facilities where fistula repair occurs, and compare poorly with other countries in the
region (Figure 5.12).

Figure 5.12 A country comparison of number of facilities offering Fistula Repair
Source: http://www.globalfistulamap.org/
Obstetric fistula complications arise as a result of lack of access to quality healthcare system. Kenyan
healthcare system still has major problems with providing access to care especially for those who
are disadvantaged. Much of the investment in management of fistulas has come from a non-profit
organization — AMREF. Consequently, obstetric fistula will not cease to be a public health problem
until Government investment is elevated.
5.11 Challenges and opportunities, conclusions
The major challenges faced by the health system in delivery of sexual and reproductive health.
• Overall, there is a lack of investment in systems development. Government expenditure in
healthcare has remained flat despite the growing economy and growing demand for health
care. Meanwhile, donors generally do not provide for infrastructure or systems development as
suggested by WHO, meaning that is an area which lags behind.
• Current national policy calls for social health insurance as the primary way of financing health
care. However, there is still a lack of a substantive health financing strategy. While social health
insurance has the potential to increase investment in healthcare, the downside is that it is
complex and potentially can leave out the poor and informal sector.
• Weak accountability manifested by poor monitoring and evaluation systems means inefficient
health service delivery.
• Inequity in service provision affects particularly the poor, the informal sector, and consequently,
women and their reproductive health needs.
• Inadequate investment in logistical systems has resulted in a weak commodity supply chain.
• The county system offers potential to focus on the areas that most need investment. However,
there will be significant challenges in devolving health policies and strategies in a decentralized
possible fragmenting system of healthcare.

Appendix 5.1: The shift to SHI, what are the implications
Advantage Disadvantage
Reduce the risk fragmentation and
segmentation presented by multiple pools
National scheme complex and expensive to
manage. It involves many different players, complex
interactions, and complicated tasks. Therefore
administrative costs are higher than in national
health service schemes.
Easy and effective way to raise resources to
improve health
Social health insurance can generate excess demand
for health services, because the costs of the services
are heavily subsidized ( moral hazard)
Citizens may be more willing to pay their
contributions because the destination of the
money is visible, specific, and related to a
vital need
Social security contributions may increase labour
costs and, in turn, lead to higher unemployment
Systems financed through earmarked payroll
taxes are less subject to yearly budgetary
negotiations than funds coming from general
taxation
Contributions alone may not generate sufficient
resources, especially if policy makers wish to cover
more of the population than those who have
contributed through payroll contributions. Indeed,
the unemployed, the retired, students, and the poor
also need coverage
Social health insurance systems usually are
highly redistributive, with cross-subsidies
from rich to poor , from high-risk to low-risk
participants
Poorer segments of the population (most informal
sector workers, unemployed people) often excluded
Difficult and expensive to add informal sector
workers to the covered population

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CHAPTER 6: OVERALL, INFANT, CHILD AND MATERNAL MORTALITY
6.1 Introduction
As an indicator of general mortality, life expectancy at birth for the world population rose from 48 years
in the period 1950-1955 to 68 years during the 2005-2010 period. However, wide disparities remain
across and within countries and regions (UN, 2012).
Childhood mortality is one of the indicators of a country’s socio-economic well-being, as well as of
the quality of its medical services in general, and its public health services in particular. An increase
in childhood mortality is, therefore, not only undesirable, but is an indicator of a decline in general
living standards. Thus, infant and under-five mortality rates are useful indicators for assessing progress
in overall national development, as well as ability of a country’s health care system. The World Health
Organization (WHO) estimates that annual deaths among children aged under-five world-wide have
declined from 12 million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010 (WHO and UNICEF, 2012).
The importance of child health, and the subsequent desire to improve child survival, has been a subject
of numerous conferences. The International Conference on Primary Health Care (PHC) held in Alma
Ata in 1978 was the first to address the measures to be undertaken in order to reduce child mortality
through worldwide systematic PHC development. Further, the Plan of Action adopted by the World
Summit for Children in 1990 in New York, incorporated specific targets for the reduction of infant and
under-five mortality. The latest being the Millennium Summit of 2000, one of whose eight Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) specifically addresses the reduction of child mortality (MDG 4).
Similarly, efforts to reduce maternal deaths have for decades been a focal point of international
agreements and a priority for women’s rights and health groups throughout the world. Such
agreements include the very same ones that have been concerned with child survival, including: Alma
Ata Declaration (1978), the International Conference on Population and Development (1994), the Beijing
World Conference on Women (1995), and the Millennium Development Goals (2000). The inclusion of
maternal health as one of the Goals — MDG 5.A — has increased its visibility on the world agenda.
CARMMAwaslaunchedin2010inKenyabythethenMinisterforGender,ChildrenandSocialDevelopment,Hon,Esther
Murugi (center). Looking on was the then Minister for Public Health and Sanitation Hon. Beth Mugo (left) and the then
Assistant Minister for Housing Hon. Margaret Wanjiru (right).

This chapter describes progress over overall, infant, child, and maternal mortality in Kenya with a view to
assessing the road map to achieving MDGs 4 and 5. The chapter focuses on levels, trends and patterns
within the country and comparisons with selected countries.
6.1.1 Rationale
MDG 4 calls for a two-thirds reduction in the mortality rate among children under age five between
1990 and 2015, while MDG 5 targets a reduction by three-quarters in the maternal mortality rate in the
same period. In order to achieve these targets, accurate and timely estimates of infant, under-five and
maternal mortality rates are required to assist countries set priorities, design interventions and monitor
progress. With over a decade since the adoption of the MDGs, an assessment is necessary of how much
progress has been made towards their achievement in general, but specifically for this chapter, towards
the achievement of MDGs 4 and 5.
6.1.2 Data and Methods
While a considerable amount of data on infant and child mortality in Kenya is readily available, this
is still inadequate for generating annual process indicators, such as birth and death rates, required
for continuous monitoring of these events. Vital registration systems are the preferred data source on
infant and under-five mortality because they collect information continuously and cover the entire
population; yet, for Kenya, they are currently inaccurate, incomplete and untimely for this purpose.
As a result, most information on infant and child mortality is collected retrospectively from mothers
through a census or household survey. National censuses have the advantage of covering the entire
population, but are normally conducted at intervals – 10 years for Kenya – and collect limited data in
scope and depth. Thus, household surveys, such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and
Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), have become the primary source of data on infant and child
mortality in developing countries such as Kenya.
Surveys like DHS and MICs, cover nationally representative samples and are generally conducted every
three to five years. They collect detailed birth histories, as well as information on socio-economic and
other variables that help target programmes to reduce child mortality. Among the two approaches
for calculating infant and under-five mortality rates, the direct method requires each child’s date of
birth, survival status, and date of, or age at, death. This information can come from vital registration
statistics, or household surveys that collect complete birth histories. The indirect method requires less
detailed information that is typically available from censuses and general household surveys, including
the total number of children a woman has ever borne, the number who survive, and the woman’s age
(or the number of years since she first gave birth). However, indirect methods require model life tables
to adjust the data for the age pattern of mortality in the general population. Finding an appropriate
model life table can be challenging since the Coale and Demeny model life tables were derived largely
from the European experience. In the 2010 round of censuses, a direct question on recent deaths in
the household was included, which facilitated the direct estimation of childhood mortality, as well as
maternal mortality.
With regard to maternal mortality, apart from hospital-based data (which has selectivity bias), the
estimates presented in this chapter are derived from household surveys, and more recently from the
census (deaths in the household in the last 12 months related to pregnancy and child birth). These
sources were supplemented with estimates derived from the Inter-Agency Group (IAG) (WHO, World
Bank, UNICEF and UNFPA, 2012).

6.2 Overall Mortality
A useful measure of overall mortality in a population is the expectation of life, which summarizes the
mortality situation that prevails across all age groups, from children to youth, adults and the elderly.
There has been a steady increase in expectation of life over the decades in Kenya, which has been
attributed to improved nutrition, better hygiene, access to safe drinking water, effective birth control
and immunization, and other medical interventions (Clark, 1990). Expectation of life at birth is closely
associated with the level of infant mortality, with the former declining with rising infant mortality. In
Kenya, as in other countries, there are differentials in the expectation of life at birth between males and
females. Whereas expectation of life at birth has increased over the years, the female life expectancy
reached a plateau since 1989, while that of the males dipped to 1999 before increasing to 2009 (see
Figure 6.1).
Figure 6.1 Expectation of life at birth by sex, Kenya, 1969-2009
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
1969 1979 1989 1999 2009
Expectationoflifeatbirth
Male Female
Source: Various Census Reports, Kenya 1969-2009
6.3 Infant and Childhood Mortality
Infant mortality refers to the death of children born alive before their first birthday, while childhood
mortalityisthedeathofchildrenagedunderfiveyears.Highmortalityamongchildrenremainsaserious
public health concern in many developing countries, including Kenya.The country started experiencing
declinesinchildhoodmortalityinthelate1940s(HillandHill,1988;Hill,1992),whichcontinuedthrough
most of the 1970s and 1980s (Ewbank et al., 1986; Brass, 1993; Hill et al., 2001). However, data from the
1998 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) showed that there was a reversal in childhood
mortality trends in the 1990s, when Kenya experienced adverse social and economic conditions that
had began in the late 1980s. These adversities included declines in employment opportunities as a
result of structural adjustment programmes (Rono, 2002). This also coincided with the onset of HIV and
AIDS (Garenne and Gakusi, 2005). Other notable factors that have been cited for the reversals include
increased poverty, childhood malnutrition, decreased childhood immunization coverage, low use of
skilled attendance at delivery, and the inability of the health care system to provide adequate services
(Ikamari, 2004). Data from the 2003 KDHS confirmed the upward trends both in the infant and under-
five mortality rates (CBS and ICF Macro, 2004), while the 2008/2009 showed a decline in under-five
mortality rate of 35 percent (KNBS and ICF Macro, 2010). Trends in infant and under-5 mortality rates
are illustrated in Table 6.1 and Figure 6.2.

Table 6.1 Infant and Childhood Mortality, Kenya, 1969 to 2008/2009
Mortality
Indicator
Population Census Kenya Demographic & Health Survey
1969 1979 1989 1999 2009 1989 1993 1998 2003 2008/09
IMR 119 88 66 77 54 60 62 71 77 52
U5MR 190 157 125 116 79 89 93 105 115 74
Source: Various census and KDHS reports
The results in Table 6.1 show a consistent decline in both infant and childhood mortality in the
country over the years. The results for the 2009 census and 2008-2009 KDHS are quite comparable
at the aggregate level. The census results indicate that there has been a consistent decline in under-
five mortality between 1989 and 2009. The changes over time show that the highest decline occurred
between 1979 and 1989 where under-five mortality decreased by 20 percent. However, a comparison
between the mortality rate for the 2009 census and that of 1999 census should be treated with caution
because of the differences in the methodologies employed: the 1999 estimates are based on indirect
techniques, whereas the 2009 estimates are based on direct techniques.
There are marked differentials in 2008/2009 infant mortality rates (IMR) and under-five mortality rates
(U5MR) by regions, as depicted in Figure 6.2. Nyanza, Western and Coast provinces exhibited higher
levels of U5MR, compared to those in Rift Valley, Eastern, and Central provinces. Levels of IMR by region
depicted a similar pattern to that for U5MR, with the higher mortality provinces also being malaria
endemic.
Figure 6.2 Infant and Under-Five Mortality Rates by Region, 2008-2009 KDHS
60
42
71
39
57
95
48
6564
51
87
52
80
59
121
149
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Nairobi Central Coast Eastern North
Eastern
Nyanza Rift Valley Western
MortalityRate
IMR U5MR
Source: 2008-2009 KDHS
Analytical results from the 2009 Kenya population census are in conformity with the above mortality
patterns. However, census data show that Nyanza and North Eastern provinces had higher U5MR of 156
and 148 per 1,000 live births respectively.Western Province ranked third highest with 118 per 1,000 live
births.The mortality rates based on census data are comparable to those of 2008-2009 KDHS given that
they are based on recent deaths (12 months prior to the census) in the household.
Figure 6.3 below shows a comparison of IMR based on 2008-2009 KDHS and those from the 2009 Kenya
population census. The results show that the rates are comparable at the national level, i.e. 52 and 54
per 1,000 live births respectively. The two sources of mortality data yielded similar results for Western
Province while KDHS yielded slightly higher rates than the census for Coast Province. Nyanza Province
had a higher level of infant mortality from the census data compared to KDHS.The biggest discrepancy
in infant mortality from the two sources was for North Eastern Province where the rate based on census
was almost double that of 2008/2009 KDHS.

Figure 6.3 Infant Mortality Rate by Region, 2008-2009 KDHS and 2009 Census
52
60
42
71
39
57
48
65
95
54
46 46
67
47
54
65
101
111
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Kenya Nairobi Central Coast Eastern North
Eastern
InfantMortalityRate
KDHS Census
Source: 2008-2009 KDHS and 2009 Census Reports
A comparison of U5MR from the two data sources reveals a pattern that conforms to the picture
displayed for IMR, except for the reversals for Coast and Western provinces - see Figure 6.4.
Figure 6.4 Under-Five Mortality Rate by Region, 2008-2009 KDHS and 2009 Census
74
64
51
87
52
80
149
59
79
56 58
94
57
148
156
67
118121
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
Kenya Nairobi Central Coast Eastern North
Eastern
Under-5MortalityRate
KDHS Census
Source: 2008-2009 KDHS and 2009 Census Reports
Other noticeable differences in childhood mortality are observed between rural and urban residence.
The 2008-2009 KDHS results indicate that post-neonatal mortality and IMR were higher among the
urban populations as compared to rural populations. For example, infant mortality stood at 63 and 58
deaths per 1,000 live births for the urban and rural populations respectively, while the post-neonatal
mortality reached 31 and 25 deaths per 1,000 live births for the urban and rural residents respectively.
This was rather an unusual result which was not in line with earlier findings in Kenya. The disparity may
be attributed to inequities in location, socio-economic factors, socio-cultural beliefs and practices, and
individual level risk factors in these populations (Ettarh and Kimani, 2012).
Differentials by the level of education of mother show that under-five mortality is usually lower among
children whose mothers had attained primary level education and above. Similarly, with regard to
household wealth, child mortality declines as the wealth increases, with the exception of the second
quintile (KNBS and ICF Macro, 2010).
The 2008-2009 KDHS results on early childhood mortality by demographic characteristics show that
mortality rates are generally higher for male than female children across all such indicators. A summary
of these indicators is presented in Table 6.2. The data show that the largest absolute difference was in

the under-five category (i.e. 90 for males and 77 for females).The data also show that the largest relative
difference was in the neonatal period with male children having a higher probability of dying in the
neonatal period than female children. This is due to the low survival chances of male children in this
period as a result of biological factors.
Table 6.2 Early Childhood Mortality Rates by Demographic Characteristics, 2008-2009 KDHS
Demographic
Characteristics
Neonatal
Mortality
(NN)
Post-neonatal
Mortality
(PNN)1
Infant
Mortality
(1
q0
)
Child
Mortality
(4
q0
)
Under-Five
Mortality
(5
q0
)
Child’s Sex
Male
Female
38
28
27
26
65
53
27
25
90
77
Mother’s age at birth
< 20
20-29
30-39
40-49
40
28
35
(68)
28
25
24
(53)
68
54
58
(120)
35
25
22
-
100
77
79
-
Birth Order
1
2-3
4-6
7+
27
29
28
50
25
22
31
30
62
51
59
79
17
30
29
24
78
80
86
102
Previous Birth Interval2
<2 years
2 years
3 years
4+ years
54
21
16
35
36
27
14
24
91
48
31
60
44
27
23
20
130
73
53
78
Birth Size3
Small/Very small
Average or Larger
41
27
29
20
70
47
na
na
na
na
Note:Figuresinparenthesisarebasedon250-499unweightedmonthsofexposure;na=Notapplicable
1
Computed as the difference between the infant and neonatal mortality
2
Excludes first-order births
3
Rates for the five-year period before the survey
Source: (KNBS and ICF Macro, 2010 pg. 108)
The results further show that mother’s age at birth has an effect on the survival chances of their infants.
A near‘U’-shaped pattern is displayed for neonatal, post-neonatal and infant mortality rates, as shown
in Figure 6.5. This implies higher early childhood mortality for younger and older women and the
reverse for women in middle ages. This has policy implications in that births should be discouraged for
women below 20 and those over 35 years of age.

Figure 6.5 Early Childhood Mortality Rates by Mother’s Age at Birth of Child, 2008-2009 KDHS
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
< 20 20-29 30-39 40-49
MortalityRate
NN PNN IM
Source: 2008-2009 KDHS Report
WHO (2008) cites a number of studies that show the consequences of early childbearing on pregnancy
outcomes and child survival, touching on the health of the adolescents and their infants, individual
social and economic effects, and societal level impacts.The studies report that children born to teenage
mothers experience greater health problems and mortality risks than those born to older mothers. Early
pregnancies are associated with significantly worse pre-natal health care and vaccination behaviour,
leading to lower birth-weights, earlier weaning, and higher mortality, especially during the second year
of life. In addition, a young maternal age can increase the resulting children’s health risks. Adolescent
mothers also have higher health risks and lower health outcomes. Pregnancy-related deaths are the
leading cause of mortality for 15-19 year-old girls worldwide (Ferre, 2007). Studies have also shown that
firstbirthstowomenaged35andabovemayleadtoadversepregnancyoutcomes,suchasmiscarriages,
congenital abnormalities, and Down’s Syndrome amongst other complications (WHO, 2008).
It is evident from the results in Table 6.2 that short birth intervals have been associated with adverse
pregnancy outcomes. Rutstein (2008) observed that the population attributable risk (PAR) for under-
five mortality for avoiding conceptions at less than 24 months after a birth was 0.134, meaning that
under-five mortality would decline by 13 percent if all women waited for at least 24 months to conceive
again. Rutstein further noted that the effect of waiting 36 months to conceive again would avoid 25
percent of under-five deaths. The impact of avoiding these high risk intervals (less than 36 months)
would be a total of 1,836,000 deaths avoided annually in less developed countries, excluding China
(where there is a one child policy). Rutstein concluded that, parents who want their children to survive
and thrive would do well to wait at least 30 months after a birth to conceive another child. Studies have
also shown that size of the child at birth has adverse pregnancy outcomes (Magadi et al., 2001).

6.4 Maternal Mortality
Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) represents the obstetric risk associated with each pregnancy, quantified
as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births during the same
period. This should be differentiated from maternal mortality rate which is defined as the number
of maternal deaths in a given period per 100,000 women of reproductive age during the same time
period. However, the common indicator used to depict deaths due to pregnancy and childbirth is MMR.
According to 2008-2009 KDHS, maternal deaths represent about 15 percent of all deaths to women
aged 15-49 in Kenya.
According to a new study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University
of Washington, the number of women dying from pregnancy-related causes has dropped by more

than 35 percent in the past 30 years — from more than a half-million deaths annually in 1980 to about
343,000 in 2008 (IHME, 2012). In Kenya, approximately 8,000 women die of the same problems per year.
Maternal disabilities and deaths remain high in the country. KDHS 2003 recorded an MMR of 414, which
had risen to 488 during 2008-2009 survey. An estimate based on the 2009 census showed a slightly
higher estimate of 495 deaths per 100,000 live births. Figure 6.6 depicts the trend in maternal mortality
estimates.
Figure 6.6 Trends in Maternal Mortality Ratio, Kenya, 1990-2010
495
488
414
560
590
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
1990 1998 2003 2008-09 2010
MaternalMortalityRate
Sources: WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA/World Bank, 2012; 2009 Kenya Census Analytical Report on Mortality
IAG estimates for 2010 indicate that there has been a substantial decline in MMR to 360 deaths (WHO/
UNICEF/UNFPA/World Bank, 2012). However, this estimate should be viewed with caution as a result of
differences in methodological approaches employed. Nonetheless, even this lower estimate is still well
above the MDG 5 target of 147 deaths per 100,000 live births. This kind of situation poses a challenge
to the country in its efforts towards attainment of MDG 5 by 2015, and the related objectives in Kenya
Vision 2030.
The national averages tend to mask regional differentials, which should be the focus of interventions if
the country is to achieve MDG 5. Figure 6.7 shows wide regional MMR differentials based on estimates
derived from recent deaths in the household from the 2009 census. North Eastern Province has the
highest MMR in the country with 2,041 deaths while Nairobi’s ratio is the lowest at 212 deaths per
100,000 live births.
Figure 6.7 Maternal Mortality Ratio by Region, 2009 Census
212
289 319 328 377 400
495 546
2041
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Nairobi Central Western Coast Rift Valley Eastern Kenya Nyanza North
Eastern
MaternalMortalityRate
Source: 2009 Kenya Census Analytical Report on Mortality

AccordingtoaKenyaMedicalAssociation(KMA)report
of 2004, the major causes of maternal mortality are
haemorrhage, infections associated with delivery,
hypertension induced by pregnancy, obstructed
labour due to poorly-monitored labour or delayed
action against such, and abortion that is procured
unsafely and/or by untrained providers (KMA,
2004). While all these causes can be prevented,
this is difficult without health systems that deliver
quality health care, or without policy, legal and
socio-cultural environments that show that women’s
lives are worth saving.
One of the major factors that determine better
pregnancy outcomes is facility delivery
under skilled attendants. In Kenya, there
are substantial discrepancies between
the levels of utilization of prenatal
care services, delivery services, and
consequent postnatal services. Across
counties, there were wide variations
in the levels of deliveries in health
facilities, as well as those attended by
skilled personnel. As shown in Figure
6.8, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Nairobi, Meru, and
Mombasa counties reported at least
70 percent level of utilization of the
two components (facility delivery and
skilled attendance) while on the lower
end, levels of utilization for West
Pokot, Kilifi, Mandera, Turkana,
and Wajir counties were between
5 percent and 17 percent.
Figure 6.8 Percent of
Facility Deliveries
A happy pregnant woman.
Photo: UNFPA

and Skilled Attendance by County
87
84
79
70 69
17
14
8 7 5
87
84
72 69
73
17
13 11
7 5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Kirinyaga Nyeri Nairobi Meru Mombasa West
Pokot
Kilifi Mandera Turkana Wajir
Percent
Facility delivery Skilled attendance
Source: www.opendata.co.ke, 2011 County Fact Sheets
6.5 Progress Made Towards Achieving MDG 4
Under MDG 4, the target is to reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the U5MRfrom 99 to 33
deaths per 1,000 live births. In order to achieve this target, Kenya identified three indicators that are
being monitored: rates of infant and under-five mortality, and immunization coverage for measles for
children aged one year old (GOK, MPND and Vision 2030, 2010). Table 6.3 gives the status of these
indicators since 1990.
Table 6.3 Infant and under-five mortality rates, and immunization coverage for measles, 1990-
2009
Indicator 1990 2000 2003 2006 2008-09 2009 2015 Target
4.1 Under-five mortality rate (per
1000 live births) 99 105 115 77 74 79 33
4.2 Infant mortality rate (per 1000
live births)
63 67 77 60 52 54 21
4.3 Proportionof1year-oldchildren
immunised against measles (%) 48 76 74 77 85 85 95
Source: Various KDHS Reports and 2009 Kenya Census Analytical Report on Mortality
Kenya has made great strides in reducing IMR and U5MR as can be observed from childhood mortality
trends in section 2.2. Government efforts, with support from development partners, have borne some
fruits as shown by the decline in IMR and U5MR between 2003 and 2009, as well as the increase in
immunization levels against measles for those aged one year. IMR decreased by 33 percent between
2003 and 2008-2009 while U5MR decreased by 36 percent in the same period. These declines are
regarded as a step towards the achievement of the MDGs (NCPD, 2012).
Target 4.1 Under-five mortality rate
The four main global killers of children under-five are pneumonia (18%), diarrhoeal diseases (15%), pre-
term birth complications (12%), and birth asphyxia (9%). Malnutrition is an underlying cause in more
than a third of under-five deaths (Economic Commission for Africa, 2012). The same report notes that
the major causes of under-five mortality in Kenya are diarrhoea (20%), pneumonia (16%) and malaria
(11%) - see Figure 6.9. These account for 42 percent of under-five deaths in the country.

Figure 6.9 Major Causes of Under-Five Deaths
2%
1%
20%
3%
5%
6%
8%
8%
11%
16%
20%
Diarrhoea
Pneumonia
Malaria
Prematurity
Birth asphyxia
Neonatal sepsis
HIV/AIDS
Injuries
Congenital abnomalities
Measles
Other
Source: Black, et al (2010)
Specialeffortstocontrolpneumonia,diarrhoea,malariaandmalnutrition,witheffectivecomprehensive
interventions that reach the most vulnerable and marginalized children, could save the lives of millions
of children. According to the Kenya Malaria Indicator Survey 2010, the country has undertaken
measures to control malaria in children and pregnant women, who together constitute the most
vulnerable groups. The measures include vector control with insecticide treated nets (ITN), long lasting
insecticidal nets (LLIN), indoor residual spraying (IRS), as well as improved access to malaria diagnosis
and treatment.
Target 4.2 Infant mortality rate
From the last two rounds of KDHS, 29 percent of under-five deaths occurred in the neonatal period in
2003, rising to 42 percent in 2008-2009. Sixty-five percent of under-five deaths occur within the first
year of life. According to KDHS2008/2009, out of 1,356 infant deaths, over half of the deaths — 698
deaths — occurred in the neonatal period (KNBS and ICF Macro, 2010). This implies that interventions
in the neonatal period have a direct bearing on children surviving to their first birthday. The country is
unlikely to attain the target of 21 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015.
Target 4.3 Proportion of one-year-old children immunized against measles
Deaths from measles accounted for only one percent of childhood deaths in the country, according
to 2008-2009 KDHS. From Table 3, the proportion of one year old children immunized against measles
increased from 48 percent in 1990 to 85 percent in 2008-2009, compared to a 2015 MDG target of 95
percent.
National averages tend to mask regional differentials, which also need to be considered when planning
for the attainment of MDG 4. The regional differentials in childhood mortality presented in Figure 4,
strongly suggest the need for focused interventions against under-five mortality, especially in Nyanza
and Western provinces. Nyanza Province has also been recording the highest rates of HIV prevalence
and AIDS deaths. It was also observed from 2008-2009 KDHS data that the neonatal mortality rate only
reducedmarginallyfrom33to31per1,000livebirths,contributingto42percentofunder-fivemortality,

compared to 29 percent reported by KDHS 2003. Despite the renewed focus on, and recent progress
in, child survival, achieving the MDG targets for under-five mortality (33/1000) and infant mortality
(26/1000) by 2015 will be a challenge, unless neonatal care, which is closely linked to maternal care,
receives more attention. (GOK, MPND and Vision 2030; 2010).
6.6 Progress towards Improvement of Maternal Health
MDG 5 has two targets: 5.A - Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality
rate; and 5.B - Achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health. The respective indicators for
the attainment of these targets are as follows: 5A - maternal mortality ratio and proportion of births
attended by skilled health personnel; and 5B - contraceptive prevalence rate, adolescent birth rate,
antenatal care coverage, and unmet need for family planning.Table 6.4 summarizes the progress Kenya
has made towards the achievement of these targets.
Table 6.4 Progress made towards achievement of MDG 5 targets in Kenya, 1990-2010
Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health
Target Indicator 1990 1998 2003 2008/09 2010 2015
Target
Target 5.A: Reduce
by ¾ between 1990
& 2015 the maternal
mortality ratio
5.1 Maternal Mortality
Ratio (per 100,000 live
births)
590 590 414 488 495 147
5.2 Proportion of births
attended by skilled
health personnel (%)
44 42 40 44 - 90
Target 5.B:
Achieve, by 2015,
universal access to
reproductive health
5.5 Antenatal care
coverage (at least four
visits)
- 60 52 47 - 90
Source: KDHS Reports and 2009 Census Analytical Report on Mortality
Target 5.1 Maternal Mortality Ratio
As already noted, Maternal Mortality Ratio in Kenya has remained unacceptably high, i.e. at 488
maternal deaths per 100,000 live births based on 2008-2009 KDHS data, (495 according to the 2009
census, with some regions reporting ratios of over 1,000/100,000), 414 in 2003, and 590 in 1998. Clearly,
these figures do not depict a reducing trend towards the target of 147 maternal deaths per 100,000 live
births set for 2015.
Maternal Mortality Ratio obtained from large scale surveys, such as DHS and MICS, are based on indirect
techniques on the basis of questions asked regarding the death of sisters from a pregnancy related
cause.This is known as the‘sisterhood method’(Graham et al., 1989), which has a number of limitations
that may influence the estimates, including: distinction of pregnancy-related deaths from maternal
deaths; production of estimates with wide confidence intervals, thereby diminishing opportunities for
trend analysis; reliance on retrospective rather than a current maternal mortality estimates (referring to
a period approximately five years prior to the survey); and the complexity of the analysis.
Estimates obtained from censuses on the basis of recent deaths (one year period) in the household
related to pregnancy and child birth also have limitations in that the information is collected after a
ten year period, hence limiting the monitoring of maternal mortality. However, this approach allows

identificationofdeathsinthehouseholdinarelativelyshortreferenceperiod(onetotwoyears),thereby
providing recent maternal mortality estimates. Another major aspect that needs to be considered is
that results must be adjusted for such characteristics as completeness of death and birth statistics and
population structures, in order to arrive at reliable estimates.
The IAG estimates are not comparable to estimates from other sources in that they are based on
models whose aim is to adjust for lack of data, misclassification and under-reporting to provide the
best possible estimates.
Target 5.2 Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel
Progress on this indicator has been minimal, with the proportion increasing only marginally from 42
percent as reported in KDHS 2003 to 44 percent in 2008-2009 KDHS. Evidently, this attainment remains
far below the set target of 90 percent by 2015. As observed earlier, the proportion of mothers who
received skilled attendance at birth varies widely across the regions, and is lower in rural areas and
among women of lowest socio-economic status. It is doubtful that the MDG target will be attained by
2015, unless there are focused interventions in areas of weakest performance such as North Eastern,
Nyanza and Western provinces.
6.7 Comparisons
WHO and UNICEF monitored progress towards the achievement of MDG 4 in 74 countries since 2005
(WHO/UNICEF, 2012). Countries were categorized as being “on track” if their U5MR for 2010 was less
than 40 deaths per 1,000 live births, or if it was 40 or more, but with an average annual rate of reduction
of four percent or higher for 1990–2010. Countries were deemed to have made “insufficient progress”
if their U5MR for 2010 was 40 deaths per 1,000 live births, or more, but with an average annual rate
of reduction of between 1 and 3.9 percent for 1990–2010. Finally, countries had made “no progress”
if their U5MR for 2010 was 40 deaths per 1,000 live births, or more, but with an average annual rate
of reduction of less than one percent for 1990–2010. In the Countdown Report for 2012, 23 countries
were on track for meeting the targets for MDG 4; 38 countries had made insufficient progress; and 13
countries had not made any progress by 201032
. Out of the 74 countries considered, only four in sub-
Sahara Africa were on track, 27 had made insufficient progress, and 12 (including Kenya) had made no
progress (see Appendix 6.1).
Similarly, monitoring of progress with regard to maternal mortality indicates that the only countries
that were on track to achieving MDG 5 in sub-Saharan Africa as at 2015 were Equatorial Guinea and
Eritrea, as shown in Appendix 6.2. Twenty one countries were making progress; eleven countries
(including Kenya) had made insufficient progress; and nine countries had made no progress at all. The
Economic Commission for Africa report of 2012 on MDGs cites an article published in TheLancetin 2010,
which showed that maternal mortality was declining even in Africa. This is in line with UN data which
shows that many African countries recorded large declines in maternal mortality during the 1990–
2008 period: Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Egypt, Morocco, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Algeria, Rwanda
and Mauritius all saw a more than 50 percent reduction, and are thus close to achieving the MDG 5
targets. These countries did this mainly through policy interventions that focused on improving access
through various means (such as transport) to referral health institutions, increased information about
contraception, and better supply of health attendants. Equatorial Guinea, the closest to achieving MDG
5 with a 72 percent reduction in maternal mortality between 1990–2008, improved the proportion of
births attended by skilled personnel from five percent in 1994 to 65 percent in 2000; and emerging
data suggest even further progress sincethen. Egypt, Morocco and Rwanda have also made steep
32 Since 2005, Countdown has produced periodic reports and country profiles on key aspects of reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, achieving
global impact with its focus on accountability and use of available data to hold stakeholders to account for global and national action.

gains in the share of births overseen by skilled health attendants, and are among the best performers
in reducing maternal mortality. The best performers also coincidentally share high economic growth
rates, with Equatorial Guinea experiencing rapid growth over the past 20 years, while Egypt, Morocco
and Cape Verde have also had sustained growth rates over the years. That some other countries with
impressive economic growth rates are not performing as well against MMR as the aforementioned –
Ghana — making progress; Uganda — insufficient progress — suggests that sustained growth may be
necessary, but is not sufficient, for progress against MMR.
6.8 Gaps
The lack of reliable and complete datasets on vital events from the registration system is apparent. This
is evident in the level of monitoring and evaluation of the MDG indicators. Currently, the indicators are
monitored at impact level since they are derived from analysis of data from population censuses and
demographic surveys. Process indicators for continuous monitoring of these indicators can only be
derived from registration systems. Process indicators would be more desirable because they can assist
in identifying areas of intervention in the short run.
6.9 Existing policies and programmes
Kenya has put in place various strategies and programmes in its quest to achieve MDG 4. The first
among these is the Malezi Bora Strategy initiated in 2007, which has provided a comprehensive and
integrated package of services that includes; child immunization, Vitamin A supplementation, de-
worming of under-fives and pregnant women, treatment of childhood illnesses, HIV counselling and
testing, ITNs use in malaria prevention, and improved ANC and FP services.
In addition, the Child Survival and Development Strategy 2008–2015, was initiated to deliver efficient
and effective services in order to improve the lives of women and children. Launched in 2009, on June
16 which is the Day of the African Child, the strategy aims at contributing to the reduction of health
inequalities and to reverse the downward trend in health-related indicators, with a focus on child
survival and development. The development of the Strategy involved the Ministry of Public Health and
Sanitation, other line ministries, and representatives of civil society, academia and donor organizations,
guided by the National Health Sector Strategic Plan II 2005-2010 and the Vision 2030 Medium Term
Plan I (2008-12).
Other Government efforts towards reduction in child mortality, and in line with attainment of the MDG
4 target, include the adoption of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI), which aims
at increasing immunization coverage among children; this being among the most effective primary
health interventions in reducing child mortality. Through IMCI, the Ministry of Public Health and
Sanitation continues to strengthen immunization activities throughout the country through the Kenya
Expanded Programme on Immunization, as well as management of childhood illnesses.
According to the Sessional Paper No.3 of 2012 on Population Policy for National Development, the
policy measures for childhood morbidity and mortality include; support for the implementation of the
on-going child survival programmes, including IMCI, prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV,
and promotion of ITN use (GoK/MPND and Vision 2030, 2012). It is envisaged that these interventions
will lead to improved child survival, desired family sizes, and to the subsequent decline in fertility level.
Similarly for maternal health, Sessional Paper No.3 of 2012 prescribes some policy measures which
include; the need to intensify advocacy for increased resources to provide comprehensive maternal
health care services with special attention to underserved populations and groups, as well as poorly
addressed issues such as postnatal care, post abortion complications and fistula.

With regard to maternal and child health, some of the measures that have been undertaken to
ameliorate the situation include the Government’s preparation of the Contraceptive Security Strategy
(2007-2012) with the aim of ensuring uninterrupted and affordable supply of contraceptives. The
Government also launched a Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH) Road Map in August 2010, which
outlines the strategies, priority actions and broad activities for acceleration of the attainment of MDGs
4 and 5. This will be implemented in phases towards the final reporting year of 2015. In addition, the
Government used the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) to expand pre- and in-service training of
health workers, and to employ and deploy 20 nurses in each constituency. Under ESP, model health
centres were to be built in 200 constituencies, with 300 ambulances purchased and distributed to all
health centres in the country.
Another measure is the removal of user fees for maternity health care to ensure all expectant mothers
access quality health services. Mothers are further being encouraged to deliver in the nearest maternity
facilityunderthesupervisionofaskilledhealthworker.Inthe2010/2011healthbudget,theGovernment
committed to shifting budgetary resources from curative health to preventive health services.
To reduce the high maternal mortality, the Government has to address several challenges including the
need to ensure availability of adequate maternity health care services and skilled personnel to attend
to complications caused by unsafe/induced abortion, malaria as well as HIV and AIDS, among others.
6.10.1 Challenges
Ingeneral,itisnotedthathighchildhoodmortalityratesinKenyamakeitdifficultforindividualstoadopt
small family norms. This situation is compounded by persistent regional and socio-cultural disparities
in FP use and mortality rates. All these combine to pose a challenge as the country endeavours to
reduce mortality across board.
From available data, it is evident that the level of utilization of maternal health care services remains
low in particular regions of the country. The challenge remains raising the uptake of maternal health
care services — such as of facility delivery and skilled attendance and post natal care — to reasonable
levels so as to contribute towards the achievement of national goals in maternal health.
Another of the major challenges lies in the inadequacy of requisite data to effectively monitor progress
towards the achievement of MDGs 4 and 5. This situation arises due to the inefficiency of the current
civil registration system in Kenya that is supposed to be the principal source of such data. The fact that
the country is unlikely to achieve set targets of MDGs 4 and 5 remain a challenge to the country.
6.10.2 Opportunities
There are specific articles in the Constitution (2010) that present clear opportunities for the improved
management of premature mortality. For example, Articles 26, 43 and 53 — explicitly recognize
and address the right to health as a specific individual right. This right can, therefore, be enforced in
a court of law in the same way as civil and political rights. In particular, Article 43 says that “Every
person has the right: to the highest standard of health, which includes the right to health care services,
including reproductive health care; to accessible and adequate housing, and to reasonable standards
of sanitation; to be free from hunger, and to have adequate food of acceptable quality; to clean and safe
water in adequate quantities; and to education”.

Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2012 on Population Policy for National Development outlines a number of
policy objectives, demographic targets, and family planning initiatives which present opportunities for
various actors to take advantage of in their efforts to reduce mortality. Examples of such opportunities
include:
Policy objective – Provide equitable and affordable quality reproductive health services including
family planning.
Demographic targets for the year 2030
 Reduce crude death rate from 13 in 2010 to eight deaths per 1,000 people by 2030
 Reduce infant mortality rate from 52 in 2009 to 25 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030
 Reduce under-five mortality rate from 74 in 2009 to 48 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030
 Reduce maternal mortality rate from 488 in 2009 to 200 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030
 Improve life expectancy at birth for both sexes from 57 in 2009 to 64 years by 2030
Family Planning
 Increase contraceptive prevalence rate for modern methods from 40 percent in 2010 to 70
percent by 2030, thereby contributing to a reduction in total fertility rate from 4.6 in 2010 to 2.6
children per woman by 2030.
6.11 Conclusion
This report aimed at documenting levels, trends and patterns of overall, infant, child and maternal
mortality in Kenya. The results show that there have been general improvements in overall mortality as
depicted by improved expectation of life at birth. However, among males, there was a decline from 57.5
years in 1989 to 52.9 years in 1999, then picked up to reach 58 years by 2009. Among females, there has
been a steady increase in expectation of life at birth over the years.
The results further show that there has been a decline in childhood mortality at aggregate level. Two
data sets for comparable periods – 2008-2009 KDHS and 2009 census — yielded consistent results. It
is, however, noticeable that as declines were registered in the infant and under-five mortality levels,
deaths in the neonatal period accounted for over half of all deaths in infancy. The data also reveal
wide regional variations in infant and under-five mortality rates: while childhood mortality has fallen
in Nyanza Province over time, its rates remain the highest in the country. Disparities also exist based
on socio-economic characteristics. The declines in childhood mortality have been associated with
improvements in other childhood health indicators, such as immunization, use of ITNs, and access to
treatment for pneumonia.
With regard to demographic characteristics, 2008-2009 KDHS results indicate that mortality rates were
higher for males than females and that neonatal, post-neonatal and infant mortality rates exhibit a
near‘U’-shape curve, meaning the rates are higher for younger and older women than for those in the
middle age groups. Similarly, KDHS findings show that there was generally an increased risk of dying for
first births and higher order births. The results also show that children born less than two years after a
prior sibling were at a higher risk of death. The size of the child at birth also has a bearing on mortality
rates.
The KDHS results show that there have been marginal changes in maternal mortality with wide regional
variations; but the various methods of estimation yield different even if consistent results. Progress
towards MDGs 4 and 5 is slow, and the targets set for the country are unlikely to be achieved. While the
Government has put in place measures to mitigate high levels of childhood and maternal mortality,

much more is required for the country to attain its MDG targets, and by extension, its Vision 2030 goals
and targets.
TheGovernmenthasadoptedtheIMCIstrategyinordertoaddresschildhoodmortalitylevels. However,
the strategy should be focused on areas where childhood mortality is highest.
Whereas the MDG targets are fixed at the international level, it was hoped that countries would tailor
make them to suit their local situations. This has, however, not been done in Kenya where the targets
are still at international level hindering the adoption of a human rights based approach. There is need
for a human rights approach to interventions as had been envisaged with the adoption of the MDGs.
6.12 Recommendations
The human rights approach recognizes the need to focus on areas of inequality in provision of services.
This calls for relevant interventions tailored to mortality situations as depicted by sub-regional
differentials.
Further,oneofthemajorchallengesisthatroutinedatathatisrequiredformonitoringprogresstowards
the achievement of the MDGs and Vision 2030 are incomplete and inaccurate. Two sector reports —
‘Health SituationTrends and Distribution: 1994-2010’, and‘Projections for 2011–2030’— observed that,
as in many developing countries, registration of deaths and their causes is incomplete in Kenya. The
national death registration coverage from the Civil Registration Department for 2012 was estimated to
be at about 48 percent. Records from health facilities which feed into the routine Health Management
Information System (HMIS) also provide some data on cause of death, but are limited in quantity since
they neither capture deaths in non-public health facilities, nor the majority of deaths in Kenya (given
that as much as 80% occur outside health facilities). Additionally, HMIS reporting rates from health
facilities is erratic and often incomplete over time, meaning the resultant data must be interpreted with
caution. Given the paucity of routine data, there is need for concerted efforts to ensure that the systems
that are expected to generate these data are functional. There is also need for specialized surveys that
can assist generate these data in the short-run to assist the Government and other key stakeholders to
monitor the achievements of the MDGs at all levels on a continuous basis.
In order to reduce maternal mortality, it is necessary to address several challenges, including the need
to ensure the availability of and access to quality maternity health care services.

Appendix 6.1 Progress towards achieving MDG 4 in selected sub-Saharan Countries, 1990-2010
Under-Five Mortality Rate
Deaths per 1,000 live births Average annual rate of
reduction (%)
Assessment of
progress
Country (Africa) 1990 2000 2010 1990-2010
Madagascar 159 102 62 4.7 On track
Malawi 222 167 92 4.4 On track
Eritrea 141 93 61 4.2 On track
Liberia 227 169 103 4 On track
Niger 311 218 143 3.9 Insufficient progress
Tanzania 155 130 76 3.6 Insufficient progress
Senegal 139 119 75 3.1 Insufficient progress
Rwanda 163 177 91 2.9 Insufficient progress
Ethiopia 184 141 106 2.8 Insufficient progress
Guinea 229 175 130 2.8 Insufficient progress
Uganda 175 144 99 2.8 Insufficient progress
Gambia 165 128 98 2.6 Insufficient progress
Ghana 122 99 74 2.5 Insufficient progress
Zambia 183 157 111 2.5 Insufficient progress
Mozambique 219 177 135 2.4 Insufficient progress
Equatorial Guinea 190 152 121 2.3 Insufficient progress
Sierra Leone 276 233 174 2.3 Insufficient progress
Benin 178 143 115 2.2 Insufficient progress
Angola 243 200 161 2.1 Insufficient progress
Nigeria 213 186 143 2 Insufficient progress
Comoros 125 104 86 1.9 Insufficient progress
Mali 255 213 178 1.8 Insufficient progress
Togo 147 124 103 1.8 Insufficient progress
Guinea Bissau 210 177 150 1.7 Insufficient progress
Djibouti 123 106 91 1.5 Insufficient progress
Burundi 183 164 142 1.3 Insufficient progress
Congo 116 104 93 1.1 Insufficient progress
Gabon 93 88 74 1.1 Insufficient progress
Botswana 59 96 48 1 Insufficient progress
Sudan 125 114 103 1 Insufficient progress
Swaziland 96 114 78 1 Insufficient progress
Cote d’voire 151 148 123 1 No progress
Chad 207 190 173 0.9 No progress
Burkina Faso 205 191 176 0.8 No progress
Kenya 99 111 85 0.8 No progress
Mauritania 124 116 111 0.6 No progress
DRC 181 181 170 0.3 No progress
South Africa 60 78 57 0.3 No progress
Central African Rep. 165 176 159 0.2 No progress
Lesotho 89 127 85 0.2 No progress
Cameroon 137 148 136 0 No progress
Somalia 180 180 180 0 No progress
Zimbabwe 78 115 80 -0.1 No progress
Source: Countdown Report (2012)

Appendix 6.2 Progress towards achieving MDG 5 in selected sub-Saharan Countries, 1990-2010
Maternal Mortality Ratio (Modelled)
Deaths per 100,000 live births Average annual rate of
reduction (%)
Assessment of
progress
Country (Africa) 1990 2000 2010 1990-2010
Equatorial Guinea 1200 450 240 7.9 On track
Eritrea 880 390 240 6.3 On track
Ethiopia 950 700 350 4.9 Making progress
Rwanda 910 840 340 4.9 Making progress
Angola 1200 890 450 4.7 Making progress
Madagascar 400 490 360 4.7 Making progress
Malawi 1100 840 460 4.4 Making progress
Burkina Faso 700 450 300 4.1 Making progress
Benin 770 530 350 3.9 Making progress
Niger 1200 870 500 3.6 Making progress
Mali 1100 740 540 3.5 Making progress
Togo 620 440 300 3.5 Making progress
Gambia 700 520 360 3.4 Making progress
Guinea 1200 970 610 3.4 Making progress
Tanzania 870 730 460 3.2 Making progress
Mozambique 910 710 490 3.1 Making progress
Senegal 670 500 370 3 Making progress
Cote d’Ivoire 710 590 400 2.8 Making progress
DRC 930 770 540 2.7 Making progress
Ghana 580 550 350 2.6 Making progress
Nigeria 1100 970 630 2.6 Making progress
Liberia 1200 1300 770 2.4 Making progress
Mauritania 760 630 510 2 Making progress
Uganda 600 530 310 3.2 Insufficient progress
Comoros 440 340 280 2.2 Insufficient progress
Djibouti 290 290 200 1.9 Insufficient progress
Sierra Leone 1300 1300 890 1.8 Insufficient progress
Guinea Bissau 1100 970 790 1.7 Insufficient progress
Sudan 1000 870 730 1.6 Insufficient progress
Burundi 1100 1000 800 1.5 Insufficient progress
Gabon 270 270 230 0.8 Insufficient progress
Kenya 400 490 360 0.5 Insufficient progress
Zambia 470 540 440 0.4 Insufficient progress
Central African Rep. 930 1000 890 0.2 Insufficient progress
Cameroon 670 730 690 -0.2 No progress
Swaziland 300 360 320 -0.3 No progress
Botswana 140 350 160 -0.7 No progress
Chad 920 1100 1100 -0.7 No progress
Somalia 890 1000 1000 -0.7 No progress
Lesotho 520 690 620 -0.9 No progress
South Africa 250 330 300 -0.9 No progress
Zimbabwe 450 640 570 -1.2 No progress
Congo 420 540 560 -1.5 No progress
Source: Countdown Report (2012)

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CHAPTER 7: HIV, SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS, MALARIA AND
TUBERCULOSIS
7.1 Introduction
The AIDS epidemic is one of the world’s most significant current public health and development crises.
At the end of 2011, 34.2 million people were living with HIV. That same year, some 2.5 million people
became newly infected, and 1.7 million died of AIDS, including 230,000 children. More than two-thirds
of new HIV infections are in sub-Saharan Africa.
HIV and AIDS disproportionately affects the country’s mortality and morbidity. Although its prevalence
is higher than the regional average, at 6.3 percent for people age 15-49 (KNBS, 2010), it is much lower
than many of the Southern African countries. In addition to HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria are
among the major killers in Kenya (RoK, 2012).
Other than HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) involve more than 30 different sexually
transmissible bacteria, viruses and parasites. Infection with STIs can lead to acute symptoms, chronic
infection and serious delayed consequences. The presence of an untreated infection increases the risk
of both acquisition and transmission of HIV by a factor of up to 10.
Around the world, 3.3 billion people are at risk of contracting malaria. In 2010, an estimated 219 million
cases occurred, and the disease killed approximately 660,000 people — most of them children under
five in Africa. On average, malaria kills a child every minute. In a 2007 resolution, the World Health As-
sembly called for a 75 percent reduction in the global malaria burden by 2015.
There were an estimated 8.7 million new cases of TB in 2011 (including 1.1 million cases among people
with HIV) and an estimated 1.4 million deaths (including 430,000 people with HIV), making this disease
one of the world’s biggest infectious killers. The world is on track to reach the MDG target of reversing
TB incidence by 2015. However, incidence is falling very slowly. In addition, all regions, except Africa, are
on track to achieve the Stop TB Partnership target of 50 percent decline in mortality by 2015.
This chapter focuses on the relevant health conditions underlying the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goal 6. Consequently, it documents the situation and trends in HIV and AIDS and STIs,
malaria and tuberculosis in the country.
7.1.1 Rationale
HIV and AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections
Kenya has had specialized Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) clinics since the early years of
independence. These include Casino STI Clinic in Nairobi and the Ganjoni STI Clinic in Mombasa, which
were established long before the first case of HIV was diagnosed in the country. However, from 1995
onwards, HIV and AIDS management as well as opportunistic infections were given more attention by
providers, donors and the programme responsible for STI control in Kenya (NASCOP, 2009).
STIs and reproductive tract infections (RTIs) continue to be a serious public health problem in
developing countries like Kenya, particularly among women. Consequences of untreated STIs and RTIs
include maternal complications, such as ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility,
cancer, neonatal complications and death. STIs and other RTIs have also been proven to increase the
likelihood of contracting or transmitting HIV (Republic of Kenya, 2010). STIs are also responsible for the

loss of a substantial proportion of people’s productive years in many countries (World Bank, 1993). The
World Development Report 1993 estimated that globally, in high-prevalence urban areas, STIs account
for up to 17 percent of productive healthy life years lost.
However, given that there are more virulent types of STIs (such as gonorrhoea) that have become
resistant to the available antibiotics, there is need to refocus our attention on STIs/RTIs33
. Although STIs
remain among the leading causes of Kenya’s overall disease burden, the focus on HIV and AIDS in the
last 10-20 years has overshadowed the predominance of STIs (NCAPD et al., 2010).
On the other hand, it is now over three decades since HIV and AIDS was first reported. The disease has
become a devastating pandemic, taking the lives of 30 million people around the world. In 2010 alone,
HIV and AIDS killed 1.8 million people, 1.2 million of whom were living in sub-Saharan Africa (UNAIDS,
2011). Though life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART) is available, access is not yet widespread
globally: of the estimated 14.2 million HIV-positive individuals in need of the treatment, over half (8
million) are not currently able to access it. It is, however, important to note that according to the Kenya
AIDSEpidemicUpdate(2012),Kenyahasoneoftheworld’shighestcoverageratesforservicestoprevent
mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV, with 69 percent of HIV-positive pregnant women receiving
ARV prophylaxis in 2011. As a result of scaled-up prevention services, the proportion of HIV-exposed
infants who contract HIV has fallen from 27 percent in 2007 to 14.9 percent in 2011. The same Update
(2012) reckons that Kenya is also the global leader in scaling up voluntary medical male circumcision
(VMMC) for adult males, which is deemed to reduce the risk of female-to-male HIV transmission by at
least 60 percent.
HIV represents one of the greatest public health and social challenges confronting the Kenyan people.
In the face of this challenge, Kenya has put in place policies and programmes to combat the scourge. As
at December 2011, 1.6 million people in Kenya were living with HIV, managing to live longer as a result
of increased access to ARV treatment. It is projected that the number of Kenyan people living with HIV
will continue to grow, placing continuing demands on health and social service systems (Office of the
President, 2012). Kenya is experiencing a mixed and geographically heterogeneous HIV epidemic. Its
characteristics are those of both a ‘generalized’ epidemic among the mainstream population, and a
‘concentrated’ epidemic among specific most-at-risk populations (MARPs). The pattern emerging is of
highly variable epidemiological dynamics geographically, with respect to modes of transmission, and
with substantial age and sex differentials (Ministry of Health, 2007).
Even more troublesome is the fact that new HIV infections continue to outpace those added onto ARV
treatment. Worldwide, more than 390,000 infants and children were newly infected with HIV in 2010,
and 2.7 million new HIV infections occurred in the same year, a rate that has held relatively constant
since 2006 (UNAIDS, 2010). Further, studies have shown that HIV infection is a potent risk factor for
tuberculosis (TB) infection. HIV increases the risk of reactivating latent mycobacterium tuberculosis
infection and the rapid progression after infection or re-infection with TB (Bucker et al., 1999: 501-507;
Corbett et al., 2003).
Malaria
Malaria is recognized as a health and socio-economic burden by the Government of Kenya. Thus
malaria control is a priority investment as articulated in the second National Health Sector Strategic
Plan (NHSSP II, 2005–2010, extended to 2012) and the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation Strategic
Plan 2008–2012.
33 See http://www.cdc.gov/std/gonorrhea/arg/ Accessed on 2.03.13.

A mother and baby sleep under a treated mosquito net.
Photo: http://savananewsblogspotcom.blogspot.com
The Government’s vision of a malaria-free Kenya emerged in 2009 as a result of the development
of a multi-sector malaria control strategy to run from 2009 to 2017, with clear and focused strategic
approaches and objectives. Through the multi-sector approach, the line ministries — Education,
Water, Agriculture, Local Authorities, Public Works, and Regional Development — were expected to
identify key malaria control roles and activities in which they were involved. These included integrated
vector management (IVM), indoor residual spraying (IRS), environmental impact assessment (EIA), and
training of health workers (KMPR, 2009).There is increasing but limited evidence from the Kenya Malaria
Indicator Surveys that shows that the epidemiology and risk of malaria in Kenya are declining. However,
most of this evidence is available at sub-national levels where interventions have been intensified.
Country-wide progress is more difficult to assess due to limited or incomplete data.
Tuberculosis
Observations regarding TB indicate that it is one of the most ancient diseases of mankind and has
co-evolved with humans for thousands of years or perhaps for several million years (Hirsh et al, 2004).
In spite of newer modalities for diagnosis and treatment of TB, unfortunately, millions of people are
still suffering and dying from the disease. Tuberculosis is one of the top three infectious killer diseases
in the world: HIV and AIDS kills three million people each year; TB kills two million; and malaria kills
one million (WHO, 2010). Even though tubercle bacilli was identified nearly 130 years ago, a definitive
understanding of pathogenesis of this disease is still deficient (Brosch et al, 2002;WHO, 2006). In Kenya,
TB has been recognized as a major national health problem since it is among the top ten leading causes
of morbidity and mortality. According to a World Health Organization Report (2012), it is estimated
that the burden of disease caused by TB in Kenya ranges between 11 and 36 per 100,000 for mortality.

The prevalence ranges between 152 and 475 per 100,000; the incidence ranges between 276 and 300
per 100,000 of the population, while HIV prevalence among TB patients ranges between 39 and 40 per
100,000 of the population. TB has been ranked as the fourth leading cause of death among Kenyans of
all ages, and ranks sixth amongst the causes of morbidity by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).
TB affects people in all age groups but has its greatest toll on those above 15 years of age. Kenya is
among the top 22 countries that collectively contribute to 80 percent of the world’s TB cases (Republic
of Kenya, 2012). Several factors that have contributed to the large TB disease burden in Kenya include
the HIV epidemic, poverty, rapid urbanization that has led to a proliferation of urban slums, prison
congestion and limited access to general health care services. In 1993, the World Health Assembly
set up global TB control targets which were to detect 70 percent of infectious cases, and successfully
treat 85 percent of the detected cases by 2005. The TB control targets for the Millennium Development
Goals (MDG) are to have halved the mortality due to TB by 2010, and to halt and begin to reverse the
incidence of TB by 2015. In order to address the growing burden of TB in Kenya, the Ministry of Health
formed the Division of Leprosy, Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (DLTLD) to increase support in:
• Strengthening of the human resource capacity at all levels of the DLTLD for effective coordination
of TB control activities;
• Decentralisation ofTB control services down to the community level to increase access to services;
• Strengthening the collaboration between TB and HIV control programmes in order to promote
delivery of integrated TB and HIV services, and public-private partnerships to increase the number
of private providers integrated into the TB service provider network; and
• Sustaining public education campaigns coupled with health care worker training and support to
promote early care seeking and adherence to treatment at the community level, and betterTB case
management by health care providers.
The DLTLD adopted the Directly ObservedTherapy Short Course (DOTS) strategy for the control ofTB in
1993 in line with the Stop TB Strategy, and achieved countrywide geographic DOTS coverage by 1997.
The DOTS strategy is considered to be the most cost effective strategy globally, and embraces:
• Sustained political commitment to increase human and financial resources integrating TB control
into the national health system;
• Assured access to quality TB sputum microscopy, standardized short course chemotherapy to all
diagnosed cases of TB, and case management under direct observation of treatment (DOT);
• Uninterrupted supply of quality assured drugs with reliable procurement and distribution systems;
and
• Recording and reporting system enabling outcome assessment of each and every patient and
overall assessment of the programme.
Despite nearly a decade of countrywide implementation of DOTS, Kenya is yet to achieve the agreed
70/85 TB control targets. The TB case notification rate (CNR) rose from 51 to 329 per 100,000 of the
population between 1987 and 2006. The WHO estimates show that the case detection rate (CDR) for
2004 was around 47 percent while the treatment success rate has been steadily increasing to reach 82
percent in 2006. It is for this reason that the DLTLD, in line with international trends, launched several
new approaches to increase access to DOTS, and to truly expand the population DOT coverage. These
approaches include the community-based DOTS (CB-DOTS), public-private mix for DOTS (PPMDOTS),
collaboration between TB and HIV control programmes, and the development of an elaborate
advocacy, communication and social mobilization strategy aimed at influencing communities to seek
care early when TB symptoms occur, and to remain on treatment until it is completed. In spite of these
new approaches, DLTLD has encountered the challenge of providing integrated TB and HIV services in
addition to other interventions without a commensurate increase in the human resource available for

TB control. Additionally, there have been increasing concerns about the emergence of drug resistant
TB, a threat that would pose major challenges in the fight against TB in this resource limited country.
7.1.2 Data and Methods
The information contained in the report is based on a review of existing reports. Kenya has a number of
sources of information on HIV prevalence levels and trends. Three national surveys all provide reliable
estimates of both the HIV prevalence and the trend over those years, including the 2003 and 2008-2009
Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys (CBS, MOH and ORC Macro, 2004), and the 2007 Kenya AIDS
Indicator Survey (Ministry of Health, 2009). Additional data is derived from the antenatal clinic (ANC)
surveillance which has been conducted since 1990, starting with 13 sites and expanding to 44 sites by
2011. ANC surveillance provides information on trends at surveillance sites, which was particularly in
the period before the 2003 KDHS. There is also routine data on HIV and AIDS that is compiled by the
National AIDS Control Council (NACC). Information on malaria and TB in this section is based mainly on
the Malaria Indicator Survey of 2010, and the Health Situation Trends and Distribution: 1994-2010, and
Projections for 2011–2030 (MOPHS and MEDS, 2012).
7.2 Levels, Trends and Patterns HIV Prevalence
The Kenya Country Report for 2010 documented trends in HIV prevalence in the country, including
prevalence by sex, place of residence, region, marital status, and among children. It also contains
information on MARPs. This section describes these trends.
HIV prevalence in Kenya has been declining in the last two decades; with national estimates showing
that in the period 1997-1998, the prevalence among adults aged 15 to 49 was 10 percent (sentinel
surveillance). This had declined to 6.3 percent by the time of the 2008-2009 KDHS (see Figure 7.1.).
Prevalence declined sharply between 1977-1978 and 2003, after which the rates tapered off.
Figure 7.1 HIV Prevalence among women aged 15-49, 1977-2009
6.26.3
7.16.7
10
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1977-78 2003 2007 2008-09 2009
(Swntinel) (KDHS) (KAIS) (KDHS) (Spectrum model)
HIVPrevalence(%)
Source: Various Reports: 2003 & 2008-09 KDHS Reports; 2007 KAIS Report
7.2.1 Differentials in HIV prevalence
Studies show that Kenyan women have a prevalence rate almost twice that for men. According to the
2007 KAIS, women had a prevalence of 8.4 percent compared with 5.4 percent for men.These estimates
compared somewhat well with the eight and 4.3 percent for women and men respectively in the 2008-
2009 KDHS. Young women aged 15 to 24 had a prevalence rate that was four times to that of young

men in the same age group, that is 5.6 percent against 1.4 percent in the 2007 KAIS, and 4.5 percent
against 1.1 percent in the 2008-2009 KDHS. The 2007 KAIS was the first study to include older adults
aged 50 to 64. The survey estimated HIV prevalence in the 50 to 64 age group at 5.0 percent, which
did not differ significantly by sex (5.2% for women compared to 4.7% for men). This shows the need to
provide HIV services to this age group which had previously been assumed not to be at such high risk
of HIV infection.
TherearevariationsinHIVprevalenceacrossregions,aswellasbetweenurbanandruralareas.According
to the 2008-2009 KDHS, HIV prevalence among adults aged 15 to 64 in rural areas was estimated at
6.7 percent compared to 8.4 percent among adults living in urban areas. For adults aged 15 to 49 in
urban areas, 7.2 percent were infected compared with six percent in rural areas. However, given that the
majority of people (75%) reside in rural areas, the absolute number of HIV infections is higher in rural
than urban areas, with an estimated one million adults in rural areas being infected, compared to 0.4
million adults in urban areas. HIV prevalence also varies by region, ranging from 0.9 percent in North
Eastern Province to 13.9 percent in Nyanza Province, as shown in Figure 7.2 below.
Figure 7.2 HIV Prevalence by Region, 2008-2009 KDHS
13.9
7.0 6.6 6.3
4.7 4.6 4.2
3.5
0.9
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Nyanza Nairobi Western Kenya Rift Valley Central Coast Eastern North
Eastern
HIVPrevalence(%)
Source: 2008-09 KDHS Report
7.2.2 Sources of new HIV infections
Recent surveys indicated that HIV prevalence had stabilized (2007 KAIS; 2008-2009 KDHS), but the
Mode of Transmission Study showed that Kenya had a mixed HIV epidemic (MoT, 2008). These studies
revealed a high HIV prevalence amongst a number of key affected groups, including sex workers,
injecting drug users (IDUs), men who have sex with men (MSM), truck drivers and cross-border mobile
populations (see Figure 7.3 below).

Figure 7.3 Sources of New HIV Infections, Kenya, Mode of Transmission Survey, 2008
Casual heterosexual
sex
20%
Heterosexual
couples in
unions/steady
partnerships
43%
Health facility
related infections
4%Injecting drug use
4%
MSM/prison
populations
15%
Sex workers and
their clients
14%
Source: NASCOP (2010: 22).
Some of these groups are stigmatized within society; for example, homosexuality is illegal in Kenya
and punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment. Therefore, these groups are difficult to reach with
HIV prevention, treatment and care. Further, and consequent to the stigmatisation, the extent of HIV
incidence in these groups has not been fully explored and understood (UNGASS, 2008).
7.3 Malaria
Kenya is ranked fifth in the list of 19 countries that are estimated to account for 90 percent of the
malaria cases in the African region, with Nigeria, DR Congo, Ethiopia and Tanzania being the top four
(WHO, 2008). Levels of endemicity of malaria in Kenya vary from region to region; and there is diversity
in risk largely driven by altitude, rainfall patterns and temperature. An estimated 30 percent of all out-
patient morbidity and 19 percent of in-patient admissions in Kenya have been attributed to malaria
(KMIS, 2007). Furthermore, about 17 million person-hours are lost annually to malaria illness.
7.3.1 Trends in Morbidity and Mortality
The 2004 Global Burden of Disease report provides the latest national level estimates of the burden
of malaria in Kenya. It is estimated that malaria accounts for about six percent of all deaths and seven
percent of DALYs in Kenya. Furthermore, about 11 percent of deaths in children under-five years have
been attributed to malaria. Figure 7.4 shows the out-patient trends in clinically diagnosed malaria and
reporting rates, as captured in the HMIS. While reporting rates increased steadily from 2001, levels of
clinically diagnosed malaria had remained fairly stable at around 30 percent from 1996 through 2008.

Figure 7.4 Trends in Malaria Diagnosis in Kenya, 1996 - 2008
In-patient trends are a bit more difficult to interpret, but there appears to have been an increasing
trend in both malaria in-patient morbidity and mortality for the period 2000–2008. However, these
conclusions must be interpreted with caution given the likelihood of over-diagnosis of malaria due
to the preponderance of clinical rather than laboratory confirmation of cases. Moreover, hospital-
based morbidity and mortality data are not nationally representative as they exclude cases occurring
outside health facilities. Thus, objective evaluation of true malaria in-patient morbidity and mortality
trends in Kenya is difficult. However, data available from sentinel and demographic surveillance sites
in various parts of the country provide useful information on malaria trends. For instance, there is
documented evidence of decline in mortality in children less than five years in sentinel districts along
Kenya’s coast attributed to the use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) (Okiro et al, 2007; O’meara et al,
2008). This additional data is useful in augmenting facility-based data to develop a more wholesome
epidemiological picture.
7.3.2 Coverage of Insecticide Treated Nets
There has been extensive progress in ITN coverage, rising from a low four percent in 2003 to about 48
percent in 2008 for both the targeted population groups, pregnant women and children under-five, as
presented in Figure7.5. However, for both population groups, user levels declined marginally into 2010.
Figure 7.5 Overall Trends in ITN use, 2003-2010
4.4 4.6
39.8 39.2
49.0
46.7
41.1 42.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Pregnant women Children < 5
Percent
2003 KDHS 2007 MIS 2008-09 KDHS 2010 MIS
Source: 2003 & 2008-09 KDHS Reports; 2007 & 2010 KMIS Reports
Overall, use of ITNs by pregnant women has increased since 2003, with coverage of about 50 percent by
2008. Regionally, ITN coverage of pregnant women increased significantly in all the provinces between

2003 and 2008. Central and RiftValley provinces recorded the lowest levels of ITN usage (less than 30%),
followed by Nairobi at 46 percent. The rest of the provinces had at least 54 percent of pregnant women
using ITNs, as shown in Figure 7.6.
Figure 7.6 Proportion of pregnant women sleeping under ITN by province, 2003-2008
9.1
3.1 4.7 6.8
3.8 4.4 2.1 1.0
9.6
69.3 69.3
64
60.6
53.6
49
45.8
29.5
26.1
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Nyanza Western Coast North
Eastern
Eastern Kenya Nairobi Rift Valley Central
Percent
2003 KDHS 2008-09 KDHS
Source: 2003 & 2008-09 KDHS Reports
The overall ITN coverage rate of children under five years increased between 2003 and 2008, as shown
in Figure 7.7. However, slightly less than 50 percent of children under-five years of age were using ITNs
in Kenya in 2008. As was observed for pregnant women, the 2008 rate of ITN use by children under five
years of age in Central and Rift Valley provinces remained lower than the national level, as presented in
Figure 7.7. Otherwise more than 50 percent of children under five used ITNs in the other six provinces
in 2008.
Figure 7.7 Percent of children under 5 sleeping under ITN by province, 2003-2008
1.2
7.4 7.5
4.8
8.1
3.9 4.6 3.9 2.5
62.7
60.9
56.9 55.4
51.9 50.6
46.7
35.0
29.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
North
Eastern
Nyanza Coast Western Nairobi Eastern Kenya Central Rift Valley
Percent
2003 KDHS 2008-09 KDHS
Source: 2003 & 2008-09 KDHS Reports
7.3.3 Intermittent Preventive Treatment in pregnancy (IPTp)
There has been a steady increase in intermittent Preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) uptake from
four percent in 2003 to 15 percent in 2008, and eventually to 26 percent in 2010. However, there is still a
considerable gap between the proportion of women who reported taking any preventive anti-malarial
in pregnancy and those who took two doses of IPTp during ante-natal care. This gap has remained
largely unchanged between 2003 through 2010 as portrayed in Figure 7.8.

Figure 7.8 Trends in IPTp Uptake, 2003 -2010
21.0
3.9
44.8
12.5
41.5
15.1
25.7
66.5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Took any preventive
antimalarial
2+ doses of IPT at ANC
Percent
2003 KDHS 2007 MIS 2008-09 KDHS 2010 MIS
Source: 2003 and 2008-09 KDHS; 2007 and 2010 KMIS
7.3.4 Coverage of Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS)
Indoor residual Spraying (IRS) is conducted for epidemic prevention in highland prone districts and for
reduction of the disease burden in three districts in the lake endemic region. Net use is encouraged for
all persons whether IRS has been undertaken or not. The peak in IRS coverage occurred in 2007, which
coincided with the Global Fund/DFID Round 4 disbursements, as illustrated in Figure 7.9. This peak
was, however, followed by a steady decline which coincided with delays in Global Fund disbursements.
However, according to the Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS) 2010 results, 44 percent of children under five
in highland epidemic prone districts slept under an ITN, while an additional 22 percent slept in a house
that had been sprayed in the preceding 12 months. In the lake endemic region, 48 percent slept under
an ITN and an additional 10 percent slept in houses that had been sprayed in the preceding 12 months.
Figure7.9 Trends of IRS coverage, 2005 - 2009
Source: RoK, Kenya Health Policy Framework 1994–2010: Analysis of Performance
7.3.5 Access to Prompt Anti-malarial Treatment
In 2003, about 27 percent of children with fever reported taking any anti-malarial treatment. While this
proportion slightly dropped between 2007 and 2009, it increased to 35 percent in 2010 (Figure7.10).
About 11 percent of these children reported being treated with anti-malarial within 24 hours of the

on-set of the illness in 2003. This rose to 15 percent in 2007, then dropped to 12 percent in 2009, and
eventually climbed to a level of 21 percent in 2010. By contrast, the proportion of children who reported
to have received the first line treatment for malaria decreased from six percent in 2003 to four percent
in 2007, only to increase to eight percent in 2009, and to 11 percent in 2010.
Figure 7.10 Access to prompt treatment with anti-malarial for children, 2003-2010
26.5
11.1
6.2
23.5
15.2
4.3
23.2
11.8
7.8
35.1
20.5
10.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Took any antimalarial Treated within 24 hours Received 1st line treatment
Percent
2003 KDHS 2007 MIS 2008-09 KDHS 2010 MIS
Source: 2003 and 2008-09 KDHS; 2007 and 2010 KMIS
7.4 Tuberculosis
National TB case notification rates have increased steadily from 50/100,000 in 1990 to 288/100,000 in
2007 for all forms of TB. Smear positive pulmonary TB cases ranged from 38/100,000 to 98/100,000
between 1990 and 2008, reflecting an increasing amount of TB in the country. At regional level, TB case
notification rates rose steadily from 1996 to 2003, and then either plateaued or decreased between
2003 and 2007 for all provinces except Eastern, Central and Western. Nyanza Province had the highest
notification rates for all forms of TB, while North Eastern Province had the lowest. Further, as shown in
Figure 7.11, notification rates between 2007 and 2011 decreased in three provinces (Central, Eastern,
Nyanza) while they either plateaued or increased in the remaining five provinces (Nairobi, Coast, North
Eastern, Rift Valley, Western).
Figure 7.11 Trends in Outpatient TB Morbidity by Province, 2006–2011
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000
Nairobi
Central
Coast
Eastern
N. Eastern
Nyanza
Rift Valley
Western
Number of cases
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Source: Statistical Abstract, 2012

7.4.1 Drug resistant TB
One of the consequences of treatment failure that is emerging as a major public health problem in
Kenya is that of drug resistant TB (DRTB), and its variants, including multi-drug resistant TB (MDRTB),
poly-drug resistant TB (PDRTB), and extremely drug resistant TB (XDRTB). Figure 7.12 shows that the
majority of the patients diagnosed with DRTB were males aged 25-34, with 40 percent of the cases
being seen at Kenyatta National Hospital, the largest referral hospital in the country. Significantly, 27
percent of those with DRTB were also HIV positive.
Figure 7.12 Percentage of DRTB cases by age group and Sex
Source: NTLP administrative Data, 2009
The optimal care and control of TB is dependent on functional laboratory systems. Although the
laboratory network in Kenya has been growing, Kenya needs many more facilities and well-trained staff
to run them to provide optimal TB care and control services. In support of the provision of quality TB
care,attentionmustalsobefocusedonimprovinglaboratorymanagement,adaptingnewtechnologies
for speeding up and improving quality of culture and DST diagnostics, and improving the laboratory
logistics and commodity management chain. As at 2011, Kenya had a total of 1,581 laboratories which
translates to 3.8 laboratories per 100,000 of the population (WHO, 2012). Compared to other countries
in the region, Kenya had a higher number of laboratories: Uganda had 1,081 laboratories (3.1/100,000);
Tanzania had 945 laboratories (2.0/100,000); and South Africa had only 244 laboratories (0.5/100,000)
(WHO, 2012). Children continue to carry a large burden of TB morbidity and mortality, with about 12
percent of the total burden accounted for by children under 15; yet specialists available to treat them
are few, and the capacity to diagnose them properly remains limited (Republic of Kenya, 2012).
7.5 Existing policies and programmes
To combat malaria, the Ministry of Health (MOH), through the National Malaria Control Programme
(NMCP), developed the National Malaria Strategy (NMS) covering the period 2001-2010. The main goal
of the NMS was to reduce the level of malaria infection and consequent deaths by 30 percent by 2006,
and to sustain the improved level of control to 2010. These targets are in line with benchmarks for
measuring progress in malaria control as stipulated in the Abuja Declaration and the Roll Back initiative
(WHO/CDS/RBM, 2000). In order to meet these targets, the current MoH policy on malaria recommends
several strategies. Firstly, the policy states that all pregnant women living in areas prone to malaria
should have access to at least two free SP doses, or other suitable prophylactic drug regimen – which
constitutes IPTp. The policy also provides for personal protection to people at risk of malaria, especially
young children and pregnant women through increased access to ITN and longer lasting insecticide
nets (LLIN). Furthermore, it is recommended that all fevers in children under five years be presumptively
treated for malaria with artemenisin combination treatment (ACT), which is provided free of charge at
Government and mission health facilities.

Table 7.1 Intervention Policies and Strategies for Malaria in Kenya
Intervention WHO-Recommended Policies/Strategies Yes/No Year
Adopted
ITN/LLIN ITNs/LLINs Distributed free of Charge Yes 2006
ITNs/LLNs Distributed to all age group Yes 2010
IRS IRS is recommended Yes 2009
DDT is used for IRS No -
Case
Management
Patients of all ages should receive diagnostic test Yes 2009
RDTs used at community level No -
Pre-referral treatment with recommended medicine Yes 2006
Marketing Authorization for all oral arteminisin based
monotherapies withdrawn
No -
Source: WHO Malaria Report, 2012
7.6 Challenges
HIV and AIDS Challenges
• CareofHIVinfectedandaffectedpeopleisabigproblem,especiallyforfamilies.Onecomponent
of this population is the number of HIV and AIDS orphans that has been growing steadily from
27,000 in 1990 to 1.2 million in 2002, and further to 2.4 million by 2007.
• Sexual abstinence among the youth is still low. Age at first sexual intercourse has slightly
increased when compared with data from KDHS 2003. The median age at first sex among
women age 20-49 slightly increased from 17.8 years to 18.2 years, while that of men aged 20-
54 increased from 17.1 to 17.6 years. Delayed sexual debut and condom use have been listed as
the main avenues for the reduction of prevalence in Kenya.
• HIV-related stigma throughout society continues to pose a challenge. It inhibits many people
from seeking HIV testing services and accessing ART, and is also a major contributor to the poor
adherence by many people to ART regimes.
• Given that about 90 percent of the resources for the HIV response comes from development
partners, unpredictability and sustainability of financing for the epidemic remains quite a
challenge to the Government of Kenya.
7.7 Gaps and challenges
Apart from HIV and AIDS, data is scarce for trend analysis for STIs, malaria and TB. According to the
WHO Malaria Report (2012), Kenya does not have sufficient data with which to assess trends in malaria
morbidity and mortality.
Tuberculosis
To meet the MDG target on TB, several challenges need to be overcome, including:
• Infrastructure:– There is inadequate space for the increased demand for laboratory and chest
clinic services;
• Equipment for TB diagnosis is limited in supply;
• Involvement of all stakeholders in TB control, especially the involvement and empowerment of
communities hosting people living with or affected by TB;
• The evolution of MDR-TB that has a very high mortality rate;
• Threat of HIV which continues to fuel TB; and
• Misconception that TB is not treatable, delaying infected people’s search for treatment.

Malaria
Among the current challenges in combating the malaria menace include:
• Impact of the investment in malaria control over the past ten years and the gains made in
reducing morbidity and mortality are difficult to measure within the routine health system as
nearly all fevers are diagnosed and treated as malaria;
• Parasitological diagnosis of malaria is still low;
• General knowledge about the recommended malaria treatment in the communities remains
low;
• Poor diagnostic equipment;
• Weak distribution of ITNS, and diversion of the same to other uses; and
• Malaria drug resistance.
7.8 Conclusion
There have been efforts to revitalize the national STI/RTI control activities in the country, leading to the
reconstitution of the National STI Technical Working Group which has developed STI prevention
and control targets, and an Action Plan.These initiatives could be incorporated into the National Plan of
Action (2009-2011) for KNASP III that covers the period (2009/2010-2012/2013) and the National Health
Sector Strategic Plan. Further, there has been a review of the syndromic management charts in line
with the WHO recommendations that made them consistent with available drugs for managing STIs
in Kenya. This activity was meant to support health workers to provide services to clients or patients
seeking services at the moment of contact. Studies of drug sensitivity and STI surveillance have
been undertaken in order to inform comprehensive revision of the national STI/RTI guidelines and
curriculum. The STI surveillance system was expected to clearly define syndromic versus aetiologic
types to be used to inform information needs and data collection tools. A consistent surveillance
system should continuously validate the various treatment algorithms. Three studies are currently at
different stages of implementation, including:
• Urethritis pathogens and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Neisseria gonorrhoeae among
male patients presenting with urethral discharge syndrome in Nairobi, Kenya;
• Etiologic Surveillance for Genital Infections among HIV-infected Adults in HIV Care Programs in
Kenya (data analysis complete); and
• Qualitative Assessment with Health Care Providers (HCPs) to Improve Sexually Transmitted
Infection (STI) Management in HIV Care and Treatment Clinics in Kenya.
Therearealsoeffortstoscale-uplessonslearntandexperiencesfromintegratingthemanagement
of STIs/RTIs into reproductive health settings, such as FP, ANC, PNC, maternity units, outpatient clinics,
etc. This was done in a national STI/RTI forum34
.
With regard to HIV prevalence, there has been a downward trend generally. However, differentials still
exist with regard to age and sex and special high risk groups. HIV stigma continues to be a challenge
that needs attention in order to sustain the decline in HIV prevalence in the country. According to the
Kenya AIDS Update Report, 2012, priority recommendations for ensuring long-term success in Kenya’s
AIDS response are as follows:
• AIDS must remain a pre-eminent national priority.
• Kenya should take steps to enhance the strategic focus of its AIDS response.
• Intensified efforts are needed to enhance coordination, harmonization and alignment of the
national response.
• Support should be expanded for grassroots community action and capacity development.
34 See http://nascop.or.ke/sexually_transmited_infection.php, 2013

• A high-profile, multi-pronged strategy should be implemented to ensure sufficient financial
resources to address the long-term challenge posed by AIDS.
• All partners engaged in the AIDS response in Kenya should intensify efforts to enhance the
efficiency of AIDS programmes and quality of AIDS services.
• Kenya should re-commit to the achievement of the 2013 targets in KNASP III.
• Kenya should elevate the priority accorded to efforts to prevent new HIV infections, including
focused efforts to maximize the prevention impact of antiretroviral therapy.
• Strategies to reduce HIV risk must be supported by energetic, courageous efforts to address the
social determinants of vulnerability.
• Kenya should accelerate scaling up of comprehensive HIV treatment, care and support.
• At the same time that AIDS programmes are brought to scale, dramatically stronger efforts are
needed to strengthen the country’s health system.
References
Brosch R, Gordon SV, Marmiesse M, Brodin P, Buchrieser C, Eiglmeier K, et al. A new evolutionary scenario
for the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Proc. NatlAcadSci U S A. 2002; 99:3684–9. [PMC
free article][PubMed
Bucher HC, Griffith LE, Guyatt GH, et al. Isoniazid prophylaxis for tuberculosis in HIV infection: a meta-
analysis of randomized controlledtrials. AIDS. 1999; 13:501-507
Cole ST, Brosch R, Parkhill J, Garnier T, Churcher C, Harris D, et al. (1998). Deciphering the biology of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the complete genome sequence. Nature.1998; 393:537–44
Corbett, EL,Watt CJ, Maher D,Walker N,Williams BG, Ranglione MC, Dye C. (2003).“The growing burden
of tuberculosis: Global Trends and interactions with the HIV epidemic,” Arch. Int. Med. 163:
1009-1021.
CBS, MOH and ORC Macro (2004). Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 2003. Calverton, Maryland
Hirsh AE, Tsolaki AG, De Riemer K, Feldman MW, Small PM. Stable association between strains of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis and their human host populations. ProcNatlAcadSci USA. 2004;
101:4871–6. [PMC free article][PubMed]
KNBS and ICF Macro (2010). Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 2008-09. Calverton, Maryland
NASCOP, Ministry of Health (2009). Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey 2007
NASCOP (http://nascop.or.ke/sexually_transmited infection.php. Accessed on 22.04.13
NASCOP (2009). Revitalizing the National STI/RTI Control Activities in Kenya. Report of a high level
Meeting October 14th
– 15th
2009, Nairobi
Okiro AE, Hay SI, Gikandi PW, Sharif SK, Noor AM, PeshuN, Marsh K and Snow RW (2007). The decline in
paediatric malaria admissions on the coast of Kenya. Malaria Journal, 6:151
O’MearaWP, Bejon P, MwangiTW, Okiro EA, Peshu N, Snow RW, Newton CRJC, and Marsh K (2008). Effect
of a fall in malaria transmission on morbidity and mortality in Kilifi, Kenya. The Lancet, Volume
372, Issue 9649, Pages 1555 - 1562,
Office of the President/NACC (2012). Kenya AIDS Epidemic updates 2011
Republic of Kenya (2012). KenyaHealthPolicyFramework1994–2010:AnalysisofPerformance. Analytical
Review of Health Progress, and Systems Performance
UNAIDS (2010). The Global AIDS Epidemic Report. Geneva.
(UNGASS (2008)‘Country report – Kenya’
WHO; 2010. [Last cited on 2010 Oct 15]. World Health Organization. Fact Sheet No.104: Tuberculosis.
Available from:http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs104/en/print.html . Geneva
WHO/CDS/RBM, 2000.An Extract from the African Summit on Roll Back Malaria, Abuja, 25 April 2000
World Health Organization (2012). World Malaria Report 2012. Geneva
World Health Organization (2012). Global Tuberculosis Report 2012. Geneva

CHAPTER 8: THE YOUTH: STATUS AND PROSPECTS
8.1 Introduction
In paragraph 8 (a) of theWorld Programme of Action forYouth (WPAY-1995)35
, the UN General Assembly
adopted resolution 50/81 of 14 December 1995, which emphasized that “every State should provide
its Young People with opportunities for obtaining education, for acquiring skills and for participating fully
in all aspects of society”(UN, 2007). Since the adoption of WYPAY-1995, Governments, the international
community,civilsocietyandotheractorshaveincreasinglyrecognizedtheimportanceofinvestinginthe
youth (UN, 2007).Today, adolescents and the youth represent the biggest generation in human history,
reports Lam (2006) who adds that between one third and one half of the population in developing
countries (including Kenya) is under 20.Their transition to adulthood needs to be understood and taken
into account in the larger developmental context. However, increased poverty, social inequalities, low
quality education, gender discrimination, widespread unemployment, weakened health systems, and
rapid globalization are the realities with which young people grow (UN, 2005). It is worth mentioning
that the HIV and AIDS pandemic has made today’s adolescents the first generation growing up with the
disease (UNFPA, undated).
This section presents the status of the youth because of their unique situation in planning for, and
implementing the development agenda. It specifically focuses on reproductive health and access to
education and employment because during this stage young people prepare for, and begin to take on,
adult roles in terms of family formation, financial independence and citizenship. This focus is anchored
on statement in the World Development Report to the effect that:
“decisions that will affect young people’s well-being and society’s are those that shape
the foundational human capital to be productive workers, family heads, citizens and
community leaders” (World Bank, 2007: 5)
Human development during the youthful stage of life is not a uniform process. The youth life cycle is
also an important critical period of development of the individual, meaning that any significant harm
that occurs is likely to produce severe, often irreversible and intergenerational effects (World Bank,
2007).
8.1.1 Rationale
People’s behaviour and needs vary at different stages of the life cycle. Changes in a country’s age
structure have significant effects on its social, economic and political performance. Globally, the youth
make a very heterogeneous group with a variety of needs determined by age, sex, marital status,
schooling levels, residence and other socio-economic characteristics (UNFPA, 2012). This implies that
as young people transit into adulthood, their experiences are by no means the same.
Adolescence is also an important time to acquire the necessary skills, health, social networks and other
attributes that form the social capital necessary for a fulfilling life. However, the challenges for young
people during the transition to adulthood are greater today than ever before (UNFPA, 2012). Whereas
young men and women tended to move directly from childhood to adult roles in the past; today the
interval between childhood and the assumption of adult roles is lengthening (National Research
Council and Institute of Medicine, 2005). In many parts of the developing world, the youth face serious
35 The UN’s World Program of Action for Youth defines “youth” as people ages 15–24, while the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF use the terms
“adolescent”for those 10–19,“youth”for those 15–24, and“young people”for those 10–24. The wider band of 10–24 years used by these agencies recognizes
that many policies directed at youth often need to influence outcomes before the age of 15. This report uses youth for those in age group 15-24 while young
people as those in age group 10-24. Youth represents the transition from childhood to adulthood and involves biological transformation as well as economic,
social and institutional adaptation (Lloyd, 2005)

challenges associated with growing up, with some of the most critical ones being those related to
sexuality and reproduction. This is because they are at a stage in their lives when they are exploring
and establishing their identity in society, needing to develop the life skills that will enable them to be
responsible adults and socially fit into society. In sub-Saharan Africa, the combination of poverty and
conflict exacerbates the difficult circumstances of the youth, calling for well focused interventions that
can enable them to realise economically active lives (UNFPA, 2011).
The youth are also an enormous resource for a nation’s growth and development and the potential
long-term benefits of the human capital accumulated during adolescence and in youthfulness make
a strong macro-economic argument to support increased investment in their health, education and
economic development (UNFPA, 2011). Failing to undertake such investment in young people’s health
and education, and failing to plan for the exploration of their full potential will mean losing the implicit
demographic opportunity (Gribble and Bremmer, 2012).
Kenyan youth are vulnerable just like others elsewhere on the globe, with diverse needs that require
attention across all sectors. Although the youth have always had the numbers compared to the rest
of the population, this had never translated into tangible access to power and other opportunities:
of the 13.7 million youth in the national population, more than half (approximately 7.6 million) live
in poverty. However, the country’s Constitution (2010) has significantly strengthened the context for
democratic and accountable Government, particularly through a devolved system of Government to 47
counties (Chapter 11). The Constitution and the legislations arising from it specifically reserve seats in
key decision-making bodies in the national and county Governments for hitherto marginalised groups,
including the youth. These measures recognise that Kenya is a youthful nation needing to urgently
address the social, economic, demographic and even political needs of young people, not only for their
sake, but also for national stability, security and socio economic development.
8.2 Trends in Size, Growth rates and Distribution
Table 8.1 shows trends in Kenya’s youth population since 1969. The absolute size of the youth grew
from about two million in 1969 (nearly 19 percent of the country’s total population), to about six million
in 1999 and 7.9 million in 2009, making about 21 percent of the total population. This translates into an
almost four-fold increase in the youth, which was, however, in concert with the growth in the country’s
overall population. The country’s median age currently stands at 18.7 years (Population Reference
Bureau, 2010) indicating a predominantly youthful population. Between 1969 and 1979 youth
population grew at about 4.4 percent per annum, but the rate has since declined to about 2.4 percent.
Table 8.1 Trends in population of youth aged 15-24 since 1969
Total population (‘000)
1969 1979 1989 1999 2009
10,944 15,327 21,444 28,687 38,610
Population of Youth (ages 15-24) (‘000) 2,032 3,153 4,282 6,236 7,944
Share of the Youth to total population 18.6% 20.6% 20.0% 21.7% 20.6%
Inter-censal growth rates (% per annum) 4.4 3.3 3.8 2.4
Population of Youth in census year relative to
youth population 1969 (1969=100) 100 140 196 262 391
Source: Computed from Census 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999 and 2009.
Figure 8.1 shows the regional shares of the youth in the total population. Except for Nairobi Province’s
24 percent share, all the other provinces have even shares ranging between 19 to 21 percent, which
is also the national share. The larger share of the youth for Nairobi Province is mainly due to migration

into the city in search of employment, while the low share for Central Province is a function of the
demographic transition reflected in consistently declining fertility (see Chapter 4), coupled with high
out-migration rate of its youth for employment.
Figure 8.1 Youth aged 15-24 as a percent of total population by region, 2009 census
23.8
21.2 20.9 20.6 20.5 20.3 20.1 19.5 18.9
0
5
10
15
20
25
Nairobi Nyanza Rift Valley Kenya North
Eastern
Coast Western Eastern Central
Percent
Source: KNBS (2010)
According to 2009 census, the urban youth are about 35 percent of the national youth population,
while the youth constitute about 23 percent of the total urban population. Concentration of young
people in the country’s major cities poses great challenges in the provision of services in health and
education and in creating employment for them.
8.3 Sexual and Reproductive Health
Current investments in the reproductive health needs of the youth should provide a healthy labour
force and strengthen the future economy of a country. In sub-Saharan Africa, young people are sexually
active by their late teens which heighten associated risks; such as HIV infection, unwanted pregnancy
and unsafe abortion, economic hardships and school dropouts (CSA and PAI, 2009).The adverse effects
of teenage sexual behaviour, pregnancy and child-bearing are well documented (e.g. CSA, 2004; 2009;
Katindi, 2010). However, the extent to which the reproductive behaviour of the youth is considered
problematic varies across societies in the developing world. Data for several countries suggest that
women who marry in their teenage years are at higher risk of domestic violence (UNICEF, 2012).
They may be cut off from their families and formal education curtailed their development — and the
fulfillment of their human rights — may be compromised, UNICEF adds. A Kenyan study by the Ministry
of Public Health and Sanitation confirmed the fact that many young people are sexually active and are
at risk of adverse reproductive health outcomes that consequently affect the achievement of life goals
and their optimal contribution to national development (GOK, 2011). Although early pregnancy has
declined in many countries, it is still a major concern, especially because of the health risks for both
mother and child and the impact on girl’s education and life prospects (UN, 2005).
8.3.1 Sexual debut
For Kenya, data on first sexual intercourse for specific age categories of both males and females have
been available since KDHS 1998, with KDHS 1993 only focusing on first sexual intercourse among
females. Table 8.2 presents median age at first sexual intercourse and at first marriage from 1998 to
2008-200936
. The gap between median age at first sex and at first marriage gives a proxy measure on
the extent of premarital sex in the country.The data (seeTable 8.2) suggests an increase in age at sexual
36 The median ages are only used as proxy measures since it is difficult to obtain data from the most recent cohort. The data used in the table represent different
cohorts that may have different experiences.

debut and marriage and a declining propensity for premarital sex among women. Young women on
average experienced sex about two years before marriage in 2008, reflecting a marginal decline from
three years in 1998. Among the males, the gap between median age at first sex and at first marriage is
an even bigger and consistent eight years.
This relatively larger gap for males poses various risks, including unwanted pregnancies among their
varied partners as well as STI and HIV infection. The risks are further compounded by the fact that
contraceptive use remains low among never-married girls who are sexually active, with a majority 73.2
percentofcurrentlysexually-activesinglewomenaged15-19notreportingtheuseofanycontraception
method (KNBS and IFC Macro, 2010).
Table 8.2 Median age at first sexual intercourse and at first marriage (1993 to 2008)
1993 1998 2003 2008-2009
Females aged 20-49
Median age at first sexual intercourse 16.8 16.7 17.8 18.2
Median age at first marriage 19.2 19.5 19.9 20.0
Difference 2.4 2.8 2.1 1.8
Men aged 20-54
Median age at first sexual intercourse - 16.8 17.1 17.6
Median age at first marriage - 24.8 25.1 25.1
Difference 8 8 7.5
Source: KDH Surveys 1993 1998, 2003, 2008/2009
A recent study found that four in ten Kenyan girls had sex before the age of 19, many of them as early
as 12 (CSA, 2009). The KDHS data also show early sexual debut with regional variations (CSA, 2009;
KNBS, 2010a). About 40 percent of women in the general population are estimated to carry the human
papilloma virus (HPV), a leading cause of cervical cancer (CSA, 2009). Studies have shown that HPV
is higher among young, sexually active women who have unprotected sex with multiple partners
(Coutrie et al., 2012). A study conducted in five urban areas in Kenya in 2011 reflected the above pattern
and showed that many women had engaged in sex by the age of 20 (GOK/MOPHS, 2011). The study
further revealed that sexual debut occurred earlier in the poorer wealth quintiles regardless of place
residence or origin, and acknowledged the existence of a combination of factors at play among many
young women who turn to sex as a source of livelihood, such as transactional sex, lack of economic
opportunities, and poverty. This is demonstrated by the GOK/MOPHS (2011) finding that 77 percent
of the women in the poorest wealth quintile in Kisumu had engaged in sexual intercourse by age 17,
compared to just 36 percent in the richest wealth quintile.This reality is repeated across the other study
areas: in Nairobi, it was 46 percent against 21 percent; and 23 percent against six percent in Mombasa
by age 15.
8.3.2 Fertility
Teenage pregnancy poses threats to the health of both mother and child, and ultimately narrows
women’s opportunities in life. Several studies point to the fact that adolescents aged 15-19 are twice
as likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth as those aged over 20 (Scholl et. al 1994; UNFPA 2004;
WHO 2012). In Kenya, one common consequence of teenage pregnancy for girls is the forfeiture of
educational opportunities: pregnant girls are often expelled or forced to leave school when the teachers
andtheschooladministratorsdiscoverthepregnancy(CSA,2004).CSAreportsthatdespiteGovernment
policies designed to protect a pregnant girl’s right to continue her education, a decade ago, 13,000 girls
leave school every year due to pregnancy. That only 35 percent of Kenyan girls between the ages of 16
and 20 were still in school, compared to almost 50 percent for boys the same age cohort, despite parity

at initial enrolment, can partly be attributed to teenage pregnancy, argues CSA. According to the same
study, pregnant girls cite the stigma of pregnancy and discrimination by teachers and peers as the main
reasons that force them out of school.
Table 8.3 shows the 1993 to 2008 trends in the percentages of female youths who were either pregnant
or had become mothers. The patterns of teen pregnancies and motherhood did not change much
between 1993 and 2003 when 17 percent of women in age group 15-19 were mothers, but reduced
marginally to 15 percent in 2008.
Table 8.3 Trends in proportion of adolescents who are either pregnant or mothers by age 19 (1993-
2008)
Year
Age 1993 1998 2003 2008
15 3.4 1.7 2.4 1.0
16 3.1 4.3 5.3 8.2
17 10.5 14.1 12.0 13.0
18 27.7 26.2 30.4 21.6
19 39.5 39.5 39.4 30.0
15-19 16.8 17.2 17.9 14.8
Source:KenyaNationalBureauofStatisticsandORCMacro: 2008/2009KenyaDemographicandHealthSurveys
Table 8.4 shows the percentage of women aged 15 to 19 who have begun childbearing by region of
origin and area of residence. At the national level, there was a 30 percent decline to close the period
at 18 percent. The incidence of adolescent motherhood varies dramatically by region, with Nyanza
and Coast provinces recording the highest cases at 27.0 percent and 25.7 percent respectively for
2008/2009, compared to 10 percent for Central province. Of great interest is the fact that Coast’s rate
has increased by about 40 percent from its 1989 level. While Nyanza and Nairobi were comparable in
1989, the latter’s share has decreased by more than 50 percent. Trends in entry into motherhood in Rift
Valley are however inconsistent; initially among the highest in 1989, declined in 1993 but increased
again in 1998-2003. In terms of residence, this percentage was slightly higher in urban areas compared
to rural areas in 2008/2009. However, both the rural and urban rates have declined quite significantly
over the period.
Table 8.4 Percentage of women aged 15-19 who have begun child bearing by area of residence,
1989-2008/2009
1989 1993 1998 2003 2008-2009
Residence
Urban 29.2 17.3 17.5 22.2 18.5
Rural 24.5 21.1 21.8 23.3 17.5
Region
Nairobi 31.1 19.0 10.2 19.5 13.9
Central 22.3 15.6 15.1 15.3 10.1
Coast 18.9 17.0 27.8 29.4 25.7
Eastern 22.1 19.8 15.7 14.8 13.8
Nyanza 30.8 28.0 23.0 27.1 27.0
Rift Valley 25.2 19.5 27.8 30.5 16.5
Western 26.6 21.5 21.6 21.1 15.1
NorthEastern - - - 29.0 16.2
Kenya 25.4 20.5 20.9 23.0 17.7
Source: KDHS 1989, 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008/2009

Table 8.5 shows trends in fertility rates among women aged 15 to 24, with the data showing that the
frequency of births among the youth has been declining. Between 1978 and 1988, the adolescent
fertility rate declined by about ten percent, while between 1988 and 1998 it declined by 27 percent37
.
In the last decade, adolescent fertility has declined by only seven percent but the contribution of
adolescent fertility to the country’s overall fertility (as measured by TFR) has been increasing, from 32
percent in the late 1970s to about 37 percent in 2008. Needless to say, the reproductive decisions the
youth make at any point shape Kenya’s future socio-demographic landscape.
Table 8.5 Trends in Age Specific Fertility Rates (births per 1000 population) of Youth (15-24)
population
Age Period
1975-
1978
1984-
1989
1990-
1993
1995-
1998
2000-
2003
2005-
2008
15-19 168 152 110 111 114 103
20-24 342 314 257 248 243 233
Percent contribution of age group
15 to 24 births to TFR
31.8 34.8 34.0 38.0 36.5 37.0
TFR 8.1 6.7 5.4 4.7 4.9 4.6
Source: 1977/78 Kenya fertility survey; and KDHS 1988/1989, 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008/2009
While this decline in youth fertility was part of a general fertility decline nationally, adolescent fertility
still remains comparatively high in Kenya compared to other countries in the region, as illustrated in
Table 8.6. Ethiopia has the lowest adolescent fertility rate while Malawi has the highest.
Table 8.6 Adolescent Fertility Rates for selected East and Southern African Countries
Country Survey ASFR ( 15-19) per 1000 population
Ethiopia 2011 DHS 79
Kenya 2008-2009 DHS 103
Malawi 2010 DHS 152
Rwanda 2010 DHS 41
Tanzania 2010 DHS 116
Uganda 2011 DHS 134
Zimbabwe 2010-11 DHS 115
Source: ICF International, 2012. MEASURE DHS STAT compiler - http://www.statcompiler.com - July 10
2012.
8.3.3 Unintended Childbearing and Fertility Preference
Table 8.7 shows births to young women (15-24) by whether they were intended or unintended. The
proportion reporting that either the birth was mistimed (wanted later) or wanted no more reflects
the extent of unintended childbearing. The proportion that preferred to have their current birth later
(mistimed births) increased from 43 percent in 1993 to 45 percent in 1998, and thereafter declined to
slightly over 30 percent in 2008 among women aged 15-19.The same pattern emerged among women
aged 20 to 24. The extent of unplanned (total unintended) births among teenagers declined from
about 50 percent in 1993 to about 37 percent in 2008. The unplanned births among women aged 20
to 24 declined from 45 percent in 1993 to about 40 percent in 2008. However, the ideal family size has
remained nearly the same over time.
37 Adolescent fertility rate is number of births per 1000 women of age group 15-19.

Table 8.7 Trends in ideal number of children and planning status of births
Age
at
birth
1993
Birth wanted
Ideal
# of
children
1998
Birth wanted
Ideal.
# of
children
2003
Birth wanted
Ideal
# of
children
2008/09
Birth wanted
Ideal.
# of
children
Then Later No more Then Later No more Then Later No more Then Later No more
15-19 48.4 43.4 6.6 3.5 52.0 45.0 2.9 3.5 53.2 26.1 20.5 3.6 53.2 31.9 14.9 3.5
20-24 53.2 39.1 6.3 3.4 54.7 40.3 4.6 3.4 60.7 27.7 11.3 3.4 60.4 29.9 9.6 3.4
Source: KDHS 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008/2009
The extent of unmet FP need among youth aged 15 to 24 has declined over time, a trend that is similar
to the decline in the prevalence of unintended childbearing (Figure 8.2).
Figure 8.2 Trends in Unmet Need for Contraception among Married Women aged 15 to 24
26.7 27.8
29.728.5
32.4
30.1
41.9 40.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent
15-19 20-24
Source: KDHS 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008/2009
Figure 8.3 shows the level of unmet need for contraception among all women aged 15 to 24. About 12
percent of all the women had unmet need for FP need. Unmet need was highest among young women
in Nyanza and Coast provinces and lowest in Nairobi and Central provinces. The data also show that
unmet need declines with an increase in the level of educational attainment, suggesting that education
probably raises the initiative and means with which to find contraception.
Figure 8.3 Unmet Need for Contraception among Women aged 15 to 24
Source: 2008-2009 KDHS

8.3.4 Abortion
The persistent high levels of unintended pregnancies are the root cause for women’s recourse to
abortion. The reasons for unintended pregnancies include the lack of access to, or the non-use or
failure of, contraception. Other reasons include unwanted or forced sexual intercourse arising from
women’s weak empowerment over sexual and reproductive matters. About one-quarter of Africa’s
unsafe abortions occur among young women aged 15 to 19, a higher rate for that age group than in
any of the other continental regions (WHO, 2004). Nearly 60 percent of the unsafe abortions in Africa
occur among women under age 25, WHO adds. In 2008, almost one-third of births and pregnancies
among teenage girls and those aged 20 to 24 were mistimed, while 15 percent and 10 percent of
teenage and 20 to 24 year old women respectively did not want the current birth or pregnancy. In a
study of abortion-related complications that presented in public health institutions in Kenya, nearly
50 percent of the complications occurred among the younger women (Onyango and Gabraeselassie,
2003). A study conducted by Ipas in 2004 to estimate the magnitude of abortion complications at
public hospitals in Kenya, showed that adolescents accounted for 16 percent of women admitted with
abortion complications (Ipas, 2005). According to the same study, more than 300,000 abortions occur
in Kenya annually; which translates into 46 abortions for every 1,000 women of reproductive age (Ipas,
2004). There is paucity of national level data on abortion, the only national estimates for Kenya being
based on a 2004 study of women treated for post-abortion complications.
8.3.5 HIV and AIDS
The socio-economic bases of national populations continue to be ravaged by HIV and AIDS, especially
affecting the youth. In almost all Sub-Saharan Africa countries, HIV prevalence is higher among girls
aged 15 to 24 than among boys of the same age bracket. Since 2005, more than half the estimated
five million people who contracted HIV worldwide were young people aged 15 to 24, with more than
half of them being young women (Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MOYAS), 2010). The growth
of the epidemic in this age group is related to, among other causes, the increase in risky activities,
social stigma associated with HIV infection, inadequate access to preventive SRH services, difficulties
in obtaining related information (both in and out of school) and inappropriate health policies and
programmes designed to meet the needs of young people (UNFPA, 2007).
In Kenya too, young people are more vulnerable than other age groups to HIV and AIDS. The country’s
HIV prevalence rate among the youth has remained at slightly over three percent since 2003. Among
the infected population aged 15 to 64, the youth constitute nearly 17 percent, which translates to
approximately 228,165 of the 1.33 million infected adults (NASCOP, 2007). Results from KDHS and Kenya
AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS) indicate that for both young men and women, HIV prevalence increased
among the 15 to 19 year olds in the 2003-2007 period, but decreased among 20-24 year olds (GOK/
NASCOP38
, 2007). Prevalence in 15 to 19 year old men rose from 0.4 percent in 2003 to 1.0 percent in
2007, but reduced for the 20 to 24 years old group, from 2.4 percent in 2003 to 1.9 percent in 2007.
The trend was quite different among the women, with the HIV prevalence in the 15-19 year old cohort
rising from three percent in 2003 to 7.4 percent among the 20 to 24 year old women in 2007. While
these changes may not be significant, they may represent shifting patterns of HIV incidence among the
Kenyan youth.
Differentials in HIV prevalence
Particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, the vulnerability of young women to HIV has been associated with
age-disparate sex related to early marriage or to relationships with older partners for money or other
material gains. Data presented in Figure 8.4 indicates that across successive studies since 2003, young
38 NASCOP: National AIDS and STIs Control Programme

Kenyan women aged 15 to 24 have been four times more likely to be infected than young men of the
same age group.
Figure 8.4 HIV prevalence among youth aged 15-24 (2003-2008)
1.2 1.4
1.1
5.9
5.6
4.5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2003 KDHS 2007 KAIS 2008-09 KDHS
Percent
Men Women
Source: KDHS 2003 and 2008/2009; KAIS 2007
The overall HIV prevalence among the Kenyan youth masks large differences with increasing age, as
illustrated in Figure 8.5. Prevalence among the female youth ranges from three percent at age 15 to 12
percent among those aged 24 years. On the other hand, the prevalence range among young men is
from 0.4 percent at age 17 to 2.6 percent at age 23. These differences in prevalence rates underscore
women’s vulnerability in negotiating safer sex.
Figure 8.5 HIV prevalence among youth aged 15-24 by single years of age and sex (2007)
6.9
2.3
2.6
2.02.3
0.70.6
1.1
0.40.72.3
12.0
6.76.5
5.5
4.04.4
3.1
2.5
3.0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Percent
Men Women
Source: NASCOP 2007; KAIS 2007
HIV prevalence among adolescent women is above three percent in most sub-Saharan African countries
with a high burden of HIV, as shown in Figure 10.7. This is particularly true of the southern African
countries, led by Swaziland, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. In East Africa, Tanzania is the
only country that does not reflect this differential or disparity in HIV prevalence between male and
females. Tanzania women’s higher condom use could explain its lower HIV prevalence rate and gender
parity shown in Figure 8.6.

Figure 8.6 HIV prevalence among youth 15-19 in African countries with an adult HIV prevalence
above 5 percent
2
3
3
3
4
2
3
1
1
0.5
1
1
10
7
7
6
6
5
4
4
3
3
2
1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Swaziland
Mozambique
S. Africa
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Botswana
Lesotho
Malawi
Kenya
Uganda
Cameroon
Tanzania
Women
Men
Source: UNICEF global databases, 2011, based on AIS, DHS, MICS.
8.3.6 HIV and AIDS Services
While the extent of the HIV and AIDS epidemic varies greatly in different regions of the world, the young
people are invariably at the centre in terms of new infections, as well as by being the greatest potential
force for change if they can be reached with the right interventions (Monasch & Mahy, 2006:15). As
emphasised at the 1994 ICPD, policies and programmes must be oriented to the need for access to
information and education for both young men and women. The following sections discuss the
utilization by the youth of the various HIV and AIDS-related services, including condoms, HIV testing,
and male circumcision.
(i) Condom Use
Adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health progammes must consider that a considerable
proportion are having sex with more partners(KNBS and ICF Macro, 2010). Young people who intitiate
sexual activity at an early age are more likely to have higher risk sex and/or multiple partners, and are
less likely to use condoms (Monasch & Mahy, 2006). Data from successive Multiple Indicator Cluster
Surveys (MICS) and DHS have shown that levels of condom use at the last higher-risk sexual encounter
are lower than 60 percent in sub-Saharan Africa39
. Figure 10.7 shows the distrbution of adolescents (15
to 19 years) who used a condom in the last higher-risk sex encounter in three East African countries —
i.e. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda — which all have an adult HIV prevalence of more than five percent. In
consonance with Figure 8.7 not only didTanzania girls have the highest condom use rate among girls in
the region, but their rate was higher than that of their boys. However, there is evidence that the Kenyan
youth are improving on their attitudes towards HIV prevention: for example, the proportion of 15 to
24-year-old men and women who used a condom the first time they had sex nearly doubled between
2003 and 2008, from 12 percent to 24 percent among women, and 14 percent to 26 percent for men
(UNICEF, 2011).
39
‘Higher risk sex’is defined as sex with a non-marital, non-cohabiting partner during last 12 months.

Figure 8.7 Percent 15-19 year olds who used a condom at last higher-risk sex in East Africa
55
41
46
41
48
36
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Kenya Tanzania Uganda
Boys Girls
(ii) HIV testing
The Kenya Government recognizes that HIV counselling and testing are critical measures in a
comprehensive response to the epidemic (KAIS, 2007). HIV testing is the only way of knowing one’s
HIV status and can provide appropriate linkages for HIV-infected persons to access life-saving HIV care
and treatment interventions. Additionally, the pre- and post-test counselling sessions offer focused
advice for HIV management, helping to reduce conduct which may lead to acquisition, re-aquisition or
transmission of HIV. The country has witnessed a significant increase in HIV testing between 2007 and
2009, in both the general population and among young people aged 15 to 24, as shown in Figure 8.8.
The data show that women regardless of age were more likely than men to go for HIV testing. The rate
of women aged 15 to 24 who have ever taken the test was 50 percent, compared to only 34 percent for
men of the same age group. The 2009 data also show that the coverage rate for testing among women
is consistent across all age groups, ranging from 84 percent to 89 percent, compared to the men’s range
from 79 percent to 84 percent.
Figure 8.8 Uptake of HIV testing services among young people (15-24 years) in 2007 and
2008/2009
45.8
15.1
66.2
32.2
44.7
27.6
84.4 83.5
88.7
78.8
86.3
79.2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Men 15-19 Women 15-19 Women 20-24 Men 20-24 All men All women
KAIS 2007 KDHS 2008-09
(iii) Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision
Recently, male circumcision has been associated with lower transmission of sexually transmitted
infections, including HIV (GOK, 2010; UNGASS, 2010). Yet, 2008-2009 KDHS shows that young men in
Kenya aged 15 and 19 are the least likely to seek circumcision services. It is in response to this that
Kenya’s National AIDS/STD Control Programme (NASCOP) developed a policy on male circumcision,
aiming to reduce the number of new HIV infections in order to “help create an AIDS free generation”
(NASCOP, 2008). According to the policy, approximately 150,000 male circumcisions per year for five
years need to be performed in order for Kenya to reach its target rate of circumcision coverage. In
many districts of Kenya, circumcision is a mandatory cultural process requiring no inducement, the

likely area of attention only being encouragement of risk-free processes, such as through the multiple
use of instruments that can transmit diseases, including HIV infection. Consequently, the voluntary
medical male circumcision (VMMC) programme was launched to concentrate on those areas that do
not circumcise as a traditional ritual. Under VMMC, the rate of public health facility-based circumcision
increased from 10,000 to 90,000 in just over a year in 2009 (UNGASS, 2010). In 2010, the rate rose to an
estimated 139,905, falling short of an annual target that had been set (WHO/UNAIDS/UNICEF, 2011).
8.4 Harmful Practices
The country’s national youth policy of 2007 recognizes that there are many harmful practices inflicted
upon the youth in Kenya which impact on their health in general and reproductive health in particular
(MOYAS, 2007). Such practices include early marriage, sexual abuse/exploitation, gender-based
violence, female genital mutilation (FGM) as well as alcohol, drug and substance abuse.
(i) Alcohol, drug and substance abuse
Many people have their first experiences with tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs during adolescence,
partly out of a need to explore boundaries as they begin to develop their individuality, and partly
due to peer pressure and the need ‘to belong’. These are risky behaviours that can have a negative
impact on adolescent health and well-being, and bring negative life-long consequences. Abuse of
these substances is also associated with poor mental and physical health: tobacco smoking among
adolescents can lead to such diseases as lung cancer, and to chronic respiratory infections in adults
(UNICEF, 2012). Excessive alcohol use can lead to addiction and dependence, liver cirrhosis, cancer and
other general injuries.
In Kenya, the National Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) estimates that alcohol
(with a 36% incidence) and tobacco (28%) are the most abused substances among young people aged
10 to 24, followed by miraa or khat (18%), bhang (13%) and inhalants (5%)40
(NACADA, 2011). Alcohol
abuse is highest in Western Province — at 90 and 43 percent among non-students and students
respectively — and lowest in North Eastern Province at 16 and 1.6 percent among non-students and
students respectively. The same source also observes that regular drug use increases with age, and is
highest among 23 to 24 year olds. Cigarette smoking also increases with age among the Kenyan youth,
rising from 2.7 percent among the 15-19 year olds to 15 percent among the 20-24 year olds. Table 8.8
shows overall picture of substance abuse among the student and non-student youth population (ages
10-24 years). There is significantly more substance use and/or abuse among the non-student youth
compared to students. This could be attributed to the fact that substance use increases with age and
the non-students are more likely older than those in school. Students are also under the control of
not just parents, but also of schools. They, therefore, find it harder to engage in substance use/abuse
compared to the non-students who could be independent of such controls. Finally, non-students who
are out of employment are likley to seek solace in drugs for their predicament.
Table 8.8 Overall substance abuse among 10-24 year olds (2004)
Substance
% Ever used % Current use in last 30 days
Students Non-students Students Non-students
Alcohol 27.7 77.1 8.6 60.1
Tobacco 8.3 65.7 3.1 58.0
Bhang 2.8 34.9 0.6 21.1
Miraa 9.1 55.1 2.1 20.8
Inhalants 3.4 12.5 1.6 7.2
Source: NACADA (2004).
40 According to NACADA (2001), inhalants are gaseous chemicals or substances that when inhaled into the lungs, produce a psychoactive or mind-altering
condition that may be anaesthetic in its effect, or cause a slowing down of body functions. Examples include glue, gasoline and lacquer thinners.

8.5 Youth and Crime
The national youth policy recognizes that idleness after formal education causes the youth to become
restless and vulnerable to peer pressure that exposes them to certain anti-social tendencies. Some
such youth end up in crime, or with deviant and self destructive behaviour. Young people who are
marginalized are more susceptible to developing and maintaining delinquent behaviour. Poverty,
social exclusion and unemployment often cause marginalization. Figure 8.9 shows that the percentage
of youths in Kenyan prisons has remained at slightly more than half of the total prison population
during the decade of the 2000s.
Figure 8.9 Percentage of prison population aged 15-24 years (2010)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Year
Percent
Male Female Total
Source: Katindi-Sivi (2010)
8.6 Prospects: Developing Youth Capabilities
8.6.1 Education
While enhancing education is a development goal in itself, it is also widely recognized as the main
avenue of social mobility, and therefore of escaping poverty. Education must not be discriminatory and
should always promote equality, especially between the genders. The Education for All, launched in
Jomtien,Thailand, in 1990, established the commitment of the international community to universalize
primary education and reduce large scale illiteracy before the end of that decade. Subsequently, The
World Programme of Action for Youth (1995), adopted education as the first of ten priority areas for
youth development. Kenya has since espoused the right to education, most notably in the Basic Rights
of the Constitution.
Table 8.9 shows gender status of literacy across age groups of Kenyan youths. The female to male
literacy ratios are comparable across the regions, except for the under-performing North Eastern and
Coast provinces. Interestingly, it is not always the case that the ratio in the 15 to 19 age group is greater
than that in the 20 to 24 age group: in Central and Western provinces, for example, women of the older
age category out-perform the younger age category, while the reverse is true for Nairobi and RiftValley
provinces.

Table 8.9 Gender Parity in Literacy (Female to Male ratios), 2005/2006
15-19 20-24 15-24
Kenya 100 97 99
Nairobi 101 93 96
Central 98 105 101
Coast 88 86 87
Eastern 105 104 105
North Eastern 50 32 42
Nyanza 98 97 97
Rift Valley 103 95 100
Western 103 106 104
Rural 100 97 99
Urban 100 107 103
Source: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS)
2005/2006
Table8.10showsthedistributionofKenyanyouthwhohaveneverbeentoschool,thedecliningnational
figures probably reflecting the effect of the free primary education scheme. At the regional level, North
Eastern province has disturbingly high shares of young people who have not been to school, which,
despite the province’s low population, must contribute to the comparatively poor rural performance.
Conversely, Nyanza, Central and Western provinces have the lowest shares of young people who have
never been to school.
Table 8.10 Percent of youth with no education by age group (2008)
15-19 20-24
Kenya 6.2 9.2
Nairobi 4.0 1.7
Central 0.5 2.0
Coast 5.5 13.7
Eastern 4.2 12.4
Nyanza 0.3 1.4
Rift Valley 9.3 10.0
Western 1.5 2.0
North Eastern 32.5 53.9
Urban 4.5 4.7
Rural 6.7 11.7
Source: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and ORC Macro: 2008/09 Kenya Demographic and Health
Surveys
Various indicators are used to capture the coverage of education in a country.The Gross Enrolment Ratio
(GER) reflects the general level of participation in education regardless of age, and is a complementary
indicator to the Net Enrolment Rate (NER), which refers to the share of pupils in the theoretical age-
group for the particular level of education (primary or secondary, in this case) over the total population
in that age-group. In Kenya, the NER for tertiary education is not pertinent because of the difficulties in

determining an appropriate age-group due to the wide variations in the ages of students at this level
of education.
Table 8.11 shows regional GERs for primary, secondary and tertiary education by gender. As with
literacy above, North Eastern province has the lowest scores across the entire education hierarchy, a
reality probably explained by the interaction of cultural constraints and dominant nomadic pastoralist
livelihoods. The other significant aspect of North Eastern’s data is the gender disparity in enrolment,
which is especially high – unsurprisingly so – at the tertiary education level.
Table 8.11 Gross enrolment ratios at each level of education by region and sex, 2005/2006
Primary Secondary Tertiary
Gender Parity Index (GPI)
(M/F) ratio
Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Primary Secondary Tertiary
Kenya 119 114.8 116.9 42.2 37.5 39.9 10.4 9.3 9.8 104 98 277
Nairobi 103.2 111.7 107.6 82.7 66.9 75.1 26.9 24.9 25.6 92 104 130
Central 119.5 121.1 120.3 55.2 49.9 52.2 7.7 7.3 7.5 99 101 218
Coast 117.6 104.5 111 25.4 20.4 22.9 6.9 7.1 7 113 94 437
Eastern 122.9 127.9 125.3 35.5 33.1 34.3 8.4 8.1 8.2 96 102 353
North-
Eastern 87.2 53.8 71.5 21.5 8.8 16.2 0.7 1 0.8 162 75 333
Nyanza 132.2 117.6 124.7 46.3 46.3 46.3 12.8 10.1 11.4 112 94 269
Rift Valley 114.9 110.5 112.8 41 37 39.1 10.4 5.9 8.2 104 98 275
Western 125.7 124.3 125 40.9 29.8 35.2 8.4 7.9 8.1 101 99 306
Rural 118.7 114.3 116.5 42.6 38 40.3 10.5 9.3 9.9 104 98 273
Urban 125.6 122 123.8 36 30.6 33.3 7.2 9.6 8.3 103 99 344
Source:KenyaNationalBureauofStatistics,KenyaIntegratedHouseholdBudgetSurvey(KIHBS)2005/06
NER trends at the primary education level reflect rapid change from 82 percent in 2004 to 83.5 percent
in 2006, almost 92 percent in 2007, 93 percent in 2009 and then dropped marginally to 91.4 percent in
2010 (Figure 8.10). These attainments have thus surpassed MTP I’s target of 90 percent by 2012, mainly
due to the continued implementation of the Free Primary Education programme (GOK, 2012).
Figure 8.10 Primary Schools GER and NER 2007-2011
109.8
91.4
103.8
108.9 109.8 110.0
83.5
91.6 92.5 92.9
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
GER NER
Source: Third Annual Progress Report (2010-2011) - computed from Economic Survey, 2011 & Mo

The country’s primary school completion rate increased from nearly 57 percent in 2003 to about 78
percent in 2006 (GoK, 2009). Gender parity in primary education has been impressive at 0.97 in 2007,
0.98 in 2009 and 1.02 in 2010.
The growth in primary school enrolments has, however, not been matched by a similar growth at the
secondary school level. The transition rate from primary to secondary schools has increased from 60
percent in 2007 to a mere 67 percent in 2009 and to 73 percent in 2010, against the country’s target
of 85 percent (GOK, 2012). This has been attributed to the inability of households to afford other
secondary schooling related expenses, early marriages, child labour and retrogressive cultural practices
and beliefs (GOK, 2012). Secondary school GER increased from 32 percent in 2006 to 38 percent in 2007
and 45 percent in 2009, and then marginally to 48 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, secondary education
NER remains quite low at 25 percent in 2006, 29 percent in 2007, 36 percent in 2009 and dipped to just
32 percent in 2010, as shown in Figure 8.11.
Figure 8.11 Secondary Schools GER and NER 2006-2010
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
GER NER
Source: Third Annual Progress Report (2010-2011) - computed from Economic Survey, 2011 & MoE
The transition to university education is even worse, standing at a modest three percent despite the
expansion of facilities for university education in the country. Further, female students still constitute
only 30 percent of the total university education enrolment (GoK, 2009). Figure 8.12 shows trends in
enrolment numbers in both public and private universities in Kenya. By 2009, total enrolment in all the
universities rose by about 45 percent from 122,847 students in the 2008/09 to reach 177,735 students
in 2009/2010 academic year. Enrolment in public universities increased from 100,649 students in the
2008/2009academicyearto142,556studentsin2009/2010.Between2008/09and2011/2012academic
years, total enrolment into universities had increased by 63 percent from approximately 123,000 to
200,000 students. In 2009/2010, the male and female student enrolments in public universities were
89,611 and 52,945 respectively. The share of private universities in total enrolment has been increasing
gradually as well.

Figure 8.12 Trends in Public and Private University Enrolment, (2000/2001 to 2011/2012)
Source: computed from Various Economic Surveys
The preparation of the youth for work and life in Kenya is inadequate compared to the rising demands
for skills and knowledge. Even though basic education has become widespread in the country, many
inequalities of opportunity in this area are apparent. Poor young people drop out of school, or receive
poorer education than that availed to the less poor. Thus to improve the skills of young people to
adequately prepare them for work and life, and thereby improve their welfare, education opportunities
must be made more relevant to the needs of all young people as learners, future workers, parents and
citizens.
Students from Daystar University celebrate at their graduation ceremony.
Photo: www.businessdailyafrica.com

8.6.2 Employment
“A central part of people’s lives is at work, and whether women and men have decent work has a
significant impact on individual, family and community well-being. The absence of decent and
productive work is the primary cause of poverty and social instability” (ILO, 2009).
The availability of stable high-quality employment is a fundamental dimension of life. Unemployment
and underemployment among the youth is a problem everywhere and forms part of the larger
struggle to create employment opportunities for all citizens. The problem has worsened in recent
years because of the global recession since 2008. The ILO reported in 2010 that 81million of the 620
million economically active youths of ages 15-24 globally (13% of that age group) were unemployed
the year before, largely because of the world financial and economic crisis. At the peak of the economic
crisis, the global youth unemployment rate saw its largest annual increase ever — from 11.9 percent
to 13 percent between 2007 and 2009 (ILO, 2011). Slow growth, stagnation and recession in African
economies mean that formal economy cannot create jobs at the rate that the growing pool of young
people in developing countries demands.
For the Kenyan case, the 2007/2008 post-election violence, followed by the increase in global food
prices and the escalating global oil prices, slowed down Government efforts to scale up measures for
youth employment. Figure 8.13a shows the trends in unemployment rates among the youth between
1978 and 2005/2006. Unemployment among persons age 15 to 24 generally increased from 1978 to
peak in 1998, after which it declined.
Figure 8.13a Trends in Youth Unemployment rates (1978-2005/2006)
26.6
36.2
47.0
25.0
18.5
29.2
47.3
24.2
4.8
8.6
25.1
15.7
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1978 1986 1998-99 2005-06
15-19 20-24 25-29
Source: Katindi-Sivi (2010).
In 2005/2006, the open unemployment rate among the youth aged 15 to 24 was 24 percent compared
to an overall open unemployment rate of 12.7 percent (National and Economic and Social Council
(NESC, 2010). The open unemployment rate in urban areas at 19.9 percent was more than double that
in rural areas (NESC, 2010). In terms of absolute numbers, the females in rural areas have the highest
unemployment followed by females in urban areas, males in rural areas and males in urban areas (UNDP,
2013).AccordingtoWorldBankestimatesbasedonKenyancensusdataof2009,unemploymentpeaked
in the 20 to 24 age bracket at eight percent (World Bank, 2012). One of the indicators for demonstrating
the depth of youth employment challenge is the share of unemployed youth in total unemployment,
which is illustrated in Figure 8.13b. The overall share is slightly higher than that of sub-Saharan Africa’s
rate of 40.9 (ILO, 2013). The share is higher in rural areas compared to urban and among females.

Figure 8.13b Share of Youth Unemployment to overall adult unemployment, 2009 census
47.8 49.0
44.2
52.8
46.0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Urban Rural Males Females Total
Source: computed from 2009 KPHC
Analysis of the 2005/2006 KIHBS indicated that 60 percent of the total labour force in the country
consisted of the youth, with 80 percent of them being unemployed (GOK, 2008). In addition, 92 percent
of the unemployed youth have no vocation, professional skills or training (GOK, 2008). In the period
1990-2005, Kenya’s average annual labour force growth was about 3.0 percent. In 2007, the labour force
stood at about 14.6 million, with about 58 percent of it being within the 15-24 year age bracket (KIPPRA,
2009). The proportion of youth in labour force is one of the main challenges facing the Government
and households (World Bank, 2012). Figure 8.14 illustrates the burden of poverty in households with
unemployed or inactive youth. A recent analysis of KIHBS 2005/2006 data showed that in the entire
youth years, the proportion of unemployed people is larger in the poorest households (UNDP, 2013).
Figure8.14RelativePovertyincidenceinHouseholdswithunemployed/inactiveyouth2005/2006(%)
36.5
51.6
54.9
49.5
46.7
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Urban households with at least 1 unemployed youth or
other inactive youth
Households with at least 1 unemployed youth or other
inactive youth
Households with at least 1 unemployed youth
All households with at least 1 youth
All households
Source: World Bank 2012
8.7 Gaps
8.7.1 Youth Reproductive Health
Among the critical health problems young people face are those associated with sexuality and
reproductive health, such as early, unprotected sexual activity, which has a significant bearing on
both their current and future health statuses. The realization of personal goals of these young people
and the socio-economic development of the country depend, to a large extent, on the ability of the
youth to avoid unintended outcomes, which in turn have a direct bearing on several MDGs. While
the Government has formulated or developed many national policies, strategies and programmes to

address the sexual and reproductive health of young people, their sexual and reproductive health is
not flagged out in the Vision 2030. Meanwhile, gaps also exist between policy and implementation
whose monitoring and evaluation remain weak. Youth Empowerment Centres which were to be
promoted, established and operationalised in every constituency with a view to offering integrated
health services — including SRH — have taken off rather half-heartedly, there being only eight such
centres by the end of 2011, against a target of 210.
There are many factors that determine the levels of utilization of SRH services by young people. These
include; poverty, gender issues, stigma and discriminatory laws which may curtail adolescents’ access
to services, including HIV prevention and treatment, education levels, assistance in humanitarian
emergencies and maternal health and reproductive care for adolescent girls (UNICEF, 2012). Young
people in Kenya are unlikely to seek health services, and when they do, they are not likely to get
adequate services as the country’s health system and human resource capacity development has been
slow in evolving to respond to the needs of this age group both from program and service delivery
perspectives (CSA, 2009). For example only seven percent of health facilities in Kenya offer youth
friendly HIV counselling services (GOK/NCAPD, 2010), which is inadequate for current and increasing
needs (Figure 8.15).
Figure 8.15 Distribution of facilities offering youth friendly HIV counselling services by region (2010)
0
2
5
6
7
11
17
24
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
North
Eastern
Central Rift Valley Eastern Coast Nyanza Nairobi Western
Source: Kenya Service Provision Assessment Survey (KSPA) 2010
Lack of data on abortion at the national or household level makes it difficult to undertake conclusive
analyses of the magnitude of the problem, such as its extent among young people. Most of the studies
undertaken on abortion have been health facility-based and provide mere anecdotal insights into the
magnitude of the problem in the country. Additionally, the Health Information Management System
(HIMS) has a very poor base which cannot capture what happens in public (and private) health facilities.
8.7.2 Education
The right to education is among those stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
According to theWorld Development Report (2007), young people need to acquire the right knowledge
and skills to become productive workers, good parents and responsible citizens. From this perspective,
education is an indispensable means of unlocking young people’s potential and of protecting their
rights by providing knowledge and skills that are required to secure economic well-being, health,
liberty and security (UNESCO, 2000). As in the case of adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive
health, the country’s Vision 2030 has not put in place any flagship projects targeted at enhancing or
promoting tertiary/university education; hence, there are no set targets in the medium term for this
level of education for the country.

8.7.3 Employment
Unemployment has remained one of
the most daunting socio-economic
challenges for development during
Kenya’s independence years. Kenya’s
economy is dependent on agriculture,
but youth are moving to urban areas in
large numbers where most new entrants
to the labour force must choose between
working in smallscale enterprises
and being selfemployed(World Bank,
2012). These factors have led to high
levels of youth unemployment. Lack of
comprehensive national data sets on
youth employment — disaggregated by key variables such as sex, age and types and sectors — is a
major gap that hinders any efforts aimed at meaningful analysis to promote clearer understanding of
employment dynamics in Kenya.
A youth in Mtwapa Kilifi displays one of baskets made by the youths.
Photo: UNFPA
Rapid population growth, poor dissemination of labour market information, skills mismatch, structural
reforms, slow or declining economic growth, and high costs of labour are cited as the most frequent
explanations of the causes of unemployment (NESC, 2010). Many youth related policies and strategic
plans talk about the low or‘mis-matched’skills for the job market; but in most instances, this is expressed
vaguely without clarity on the type of skills that are required for meaningful youth employment. Beyond
rhetoric about this, there is lack of a clear understanding and interpretation of what exactly the kind of
skills the training institutions should impart to satisfy the job market.
A group of young peer educators at a training seminar in
Mtwapa, Kilifi, Kenya.
Photo: UNFPA

8.8.1 Policies
Kenya is a signatory to various international declarations, treaties and charters, some of which address
the development needs of the youth, including their transition into adulthood. It is partly in response
to these international instruments that Kenya has instituted a supportive policy environment for the
implementation of AYSRH focused programmes and interventions. These initiatives involve multiple
ministries, adding to the challenges of coordination (GOK/MOPHS, 2011). In addition to the core
interests in AYSRH of the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation and its sister Ministry of Medical
Services, other stakeholding ministries includeYouth Affairs and Sports (MOYAS), Education, and Social
Services, Gender and Children. Other non-ministerial stakeholders include the National Council for
Population and Development, NASCOP, and Kenya Institute of Education, to name just some of the
direct Government stakeholders.
This is the institutional context within which the Kenya Government has undertaken initiatives to place
the general well-being of the youth on the country’s national agenda, with related policies, priorities
and budgetary outlays. The major policies and related frameworks include:
1. TheConstitutionofKenya,2010: Article 55 of the Constitution supports youth empowerment
by providing for: (i) protection of the youth from harmful and exploitative cultural practices,
such as female genital mutilation, child marriage and mass circumcision; (ii) access to relevant
education and training; (iii) opportunities to associate, be represented and participate in
political, social and economic spheres of life; and (iv) access to employment. The Bill of Rights
forms the basis upon which the Government guarantees key basic social services to the public,
including the right to health care services, which incorporates reproductive health care. Article
21 requires that all state organs and all public officers address the needs of vulnerable groups
within the society, which includes the youth, employing affirmative action where necessary.
2. Kenya Vision 2030: MTP I (2008-2012) of the Kenya Vision 2030 observed that:
“the minimal involvement of young people in gainful employment and economic
participation as well as their exclusion from decision-making poses a threat to the
stability of this country... (adding that) it therefore becomes evident that there is a
lack of operationally effective mechanisms of integrating the majority of Kenyan
youth into mainstream economic activities”(GOK/FMTP, 2008).
TheVision2030recognizestheyouthasavulnerablegroupandcallsforincreasedopportunities
for participation for the youth and all disadvantaged groups, in economic, social and political
decision-makingprocesses.TheVisionalsoidentifiesseveralflagshipprojectsforyouth,namely:
establishment of youth empowerment centres and talent academies; and increasing the size of
the Youth Enterprise Fund and ensuring efficient and productive use of its resources.
3. National Reproductive Health Policy (2007): recognizes that adolescent and youth sexual
and reproductive health is a national issue, especially in terms of access to quality information
and youth-friendly services, and focuses on the varied health needs of young people.
4. The Adolescent RH and Development Policy (2003):This policy reinforced the Government’s
commitment to the integration of young people into the national development process.
Developed in 2003, the policy responded to the concerns about adolescents raised in the
National Population Policy for Sustainable Development (2000), the National RH Strategy
(2000), Children Act (2001), and other national and international commitments on the health,
well-being and development of adolescents and youths. It did this by integrating their health
and development concerns into the national development process, through their enhanced

participation. It identified five priority concerns, namely: (i) adolescent sexual and reproductive
health and rights; (ii) harmful practices; (iii) drug and substance abuse; (iv) socio-economic
factors and (v) adolescents and youth with disabilities. Among the implementation strategies
were: advocacy; behaviour change communication; provision of adolescent-friendly RH
services; research; capacity building; and resource mobilization.
5. The Gender Policy in Education, 2007: The Ministry of Education developed a Gender Policy
in Education to provide a framework for planning and implementing gender responsive
education sector programs, including the proposed measures to increase equality in education
between men and women. The policy’s elaborated and broadened measures to increase
women’s participation included: gender responsive research to address gender-in-education
issues, including institutional capacity building; the establishment of a gender and education
unit; measures to address gender-based violence and sexual harassment in education; and
measures for monitoring and evaluating the progress made in the implementation of the
proposed measures.
6. The National Reproductive Health Strategy, 2009-2015: This spells out strategies for
improving the sexual and reproductive health of Kenya’s adolescents and youth, which include:
advocacy and policy dialogue; networking and partnerships; reproductive health awareness
creation among youths; integration of adolescent and youth health information and services in
other youth programmes; and expanding the scope and coverage of youth friendly services. It
is considered the first step towards the implementation of the National RH Policy.
7. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Strategic Plan, 2008-2012: The Plan outlines the
following priority areas requiring coordination and capacity building: (i) youth employment; (ii)
youthempowermentandparticipation;(iii)youtheducationandtraining;(iv)youthinformation
and communication technology (ICT); (v) youth and health (vi) youth and environment (vii)
youth crime and drugs (viii) leisure, recreation and community services; (ix) sports promotion
and development; and (x) youth information management systems.
8. National Guidelines for Provision ofYouth-friendly Services (2005): These were developed
by the Ministry of Health, to rationalize the provision of youth services. The guidelines provide
for a minimum package of services considered youth friendly, while at the same time ensuring
national uniformity in their provision. To guide implementers/providers of ASRH services, the
guidelines have attempted to define youth friendly services as follows:
‘Services that are accessible, acceptable and appropriate for adolescents. They are
in the right place at the right price (free where necessary) and delivered in the right
style to be acceptable to young people. They are effective, safe and affordable.
They meet the individual needs of young people who return when they need to and
recommend these services to friends.’
8.8.2 Programmes
Health
ICPD (1994) intensified the worldwide focus on RH policies and programmes. While its Programme of
Action did not provide a blueprint for implementing comprehensive, integrated RH services, countries
have worked to define their own priorities based on available resources. Thus Governments in many
countries have worked to adopt the recommendations of ICPD, shifting their population policies and
programmes from an emphasis on achieving demographic targets for reduced population growth, to a
focus on improving the reproductive health of their populations. In addition, the policy frameworks and
related legislation have empowered civil society to enhance campaigns to inform communities about
the consequences of harmful practices, such as early marriages, as obstacles to youth development.
Outlawing child marriages and child prostitution in response to Article 6 of the Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has been a major milestone in the
youth development.
To respond to the SRH needs of young people in Kenya, the Government, individuals and organizations
have initiated a variety of programmes, including reproductive health information dissemination and
services for adolescents and the youth. The main programme approaches include; peer education,
edutainment, service delivery (including outreach services), youth support structures, mass media, ICT,
edusports, life skills education, mentorship, adult influencers, and advocacy for policy review or change.
Theimplementationoftheseapproachesisusuallyincombinations,suchaspeereducationthroughthe
mass media alongside related service delivery (GOK/MOPHS, 2011). While youth serving organizations
(YSOs) in principle target all youths, they operate primarily in the country’s highly populated areas, with
Nairobi having the highest concentration of implementers of youth programmes.
In 1999, the Kenya Government declared AIDS a national disaster, causing the diversion of a lot of
resources to that area. A decade later, after a lot of successful awareness-raising on HIV and AIDS,
development of sex education curriculum, and other interventions, the pendulum appears to
be swinging back to a more holistic approach to health in its widest sense. Perhaps, the rise of the
international youth culture, promoted through multimedia and cell phone technology, has contributed
to this. Or maybe the rise of sexual education programmes has contributed to the slowing down of HIV
infection.
Employment
The Government has attempted to address youth unemployment through various policies and
programmes overtime. These include elaborate youth employment strategies, such as through youth
entrepreneurial training, micro credit schemes, vocational training and career guidance service
development, youth leadership training, and ICT skills training. Other policy documents geared to
address youth unemployment include: Sessional Paper Number 2 of 1992 on Small Scale and Jua
Kali Enterprises, Development Plan 1997-2001, and Sessional Paper Number 4 of 2005. One of the
outcomes of the Kenya National Youth Policy (2007) was to put in place strategies to address youth
unemployment. A Youth Employment Marshall Plan was developed in 2009 aimed at creating
500,000 new jobs annually in both formal and informal sectors. The Plan objectives would be achieved
through public and private sector partnerships and collaboration. Some of this Marshall Plan’s strategic
initiatives include:
1. The Youth Enterprise Development Fund: Established in 2007, the Fund has created employment
through enterprise development and structured labour exports. It has been able to disburse over
KShs2.8 billion to 100,000 youth enterprises and trained over 150,000 entrepreneurs. The fund has
also facilitated the marketing of youth enterprise products and services, provision of commercial
infrastructure, and the employment abroad of over 3,000 youths through its Youth Employment
Scheme.
2. Kazi Kwa Vijana (Jobs for Youth) Programme: The Government initiated Kazi Kwa Vijana (Jobs for
Youth) as an Economic Stimulus Package programme in 2008, as an initiative to spur economic
recovery while engaging young people in gainful employment. Between 2007 and 2012, the
Government spent US$.78.9M in this programme, and has been able to provide more than 500,000
temporary jobs annually. MOYAS co-ordinates the“Trees for Jobs”component of Kazi Kwa Vijana.
3. Youth and ICT Development: The Government has given prominence to ICT in addressing rampant
unemployment. MOYAS is collaborating with the Ministry of Information and Communication in
setting up digital villages in every constituency. This initiative has seen the establishment of call
centres and business outsourcing enterprises around the country, which is expected to create
additional 100,000 jobs for youth in the next few years.
4. Entrepreneurshiptrainingforyouthoutofschool:This is a youth enterprise development programme

that reaches out to youth out of school. The objectives of the programme are to:
i. Empower youth to become better partners and catalysts of the development process;
ii. Enhance youth contributions to and influence in the economic sector by increasing
their ownership of the means and factors of production and income generation
activities through capacity building and provision of technical support;
iii. Enhance business and entrepreneurial skills, and foster an entrepreneurial culture;
iv. Stimulate and motivate the young people to spur their innovativeness and creativity;
and
v. Provide opportunities to young people across the country to share experiences, and to
initiate and strengthen a National Youth Entrepreneurship Policy.
5. Youth Internships, Attachments and Volunteer Schemes: The Government is encouraging youth to
join volunteer schemes in an effort aimed at building skills and knowledge, and strengthening
existing youth initiatives that engage more young people to take a proactive role in community
development. MOYAS encourages internships and attachments especially in public agencies.
6. National Youth Service: The National Youth Service (NYS) trains young people for nation-building
and provides a reserve force for the Kenya security services. The servicemen and women are also
trained on various technical and vocational courses at artisan, craft and diploma levels under
the Technical, Industrial, Vocational Education and Training (TIVET) programme. There are plans
to raise enrolment above the current 4,500 annually to 15,000, for this programme in which
entrepreneurship is a mandatory course. NYS has successfully implemented development projects
that include construction of roads, airstrips, dams and water canals. It has participated in disaster
management and other relief operations.
7. Other initiatives include: Roads 2000 (designed to create short-term labour-intensive employment
for young people, is implemented by the Ministry of Roads and Public Works); and Trees for Jobs,
which is partly financed by UNDP, and aimed at planting 90 million seedlings per year while
employing over 29,000 youths in its first two years of operation.
8.9.1 Challenges
The principal challenge lies in ensuring the optimal utilization of the youth’s potential contribution
towards achieving social, economic and political goals. The country will never achieve Vision 2030
without adequately responding to the needs and challenges of the present and future generations of
the youth.This section discusses the observed challenges for youth health, education and employment,
based on the analysis of the foregoing pages. The challenges are discussed under four main categories
or levels — i.e. individual and household; socio-economic; institutional; and policy.
(i) Challenges over the Health of the Youth
Individual and household related challenges
1. Young people in Kenya give health a low priority, a mere four percent of a 2009 study of Kenyans
aged 15-20 listing it as a top priority concern, compared to 45 percent who ranked employment
opportunities at the top (CSA, 2009). Health also ranked below education, wealth, income
distribution and political participation. Another recent assessment conducted by the HIV Free
Generationprojectfoundthatthetopthreefearsofyoungpeoplewereunemployment,unintended
pregnancies as well as HIV and AIDS (HIV Free Generation, 2011).
2. Adolescent childbearing: Adolescent pregnancy and childbearing is correlated with low education
levels for girls, and poses a major challenge due to the fact that apart from the inherent health risks,
adolescent childbearing and the conditions associated with it are fundamental factors determining
the quality of life and role of women in society.

Social and economic related challenges
1. HIV prevalence in young people: The relatively high prevalence of HIV among young people,
especially young women, poses a challenge for policies, programmes and service delivery in the
country. Providing young people – especially girls – with appropriate HIV-related information and
services, and cultivating a protective environment in their homes and schools and in society in
general, remains a particularly acute challenge.
Institutional related challenges
1. Challenges here include: improving knowledge and support for youth programmes among
stakeholders; planning for integration and decentralized services; strengthening human resource
capacities to deliver widely attractive youth friendly services; improving quality of care; and
addressing legal, regulatory and social issues.
Policy related challenges
1. A major challenge facing the country as the Government implements adolescent and youth
SRH programmes and interventions remains the need to clarify the comparative roles of donors/
development partners, technical agencies and communities. Additionally, there is a need to
maintain a long-term perspective regarding the implementation of the ICPD agenda.
2. While Kenya has multiple policies and guidelines that favour the provision of information and
services to young people, these documents are not well integrated into mainstream sectoral
programmes and services. This has translated into inadequate dissemination, utilization and
implementation of policies and guidelines, and into weak coordination of youth SRH interventions
nationally
(ii) Challenges in Youth Education
Social and -economic related challenges
Poverty entrenches inequalities across activities among the country’s young people, with education
presenting a curious instance in which inequalities persist despite heavy Government subsidies. These
education disparities eventually impact on long-term socio-economic outcomes, including those
relating to health. While basic education has become widespread in Kenya, inequality of opportunities
are reflected in persisting drop-outs among the poor, who are also likely to receive poorer quality
education.
Institutional related challenges
Growth in both primary and secondary school enrolment due to Free Primary Education (FPE) and Free
Secondary Education (FSE) respectively, has meant that the education system is overstretched in terms
of facilities as well as financial, material and human resources. These realities have negatively impacted
on the education sector’s ability to achieve quality outputs and the resulting high transition rates to
secondary education and above.
1. The positive impact of education on people’s health outcomes, including adolescent and youth
sexual and reproductive health and other demographic indicators, cannot be overemphasized.
However, the Government appreciates the challenge at hand, and notes that the proportion of out-
of-school children (of those who ought to be in school) remains high, undermining the attainment
of the‘Education For All’(EFA) targets (GOK, 2012).
2. Large regional disparities exist in education attainments. This poses major challenges to the
attainmentoftheEFAtargetsandotherinitiativestargetingtheachievementofequityineducation.

(iii) Challenges in Youth Employment
Individual and household related challenges
1. Due to idleness, especially after formal education, the youth become restless, with some ending up
in crime or with deviant behaviour, including self-destructive tendencies. Slightly more than half
of Kenya’s prison population is persons aged between 16 and 25. Poverty together with drug and
substance use are responsible for the increased vulnerability of youth to crime.
2. Employment marks an important transition period for young people, characterized by
independence, increased responsibilities and active participation in nation building and social
development, declares theWorld Development Report 2007. Young people who are unable to earn
their own incomes have to be supported by their families, leaving less for spending and investment
in other household needs.
3. Voluntary unemployment is on the rise as the youth become more selective of the types of jobs
they prefer not to do, such as manual labour.
Social and -economic related challenges
1. High unemployment rates among the youth means that the Government misses out on their
potential contributions to social security systems. As the International Labour Organisation
observes:‘This is a threat to the growth and development potential of economies.’
2. The analysis of the youth employment context shows that Kenya faces five key challenges, namely:
high unemployment (rates); rapidly growing labour force; under-employment; the problem of the
working poor; and gender inequality in employment.
3. While the informal (Jua Kali) sector continues to play a critical role in employment creation in the
country,itisalsofacedwithmanychallenges,including:(i)lowproductivity;(ii)limitedtechnological
transfer; (iii) poor occupational health and safety measures; and (iv) inadequate access to markets
and marketing channels.
4. A large proportion of young adults and a rapid rate of growth in the working age population have
exacerbatedtheunemploymentsituation,whichinturnleadstoprolongeddependencyonparents
and guardians, diminished self-esteem and fuels frustrations, thereby increasing the likelihood of
violence and conflict in the society, as witnessed during the post-election violence in 2008.
1. Concentration of young people in the country’s major cities, with the youth (aged 15 to 24) making
up more than 30 percent of total urban population, poses great challenges to the provision of
health and education services, and for the creation of their employment.
(iv) Young people with special needs
Thedeliveryofmulti-sectoralservices—health;education;employment—totheyouthwithdisabilities
poses a great challenge as this requires specific strategies to ensure the beneficiaries’full and effective
participation in the country’s socio-economic development.
8.9.2 Opportunities
In spite of the challenges and vulnerabilities facing young people, it would be wrong to view them
fundamentally as a burden. The youth are an asset to the nation, whose present management is critical
for Kenya’s future. Indeed, Kenya’s Vision 2030 recognizes the youth as a priority group that ‘can be
tapped into for the benefit of the whole country’. This youthful population offers a one-time window
of social, economic and political opportunity. But this requires appropriate investments in policies,

sustainable programmes and good governance focused on the youth. Whether or not a country can
take advantage of this demographic bonus depends on whether young people entering the work force
are literate, healthy, hopeful and skilled. The Vision 2030 with its Economic, Social and Political Pillars,
aspires to achieve a newly industrializing, middle income country, providing a high quality of life to all
its citizens by 2030. But this will greatly depend on the extent to which the country nurtures, develops
and utilizes her human resources, especially its labour, which is predominantly youthful.
Across the sectors, the MOYAS MTP I’s Strategic Plan (2008-2012) also acknowledged that when
empowered, the youth can contribute positively towards good governance and democracy for national
development. A similar theme is found in other sectoral plans.
Further, Article 55 of the Constitution recognizes the need for:
“the State to take measures, including affirmative action programmes, to ensure that the
youth: (i) access relevant education and training; (ii) have opportunities to associate, be
represented and participate in political, socio-economic and other spheres of life; (iii) access
employment; and, (iv) are protected against harmful cultural practices and exploitation.”
Thus the highest law of the land recognizes the importance of investment potential of the youth. By
the same token, youth policies all call for multi-sectoral approaches in planning programmes and
interventions for youth development.
Nothing hinders the Government from putting in place robust AYSRH programmes and services to
effectively address the SRH needs of the young people in the country given the current supportive
policy environment for such programmes and services.The 1994 ICPD-PoA highlighted the importance
of holistic action regarding AYSRH. Seven years later, at the 2001 International AIDS Conference in
Barcelona, the “Barcelona Youth Force” helped put the risk of HIV among youth prominently on the
world stage. This youth advocacy, supported by UNAIDS, together with the creation of the Presidential
Emergency Programme for AIDS Response (PEPFAR), pushed the urgency of HIV awareness raising and
action among youth to the fore of youth SRH. In Kenya, the pendulum is steadily swinging back from
focusing on risks of HIV and AIDS among the youth, to a broader approach to youth development,
including the pivotal issues related to sexual and reproductive health (GOK/MOPHS, 2011). Donors,
Government agencies, programmes and service providers are increasingly moving towards such a
holistic approach to addressing youth issues. Meanwhile, Government agencies have expressed the
need for better coordination of the multiple AYSRH programmes being implemented by partners, often
in “silos” for particular issues. As a result, the Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) is beginning to
explore these issues with special regard to reproductive health for youth.
Other specific opportunities for addressing and/or enhancing adolescent and youth health and
development in Kenya include:
1. The observed drop in early childbearing among adolescent girls is an encouraging trend that
must be sustained and/or scaled up in current programmes for even better future results;
2. The existence of legislation and policies, such as the Children Act, Disability Act and the National
Disabled Persons Policy, provides a timely opportunity to mainstream disability issues and the
needs of disabled adolescents and youth into health and other development interventions
being undertaken in the country; and
3. Young people are recognized as a major resource that has the potential to drive the economic
development of the country to greater heights; but only if policy-makers exploit the
demographic dividend they offer.

8.10. Conclusions and Recommendations
8.10.1 Conclusions
Several conclusions that justify adolescents and the youth as an emerging priority group can be drawn
from this analysis:
1. Kenya is a youthful nation and the need to address the social, economic, demographic and even
political needs of young people in the country is urgent. Available evidence from policies and
legislative frameworks indicate that the Government indeed recognizes the developments, issues
and challenges that continue to impact negatively on the youth. Consequently, the Government,
international agencies and NGOs have rightfully turned attention to the youth and their special
needs, a focus reflecting recognition that a nation’s youth not only forms a considerable resource
for national development, but also forms a significant potential source of problems.
2. The contribution of adolescent or youth fertility to the overall fertility of the country has increased
since the 1970s, making the reproductive decisions of contemporary youth significant for Kenya’s
future socio-demographic landscape.
3. HIV infections are highest among young people aged 15 to 24, and particularly among young
women in this age bracket.
4. Thecountryhasmadegreatprogresstowardsincreasingaccesstoprimaryandsecondaryeducation
with a view to achieving gender parity, retention and increased completion and transition rates.
However, there still exist significant variations between national targets and achievements made.
Key challenges to the complete achievement of the targets include: high shares of out-of-school
children; regional and gender disparities in attainments; limited budgets; inadequate and poor
quality infrastructure and human resources; weak coordination mechanisms; high illiteracy levels;
non formal education; high costs of Special Needs Education; and HIV and AIDS.
5. The Government has made great progress in the development of laws, policies and strategies
that support the development and implementation of interventions addressing the sexual and
reproductive health needs of young people in the country. Further, many stakeholders are putting
in place programmes in line with existing policies. However, implementation of the policies remains
weak, as many programmes are being implemented on a small scale, or on pilot basis.
8.10.2 Recommendations
1. Article 55 of the Constitution calls upon the state to take measures, including affirmative action
programmes, to ensure that the youth have access to relevant education and training (GOK, 2010).
Youngpeoplemustbeprovidedwiththerelevantandappropriatetoolstodeveloptheircapabilities
so they can make the most of opportunities presenting themselves in today’s competitive global
economy. They can do this only if they are equipped with advanced skills in thinking, behaviour,
specific knowledge and vocational skills to enable them perform jobs that require clearly defined
tasks.
2. To respond to, and address, some of the identified challenges, the Government should collaborate
with other stakeholders (development partners, private sector/NGOs) to take advantage of the
many opportunities that exist in favour of the country’s adolescents and youth to:
a. Ensure effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the existing youth related
policies across all sectors; and
b. Put in place targeted programmes and interventions that address the varied needs of
adolescents and youth, particularly in health, education and employment creation;
3. Recognizing the dynamism in adolescent and youth programming, there will be need for timely
dissemination of data to inform the design and development of targeted programmes and
interventions for the ever increasing and varied needs of the youth in Kenya.

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CHAPTER 9: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
9.1 Introduction
The institution of marriage is the traditional foundation and cornerstone of human survival strategies
which exist in varying forms. In many societies, it is the basic means of family formation, socialization
and economic production (Benjamin 1968). Traditionally, the family is also a key decision-making unit
that impacts on demographic behaviour. In recognition of these vital roles of marriage, Principle 9
of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, hereafter ICPD 1994, stated
that: “the family is the basic unit of society and as such, should be strengthened. It is entitled to receive
comprehensive protection and support...” (UN/DPI, 1995). The Kenya Constitution 2010 endorses this
view in Article 45 (1) which stipulates that “the family is the natural and fundamental unit of society and
the necessary basis of social order, and shall enjoy the recognition and protection of state” (Republic of
Kenya, 2010). The National Population Policy for Sustainable Development of 2000 and the Population
Policy for National Development of 2012 also defined the family as the basic unit of society (Republic
of Kenya; 2000, 2012).
As a concept, ‘family’ refers to any group of people who are related by marriage or birth (blood
relationship) or adoption. It is a kinship unit that is categorized as nuclear or extended. In a nuclear
family, a husband and wife live with their children, or one parent lives with his or her children, while
in an extended family, the relationship can extend to other generations such as grand-parents, great-
grand parents, uncles, cousins and aunties (Faust, 2004; Ryder, 1987). However, because of difficulties
in delineating families, the tradition of household surveys adopted by the Kenya National Bureau of
Statistics (KNBS) is to focus on households instead of families.41
KNBS (2010) adopts the following
definition of a household in surveys and censuses:
“A household is a person or group of persons who reside in the same homestead/compound
but not necessarily in the same dwelling unit, have same cooking arrangements, and are
answerable to the same household head. Households could therefore be family households or
non-family households.”
The difference between‘household’and‘family’is summarized as follows: i) a household may have only
one person while a family must have at least two members; ii) members of a multi-person household
may not necessarily be related while family members are related; and iii) a household can have more
than one family living together with one or more persons who are not related or it could have only
non-related persons. Thus in this chapter, we analyse households and not families. The chapter reviews
the status of marriage in Kenya over time with special attention to early marriage, and the situation and
type of households
9.1.1 Rationale
Marriage is not only fundamental for family formation but also constitutes the most fundamental
institution of any society, giving meaning to all other institutions. It is the primary locus of socialization
and the unit from which other institutions spring. Family formation patterns are also key determinants
ofpopulationchange.Inmostsocieties,marriagehasastronginfluenceonfertilitybecauseitinfluences
the length of women’s exposure to the risk of conception. In this regard, age at first marriage is an
important indicator for understanding variations in human fertility. More recently, marriage timing has
been associated with higher prevalences of HIV and AIDS (Bongaarts, 2007), and has implications for
the organization of the family and gender relations in society (Mensch et al., 2005). In addition, the
41 Another logic behind the choice of household is that individuals who are not related may decide to share a house in which they make the kind of‘household
decisions that families make, such as over food, furniture or rent.

timing of marriage is also of concern because of the potential harm young women face when they get
married early (Singh and Samara, 1996; Zabin and Kiragu, 1998; Mensch et al., 2005).
The household and family grouping are the way in which individuals combine to satisfy their living
needs. Understanding households and family groupings is, therefore, essential for proper assessment
of consumer demand for almost all commodities (Benjamin, 1968).) Many problems facing the African
region find their origin in the neglect of the family as a protagonist of development efforts (van de
Walle, 1997). Rapid social developments occurring worldwide have generated considerable changes
in family and household formation, composition and structure (United Nations, 1999). These include
changing social norms such as delayed marriage, gender roles, higher rates of marital dissolution and
a growing number of elderly without living spouses. HIV and AIDS have also created new types of
households in a number of East and Central African countries, such as child-headed households, due to
increased adult deaths and other vulnerabilities, as well as elderly persons living with grand-children
(Hosegood, 2009).
9.2 Marriage
In the context of the family, marriage represents the initial step in furthering group survival and
expansion. Married individuals can either be in monogamous (one spouse) or polygynous unions.
Dissolution of marriage, on the other hand, occurs due to divorce or widowhood. Individuals of
marriageable age who are not married fall into the nevermarried state. Several biological, social, cultural,
religious, economic, legal and political factors influence entry into, and dissolution of, marital unions
(UNECA, 1983). This section describes trends in marriage in Kenya over time by sex, types, timing and
dissolution. It focuses on marriages between persons of opposite sexes — as opposed to the emerging
phenomenon of single sex marriages — which involve rights and obligations fixed by law or custom.
9.2.1 Levels and Trends in Marriage Prevalence
The most commonly used indicator of marriage prevalence is the proportion of the population ever
married by age. Table 9.1 shows the trend in the sex distribution of individuals aged 15 years and
above who are married. At younger ages (below 25 years), the proportion of men who are married is
lower than that of married women, indicating that women enter into marital unions earlier than men.
However, by age 34, the proportion of men in marriage is similar to that of women. Beyond age 50, the
proportion of women who are married declines indicating probable effects of the earlier adult male
mortality, leading to high cases of widowhood. These patterns are consistent across the census years
(1989, 1999 and 2009).
The proportion married in age group 45-49 is used to define the universality of marriage; that is, near
universal marriage occurs when the proportion of persons aged 45-49 who are married is above 95
percent. The results in Table 9.1 show that the proportion of women aged 45-49 years who are married
has remained stable at around 90 percent over the last two decades. In contrast, the proportion of men
aged 45-49 years who are married is higher but has remained stable over the last two decades.

Table 9.1 Levels and trends in proportion married by age and sex, Kenya, 1989–2009
Male Female
1989 1999 2009 1989 1999 2009
15-19 2.1 2.9 3.2 18.8 18.8 15.4
20-24 20.0 22.2 19.7 61.2 58.9 55.7
25-29 60.3 57.0 56.5 76.7 73.7 74.2
30-34 83.7 80.8 78.7 84.5 80.5 79.6
35-39 88.8 88.0 86.4 85.7 82.1 80.2
40-44 89.9 90.5 88.9 84.0 81.8 78.6
45-49 90.2 90.9 90.2 82.9 80.8 77.7
50-59 90.5 91.0 90.7 78.7 70.1 73.0
Sources: CBS (1996; 2004); MPND (Forthcoming), Vol. V.
9.2.2 Patterns of Marital Unions and Dissolution
Table 9.2 shows the distribution of men and women aged 12 years and above by marital status as of
2009. There is a rapid decline in the proportion of never married women after age 19 while for men,
the rapid decline in the proportion never married starts after age 24. The pattern reflects the fact that
women enter into marriage earlier than men. It is also worth noting that at ages 30 years and below,
the proportion of women in monogamous marriages is higher than that of men in similar unions. This
pattern is reversed at higher ages with the proportion of women in monogamous marriages being
lower than that of men in similar unions. In contrast, between aged 15 and 64 years, the proportion of
women in polygynous unions is higher than that of men.
Divorce and separation is low although rates for women are higher which suggests that marriages are
fairly stable in the country (Table 9.2).The low levels of divorce or separation may be due to the fact that
the majority of Kenyans still marry under customary laws on which divorce is a cumbersome process
and is highly stigmatized (Ayiemba, 1990). The major source of marital dissolution is widowhood
for both men and women (Table 9.2). However, the proportion of women widowed after age 35 is
substantially higher among women than among men. In addition, the higher proportion of men in
marriage compared to women at older ages could be due to the practice of polygyny and the fact that
men may quickly remarry once a spouse dies (Goldman and Pebley, 1986).

Table 9.2 Percent distribution of men and women aged 12 years and above by marital status,
Kenya, 2009
Never
Married
Married
Monogamous
Married
Polygamous
Widowed Divorced Separated Number
Age
Group
M F M F M F M F M F M F M F
12-14 97.5 97.4 1.5 1.6 0.9 0.9 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 1532395 1,458,927
15 – 19 96.9 84.6 2.3 13.2 0.7 1.4 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.4 2116516 2,044,206
20 – 24 79.6 41.4 19.0 51.5 0.8 4.2 0.1 0.5 0.2 0.8 0.4 1.6 1733980 2,013,675
25 – 29 41.7 20.5 54.8 67.6 1.7 6.6 0.2 1.4 0.5 1.3 1.2 2.6 1506622 1,666,223
30 – 34 18.2 12.2 75.5 70.4 3.3 9.2 0.4 3.2 0.8 1.8 1.8 3.2 1238688 1,258,795
35 – 39 9.8 9.1 81.5 69.3 4.9 11.0 0.7 5.3 1.0 2.0 2.1 3.3 990582 1,001,419
40 – 44 6.6 7.7 81.8 65.7 7.2 12.9 1.2 8.2 1.1 2.3 2.1 3.2 735356 731,572
45 – 49 4.9 6.4 81.3 63.8 8.8 13.9 1.6 10.9 1.1 2.2 2.1 2.9 628803 636,856
50 – 54 4.0 5.1 79.5 58.7 11.3 15.9 2.3 15.9 1.2 2.1 1.9 2.3 474225 477,469
55 – 59 3.4 4.5 78.4 55.6 12.3 16.0 2.9 20.0 1.2 1.9 1.8 2.0 357186 352,405
60 – 64 3.3 3.9 75.6 49.5 14.5 16.2 3.9 27.0 1.1 1.8 1.6 1.5 293614 298,501
65+ 8.1 7.3 64.2 36.6 18.0 13.8 7.5 40.0 1.0 1.4 1.3 0.9 600661 728,725
Source: MPND, Vol. V (Forthcoming).
A critical feature of marriage in Kenya is the practice of polygyny, which enjoys defacto legality although
such unions are no longer fully recognized by the courts. Polygynous marriages are considered to be
the main cause of early marriage (Ezeh, 1997). In KDHS, polygyny has been measured by asking all
currently married female respondents whether their husbands or partners had other wives, and if so,
how many. Table 9.3 shows trends in the distribution of women in polygynous marriages by socio-
economic characteristics including place of residence, level of education, and household wealth status.
The proportion of women in such unions has generally been declining over successive KDHS rounds,
with the greatest decline occurring in urban areas. Women with no education are more likely to be in
polygynous unions. In addition, women from the poorest 20 percent households are more likely to be
in polygamous unions compared to their counterparts from richer households.
Table 9.3 Trends in the distribution of women reporting being in polygynous marriages, Kenya,
1993–2008/09
1993 1998 2003 2008/09
Kenya 19.5 16.0 16.4 13.3
Place of residence
Urban 13.7 11.0 11.7 7.2
Rural 20.5 17.3 17.8 15.2
Education level
None 33.3 29.3 36.2 33.3
Primary Incomplete 20.2 17.9 18.2 16.9
Primary Complete 13.0 12.0 10.9 7.8
Secondary+ 11.4 10.5 8.0 7.5
Wealth quintile
Lowest 26.0 25.6
Second 18.4 15.0
Middle 14.7 15.1
Fourth 13.6 8.6
Highest 10.6 5.9
Sources: CBS, MOH and ORC Macro International (2004); KNBS and ICF Macro (2010); NCPD, CBS and Macro International (1994; 1999).

9.2.3 Timing of First Marriage
In Kenya, the legal age of marriage — with or without parental consent or approval — is 18 years for
men and women (Republic of Kenya, 2010). Age at first marriage is, however, determined by many
factors, such as cultural norms and economic factors (UNFPA, 2012). Two indicators are used in the
analysis of the timing of first marriage, namely percent married at ages 15-19, and singulate mean age
at marriage (SMAM). The proportion married at age 15-19 captures the extent of early marriages while
SMAM represents a summary indicator of the entire age distribution of first marriages. Figure 9.1 shows
the trends in SMAM in Kenya between 1989 and 2009. For both men and women, there has been no
major change in the timing of first marriages over the last two decades. In addition, consistent with
findings on prevalence of marriage and patterns of marital unions, women enter into first marriages
earlier than men.
Figure 9.1 Trends in timing of first marriages in Kenya, 1989–2009
26
21.6
26.5
22.3
26.7
22.5
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Male Female
SMAM(Years)
1989 1999 2009
Sources: CBS (1996; 2004); MPND (Forthcoming), Vol. V.
According to United Nations (1990), the early marriage patterns for women occur when SMAM is less
than 21 years, with the intermediate pattern ranging from 21-23 years, and the late pattern between
ages 23 and 28. Trends in marriage timing suggest that marriage in Kenya is slowly changing from an
early pattern to an intermediate one.
In sub-Saharan Africa, there exist large age differences on average between men and their spouses
(United Nations, 1990). Age differences between marital partners are due to a variety of social-
demographic factors and norms in societies, including the prevalence of polygyny, bride wealth,
migration and levels of education (United Nations, 1990; Garenne, 2004). High costs of bride wealth
imply increases in the age of men at first marriage because their families must find sufficient wealth to
pay for their sons’marriages (United Nations, 1990). In addition, age difference between spouses can be
considered as a proxy for conjugal distance and gender inequalities (Magali and Hertrich, 2005).
Table 9.4 shows trends in SMAM between 1999 and 2009 by sex, place of residence and region. At the
national level, the age difference between spouses has not changed over the last decade. However,
although the age difference between spouses increased slightly in both rural and urban areas, the
increase was greater in the rural than in the urban areas. In addition, there have been increases in
age differences between spouses in Central, Eastern and Rift Valley provinces while other regions
experienced declines (Table 9.4). The age difference between spouses has been lowest in Nairobi and
other urban areas and highest in North Eastern Province and in rural areas.

Table9.4TrendsinSingulateMeanAgeatMarriagebybackgroundcharacteristics,Kenya,1999–2009
1999 2009
Male Female Male/Female difference Male Female Male/Female difference
Kenya 26.5 22.3 4.2 26.7 22.5 4.2
Place of residence
Rural 26.5 21.9 4.6 26.9 21.9 5.0
Urban 26.5 22.9 3.6 26.9 23.2 3.7
Region
Nairobi 26.8 23.5 3.3 26.8 23.7 3.1
Central 27.5 23.7 3.8 27.8 23.2 4.6
Coast 26.7 21.3 5.4 26.7 22 4.7
Eastern 27.2 23.1 4.1 27.7 22.9 4.8
North Eastern 26.5 20.5 6.0 27.1 21.8 5.3
Nyanza 25.4 20.9 4.5 25.5 21.4 4.1
Rift Valley 26.3 22.1 4.2 26.7 22.4 4.3
Western 25.3 21.2 4.1 25.4 21.7 3.7
Sources: CBS 2004; MPND (Forthcoming), Vol. V.
9.2.4 Early Marriage
Concern over early marriage arises from the potential harm it occasions on young women who
experience it (Singh and Samara, 1996; Zabin and Kiragu, 1998; Mensch et al., 2005). It has also been
associatedwith;polygamousunions,highschooldrop-outrates,lowlevelsoflabourforceparticipation,
high fertility as well as high adolescent and maternal mortality (Ayiemba, 1990; Njonjo, 2010; UNFPA,
2010). Kenyans — especially women — who are relatively poor, or who have little education, enter into
marriage earlier than their better-off counterparts (KNBS and IFC Macro, 2010:830). Results in Table
9.2 further show that among those aged 15-19 years, the proportion of women who have ever been
married is 5 times higher than that of men (15% and 3% respectively).
Figure 9.2 presents the trends in the proportions of women married by exact ages 15 through to 18.The
proportion of women marrying by age 18 has been relatively stable. However, very early marriages (by
age15)havebeendecliningovertime.Garenne(2004)foundthatifincomeandeducationarecontrolled
for, early age at first marriage among women (which is a cause of large spousal age differences) is
influenced by religion, polygyny and urbanization. Other factors promoting early marriages include
customs that encourage early marriage of women as a source of wealth, such as dowry (Ayiemba, 1990).

Figure 9.2 Trends in the women aged 25-49 years married by exact ages 15 to 18, Kenya, 1989–
2008/2009
6.1
9.3
9.7
7.9
7.1
12.1
10.6
9.7 10.2
10.7
10.9
12.813.012.3
11.0
11.7
11.8
12.1
12.512.3
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1989 1993 1998 2003 2008-09
Percent
15 16 17 18
Macro International (1994; 1999).
Table 9.5 presents the prevalence of early marriages among women aged 25-49 years in Kenya by socio-
economic characteristics as of 2008/2009. In addition, the prevalence of early marriage decreases with
increasing levels of education and household wealth status. North Eastern Province has the highest
prevalence of early marriages. Coast Province has the second highest prevalence of marriages occurring
by exact ages 15 and 16 years while Nyanza Province has the second highest prevalence of marriages
occurring by exact ages 17 and 18 years.
Table 9.5 Prevalence of early marriages among women aged 25-49 years by socio-economic
characteristics, Kenya, 2008/09
Percentage first married by exact age:
Characteristics 15 16 17 18 Number of women
Place of residence
Urban 5.7 10.1 14.6 20.5 1,280
Rural 9.7 15.8 25.2 35.9 3,689
Education level
No education 23.6 32.6 44.3 54.9 557
Primary education 9.5 16.5 27.6 39.8 2,740
Secondary and above 2.4 4.6 6.8 11.4 1,671
Region
Nairobi 2.5 5.2 9.2 13.6 443
Central 3.4 5.5 10.4 19.5 584
Coast 13.9 20.1 28.3 35.6 384
Eastern 6.0 9.1 15.7 25.4 857
North Eastern 19.8 28.6 39.5 51.8 109
Nyanza 10.3 18.9 30.0 40.5 754
Rift Valley 11.4 18.2 28.2 38.6 1,323
Western 9.0 16.8 25.2 36.4 515
Wealth quintile
Poorest 15.0 22.9 33.0 43.7 818
Poorer 11.8 17.2 29.1 40.9 853
Middle 9.6 16.7 26.5 38.7 930
Richer 6.1 11.4 18.0 27.7 1,013
Richest 4.3 8.0 12.5 17.9 1,355

9.3 Household/Family Characteristics
9.3.1 Household Size and Growth Rates
A household can be regarded as the unit of co-operative living that meets the day-to-day survival
requirements of its members. Its organization is influenced by the prevailing social and cultural
practices regarding patriarchy and gendered roles, marital patterns and migration (Bongaarts, 2001). In
Kenya, the number of households (excluding institutions such as prisons, military barracks and schools)
has grown from about 6.3 million in 1999 to about 8.8 million in 2009 (MNPD, Forthcoming). Table 9.6
shows the rate of growth in the number of households since 1979. The growth rate declined in the
1999-2009 inter-censal period. There has been an extensive decline in the household growth rates in
rural areas, but a dramatic rise in the urban areas, (MPND, Forthcoming: Vol. X).
Table 9.6 Trends in household growth rates, Kenya, 1979–2009
1979-89 1989-99 1999-2009
Kenya 3.87 3.81 3.19
Nairobi 6.47 5.28 4.17
Central 3.53 3.31 2.81
Coast 2.93 3.79 3.27
Eastern 2.95 3.36 2.94
North Eastern -0.27 7.48 7.48
Nyanza 4.14 3.23 2.05
Rift Valley 4.54 3.82 3.57
Western 3.58 3.89 2.54
Sources: CBS 1996, 2004; MPND, (Forthcoming: Vol. X).
The average household size in Kenya declined from 5.7 in 1969 to 4.5 in 1999 and to about 4.4 according
to2009KenyaPopulationandHousingCensus(KNBS,2010).Oneofthekeydemographiccharacteristics
of a household is the number of members it contains.Table 9.7 shows the distribution of households by
size as of 2009. About 16 percent of households have only one person while about four percent have
10 or more persons. Rural households tend to be larger than urban households. Nairobi has the largest
proportion of households with only one person. The average household size ranges from 3.2 persons
in Nairobi province to 7.4 persons in North Eastern Province.
Table 9.7 Percent distribution of households by size, Kenya, 2009
Household size Average
Size
Number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+
Kenya 16 13 15 16 13 9.8 6.7 4.4 2.7 3.5 4.4 8,767,954
Place of residence
Rural 11 10.5 14.1 15.8 14.5 11.6 8.4 5.7 3.6 4.6 4.9 5,429,236
Urban 24 16.7 16.9 15.1 11 6.8 3.9 2.2 1.3 1.7 3.6 3,338,718
Province
Nairobi 28 19.6 17.9 14.8 9.6 5.1 2.4 1.2 0.6 0.7 3.2 985,016
Central 21 15.7 18.8 18 12.6 6.9 3.4 1.6 0.8 0.7 3.6 1,224,742
Coast 19 13.7 14 13.3 11.3 8.9 6.5 4.6 3.1 5.5 4.5 731,199
Eastern 14 12 15.9 17.1 14.5 10.6 6.9 4.2 2.4 2.4 4.4 1,284,838
North Eastern 2.1 2.9 4.6 6.8 9.9 12.3 13.9 14.3 11.7 21.5 7.4 312,661
Nyanza 13 11.8 14.6 16.4 15.1 11.7 7.8 4.7 2.6 2.7 4.6 1,188,287
Rift Valley 15 11.3 13.9 15.1 13.7 10.9 7.9 5.3 3.3 4 4.7 2,137,136
Western 11 10.8 14.2 15.6 14.8 12.1 8.8 5.7 3.3 3.6 4.8 904,075
Source: MPND (Forthcoming: Vol X).

Household sizes in Africa generally increased between 1970s and 1980s (Locoh, 1988). However, factors
driving the increases in household size have not been adequately explained (Bongaarts, 2001). Using
data from 43 developing countries, Bongaarts (2001) indicated that the average household size for sub-
Saharan Africa is about 5.3 members. Kenya is one of counties in Africa with relatively small household
sizes on average.
9.3.2 Household Types
Table 9.8 shows the percentage distribution of households in Kenya by type and province as of 2009.
Nearly half the households are nuclear while about two percent are non-family households (persons
living together but unrelated). Rural areas have more nuclear households compared to urban areas,
while non-family households are more common in urban areas. Regional distribution of households by
family type is generally similar except for Nairobi which is urban, with slightly fewer nuclear households
and more non-family households. Nyanza and Western provinces have the highest proportions of
extended family households (34%) while Central Province has the lowest (22%).
Table 9.8 Percent distribution households by family types, Kenya, 2009
Household Type
Province and
Place of Residence
One
person
Nucleara
Extendedb
Compositec
Non-familyd
/
other
Number of
Households
Kenya 15.1 49.7 28.4 5.3 1.5 8,789,323
Place of residence
Rural 10.4 53.4 30.7 4.6 0.9 5,439,435
Urban 22.8 43.7 24.5 6.5 2.5 3,349,888
Region
Nairobi 26.1 39.7 23.3 7.9 3.1 985,016
Central 19.9 51.8 21.9 4.8 1.6 1,224,742
Coast 17.6 43.4 32.4 4.9 1.7 731,199
Eastern 12.8 50.0 28.7 6.8 1.7 1,284,838
North eastern 1.9 69.1 23.6 5.1 0.4 312,661
Nyanza 11.5 50.4 34.2 3.2 0.7 1,188,287
Rift valley 13.7 51.0 28.0 5.7 1.6 2,137,136
Western 10.5 51.9 33.7 3.4 0.5 904,075
Source: MPND, (Forthcoming: Vol X).
a
Consisting entirely of single family nucleus: married couple family with or without child(ren), father
or mother with child(ren); b
Consisting any of the following: single family nucleus with other persons
related to nucleus e.g. father with children and other relatives, two or more nuclei related to each other,
two or more family nuclei related to each other plus other persons related to at least one of the nuclei
members, or two or more persons related to each other none of whom constitute a family nucleus e.g.
brothers and sisters living together none of whom are married; c
Composite household consisting any
of the above either a nuclear or extended family household with at least one nonrelative; d
Persons
living together who are not related to each other.
9.3.3 Household Headship
Households and living arrangements can also be understood by examining the characteristics of the
household head. The characteristics of the household head are generally associated with household
welfare. The 2008/2009 KDHS showed that about two-thirds of households are headed by men while

households headed by women tend to be poorer (lower wealth quintiles). Household headship is
influenced by several factors such as changes in the roles of men and women in society, forms and
types of marriage including the extent of marital instability, rural-urban migration and the prevailing
economic situations. Table 9.9 shows the distribution of households by age and sex of the head and by
province. At the national level, about one in ten households are headed by persons in age group 15-
24 while 15 percent are headed by elderly persons (age 60 and above). The proportion of households
headed by youth (15-24 years) varies from about 5 percent in North Eastern Province to about 14
percent in Nairobi Province.
Table 9.9 Percent distribution of households by age and sex of the head, Kenya, 2009
Age group of household head Number of households
Province 15-24 25-34 35-59 60+
Kenya 9.3 29.2 46.2 15.3 8,767,954
Males 8.7 31.1 47.2 13.1 5,949,154
Females 10.7 25.2 44.3 19.8 2,818,800
Nairobi 13.8 41.7 40.7 3.8 985,016
Males 12.5 42.6 41.5 3.5 752,007
Females 17.8 39.0 38.3 4.8 233,009
Central 7.1 26.5 47.1 19.2 1,224,742
Males 7.0 28.7 48.6 15.7 829,458
Females 7.4 21.9 44.0 26.6 395,284
Coast 10.4 31.4 46.3 11.9 731,199
Males 9.3 32.6 47.0 11.1 522,236
Females 13.1 28.3 44.6 14.1 208,963
Eastern 7.3 24.9 48.3 19.5 1,284,838
Males 6.4 25.6 49.9 18.1 821,299
Females 8.9 23.5 45.6 21.9 463,539
North Eastern 4.6 22.0 58.4 15.0 312,661
Males 3.6 21.2 60.1 15.1 247,359
Females 8.3 25.2 51.9 14.6 65,302
Nyanza 9.7 27.0 44.5 18.9 1,188,287
Males 9.5 29.8 45.1 15.6 729,457
Females 10.0 22.4 43.5 24.0 458,830
Rift valley 10.3 30.5 45.9 13.3 2,137,136
Males 9.4 32.4 46.5 11.7 1,457,482
Females 12.3 26.4 44.6 16.7 679,654
Western 8.3 25.5 46.9 19.3 904,075
Males 8.2 28.1 47.4 16.4 589,856
Females 8.5 20.6 46.0 24.9 314,219
Source: Computation based on the 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census.
Young males (15-24 years) head about nine percent of households headed by men while female youth
of the same age group head about 11 percent of the households headed by women. Elderly women
head about one-fifth of the total households headed by women. Of the households headed by men,
the proportion of youth heads varies from about four percent in North Eastern Province to nearly 13
percent in Nairobi Province. Similarly, the proportion of households headed by female youth (among
households headed by women) ranges from eight percent in North Eastern Province to about 18
percent in Nairobi Province. The proportion of households headed by the elderly is lowest in Nairobi
Province for both men and women. The highest proportion of households headed by elderly males is
in Eastern Province (18%) while the highest proportion of households headed by elderly females is in

Central Province (27%) followed by Western Province (25%).
Changes in population as well as other social forces such as female labour force participation and
educationhaveproducedvariedandrapidlychanginghouseholdandfamilystructures(UnitedNations,
1999).Table 9.10 shows the distribution of households by size and marital status of the household head.
The proportion of households which have more than one person, and are headed by persons who are
not married, can be taken as a proxy for single parenthood. Generally, the data show that females are
more likely than males to be single parents irrespective of place of residence. However, males who are
divorced or separated tend to live alone compared to females, irrespective of place of residence.
Household structure is a result of social and economic changes that bring about reductions in fertility
which, in turn, lead to changes in household composition through reduction in the number of children
(Bongaarts, 2001). Household size increases as a result of marriage, birth, adoption or immigration,
and declines through death, divorce or out-migration, observes Bongaarts, who also notes that the
larger a country’s average household size, the higher the ratio of children to adults, and the higher the
proportion of non-nuclear members (more of composite and extended households).
Table 9.10 Percent distribution of households by size and marital status of the household head,
Kenya 2009
Rural Urban
Single
(1
person)
Small
(2-4
persons)
Medium
(5-8 persons)
Large
( 9+)
Single
(1
person)
Small
(2-4
persons)
Medium
(5-8
persons)
Large
( 9+)
Males
Never married 66.3 27.9 5.2 0.6 67.8 30.4 1.6 0.2
Married 4.8 36.7 47.6 10.9 14 51.1 31.1 3.8
Widowed 36.5 40.2 19.9 3.4 38.9 41.3 17.2 2.6
Divorced/
separated 64.8 27.8 6.7 0.7 68.5 26.8 4.2 0.5
Females
Never married 26.1 54.2 18.2 1.5 46.5 47.3 5.8 0.4
Married 8.7 48.3 37.9 5.2 13.3 55 28 3.8
Widowed 19.6 46.7 29.2 4.5 18.3 50.4 27.2 4.1
Divorced/
separated
16.7 53.5 26.9 2.9 23.4 59.3 16 1.3
Source: MPND (Forthcoming: Vol X).
Table 9.11 shows the distribution of households by type and marital status of the household head. One-
person households have been excluded from the analysis; hence, only households with two or more
members are considered.The most common household type is that comprising nuclear families. About
seven percent of the households comprise those who are not related (KNBS, 2010). Those who have
never been married and those who are divorced, separated or widowed tend to head more of extended
households than nuclear households, while those who are married tend to head nuclear households.
It is those who have never been married that are more likely to form non-family households. The
proportion of non-family households is slightly higher in urban than in rural areas. There are marked
differences between men and women in headship by marital status. Males who have never been
married are more likely to be in non-family households compared to females (Table 9.11). They are also
less likely to head nuclear families than females.

Table 9.11 Percent distribution of households by marital status of the household head and
household type, Kenya, 2009
Rural Urban
Nuclear Extended Composite
Non
family Nuclear Extended Composite
Non
family
Males
Never married 2.2 24.4 2.4 7.7 1.0 22.6 2.0 9.8
Married 63.5 26.8 4.7 0.5 57.1 21.6 7.3 1.1
Widowed/divorced/
Separated 26.3 19.4 2.1 1.7 20.3 17.9 3.3 3.3
Females
Never married 34.1 35.5 4.2 2.4 20.9 26.7 4.9 4.4
Married 51.6 35.2 5.3 0.5 45.9 32.9 8.8 0.8
Widowed/divorced/
Separated 31.8 46.3 4.2 0.9 37.7 37.0 5.9 1.1
Source: Ministry of Planning and National Development and Vision 2030, Vol. X (Forthcoming).
9.4 Gaps
9.4.1 Marriage
Statistics on marriage and family patterns for any country constitute vital information for effective
development planning. Planning should capture and project the changing family households’demand
for goods, services and productivity that promote economic development at individual and societal
levels. In Kenya, the Civil Registration Department has never published annual marriage statistics,
thereby limiting research work on household transformations and productivity. Furthermore, national
censuses which provide vital data for planning and policy formulation also lack information on the
specific date at first marriage, type of marriage and duration of marriage.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA, 2010) reports that, “marital unions as the fundamental
units of societal socialization sometimes become units of marital conflict, family violence, and family
disruption. Marital abuses lead to trauma in families.”This occurs mostly in polygynous unions where
competition for family resources is more acute. In addition, UNFPA (2010: 75) reports that forced or
arranged marriages of children or adolescents “deprive (them) of their freedom, opportunities for
personal development, and rights such as health and well-being, education, and participation in civic
life. Children from one-parent households are also generally at a disadvantage compared to children
from two-parent households and that; the incidence of one-parent households is higher among the
poor.”However, available data could not allow for analysis of marital conflicts and their implications for
various marriage patterns.
9.4.2 Household and Family
There are few gaps with respect to analysis of households including the need to analyse the situation
of “fragile families”, including “skip generation” households and child-headed households. Child-
headed households are among the most widely discussed social consequences of the HIV epidemic
in Africa where the prevalence has been high, though evidence for the extent of this phenomenon
is controversial (Hosegood, 2009). Skip generation households are typically described as households
of a grandparent (typically a grandmother) living with her grandchildren whose parents have died.
Children living with grandparents are vulnerable since the grandparents themselves have lost one of

their key support mechanisms, the working sons and daughters.
Although presented in demographic and health surveys, there are other living arrangements for
children that make them vulnerable, such as children living with grandparents and other relatives even
when their parents are alive. Such circumstances arise from fosterage and circular labour migration
where young adults in search of employment leave their own children with their grandparents while
seeking work elsewhere particularly in urban centres. Such children are still considered vulnerable; but
there is lack of evidence on the prevalence of the phenomenon and its consequences. Again, lack of
relevant data could not allow for analysis of these aspects of household and family formation in this
chapter.
The Government’s views on marriage and family formation are further seen in the Population Policy for
National Development of 2012 which states that“the policy will be implemented within the framework
of Vision 2030 and the new Kenyan Constitution of 2010” (Republic of Kenya, 2012: 23). The policy
measures proposed embrace the rights of individuals as stipulated in the Constitution, as well as the
broad goals of Kenya Vision 2030, the country’s development blueprint that aims to transform the
nation“into a newly industrializing middle income country providing high quality of life to all its citizens
in a clean and secure environment”(Republic of Kenya, 2007).
In the Population Policy of 2012, direct measures affecting marriage and family patterns are limited.
Instead, there are more indirect policy measures which emphasize a wide range of programmes to be
implemented. These programmes aim at delaying marriage and include empowerment of the youth,
women, and adult populations through better education, increased labour force participation, better
reproductive health and family planning services, gender equality and equity, and enhanced decision-
making in all spheres of development (Republic of Kenya, 2012). The implementation of the policy is,
therefore,guidedbyseveralprinciplesincludingtherecognitionofthefamilyasthebasicunitofsociety.
The policy further identifies the diverse cultural and religious beliefs and practices that encourage early
marriages and polygyny as persistent and emerging programme challenges that must be tackled. High
levels of adolescent fertility are also recognized as partly contributing to early marriages and polygyny.
In order to address these issues, the policy has proposed the following measures to affect marriage and
family formation:
 Raising age at first marriage from 20.2 years in 2009 to 23 years by 2030;
 Enhancing information, education and communication in communities that still practise
harmful traditional practices such as Female Genital Cutting (FGC) and early marriages; and
 Supporting programmes through advocacy and public awareness campaigns on the
implications of a rapidly growing population on individual family welfare, and on national
socio-economic development, to create the desired small family norms and high quality of life
(Republic of Kenya, 2012: 10-21).
The youth are potential future leaders and are vital human capital for present and future development
through family formation and participation in the labour force. It is estimated that among the 13.7
million youth in Kenya (in 2011), 7.6 million live in poverty (NCAPD, 2011). Poverty often triggers
early entry into marriage, motherhood and family establishment, thus denying young people greater
prospects for further career development.

The programmes of free primary education and subsidization of secondary education create
suitable opportunities for delaying entry into marriage, if effectively implemented. However, their
implementation is a challenge to the Government because of the enormous resources required, human
capital investment and infrastructure development. The challenge at the household level persists
as some parents are still required to subsidize their children’s education by buying school uniform
and text books. Education imparts the right knowledge and skills to make good parents, effectively
participate in the labour market and be responsible citizens (World Bank, 2007). Education also unlocks
hidden potential, and protects human rights that promote economic well-being, health, liberty and
the security of individuals (King and Hill, 1993). All these conditions are a justification for delaying age
at first marriage and can make positive contributions to the development and well-being of families
(NCAPD, 2011).
Acquisition of gainful employment marks a transition period for young people “because it imparts a
sense of increased responsibility, independence and active participation in nation building, as well as in
social development. It also helps young people to make independent decisions in family formation, such
as on age at first marriage, child bearing and spacing, and limiting the number of children. In Kenya, 60
percent of the active labour force consists of young people and 80 percent of the unemployed are also the
youth” (NCAPD, 2011: 46). Such a situation creates critical challenges in families and the society in
terms of security, petty crimes, drug and alcohol abuse that involve the majority of unemployed youth
and cause marital abuse and instability. Slightly more than 50 percent of Kenyan’s prison population
consists of young people 16-25 years old (Republic of Kenya, 2002).
9.7 Conclusion and Recommendations
Kenya is characterized by a high population growth rate that currently stands at about three percent
annually. This growth level leads to the predominance of the youth in the population. The early age at
marriage is, however, becoming less common, a trend which is rising in both rural and urban areas, with
urban areas having relatively higher age at marriage for both women and men compared to rural areas.
The household is the basic unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing,
and shelter are organized. As societies industrialize and urbanize, households become less extended
and more nuclear, and also smaller (Bongaarts, 2001). In Kenya, nuclear households are prevalent
although non-family households are beginning to emerge, especially in the urban areas. Males who
are divorced or separated tend to live alone compared to women irrespective of place of residence.
The key messages for policy are as follows: i) in Kenya, marriages are still stable; ii) there is a slow shift
from early age at first marriage to intermediate ages among women; iii) new forms of marriages are
still few and not adequately captured by data; and iv) poverty is more likely to be associated with early
entry into marriage.
It is recommended that other measures, such as investing in delaying age at first marriage and first
birth can, have direct impacts on health and the general well-being of future population. Investment in
social services, such as education for young people can; guarantee delays in family formation, promote
entry into formal employment and make the youth become more responsible citizens.
There is also need to invest substantially on the Vital Registration System in order to produce flows of
data that is more relevant for annual planning for the changing needs of family households. There is
also need to invest in studies on fragile families in order to inform policies and programmes for social
protection.

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CHAPTER 10: EMERGENCY SITUATIONS AND HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE
10.1 Introduction
Anemergency(situation)referstoaconditionthatposesathreattohealth,life,propertyorenvironment.
Such situations occur as a result of various events: disasters; armed conflict and; displacement crises.
A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material
or environmental losses which exceed the ability of affected society to cope on normal resources
(UNDHA, 2001). Disasters are adversities that are either nature-induced or human-induced.42
Human-
induced events such as political upheavals, wars, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, or social factors such
as racism, exclusion or persecution, can compound nature-induced events and transform them into
‘complex disasters’.The occurrence and impact of natural disasters are a function of societal and human-
environment relations (Hewitt, 1983)43
.
Displacement is often a consequence of population flight or evacuation as a response to natural,
technological or social agents44
. It can be temporary or permanent, voluntary or involuntary; but it
is often a response to actual or likely physical or economic harm. Depending on the cause, displaced
persons may become refugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced persons (IDPs).
His Excellency Deputy President William Ruto, EGH, EBS disparches food to displaced populations in
Tana River, one of the disaster prone regions in the country. Photo: www.the-star.co.ke
The existence of an emergency situation creates an immediate and serious need for humanitarian
response. Humanitarian response refers to actions taken to save lives, alleviate suffering and promote
and protect human dignity before, during and after emergencies. Traditional humanitarian responses
42 Examples of nature-induced events include earthquakes, windstorms (cyclones, hurricanes, tornadoes, and typhoons), tsunamis, floods, earth movements
(landslides, mudslides) volcanic eruptions, avalanches, wildfires, grasshopper and locust infestations, sand and dust storms, and any other calamity of natural
origin (UNEP, 2003) while human-induced events often involves human or technological failures such as road accidents, aircraft crashes, railway accidents,
building collapse, political unrest and violence.
43 The impacts of disasters can include, but are not limited to, loss of human life, loss of property, displacement, and disruption of economic activities.
44 Displacement can be induced by a disaster, armed conflict and or development project. Smuggled or trafficked persons may also become displacees.

often comprise the three components, including (i) relief assistance and services (e.g. shelter, water,
and medical supplies); (ii) emergency food aid; and (iii) relief coordination and support services (e.g.
logisticsandcommunications).However,dependingonthesituation,suchresponsesmaybeexpanded
to include disaster prevention and preparedness, and recovery. Humanitarian response is characterized
by its short-term nature and is guided by the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and
independence. This distinguishes it from foreign aid, which often has a long-term nature to address
prolonged vulnerability45
. This chapter focuses on emergency situations and humanitarian response
with respect to natural disasters, armed conflict and human population displacement.
10.1.1 Rationale
Emergency situations persist in many parts of the world with increasing scale, frequency, severity and
complexity causing ever increasing losses and humanitarian crises, especially in the developing world
(Oliver-Smith, 2006). Emergency situations have important implications for population and society,
hencetheexistenceofseveralinternationalframeworkstoguidenationalGovernmentsinpreparedness
and response. Principle 18(2) of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement states that:
“At the minimum, regardless of the circumstances and without discrimination,
competent authorities shall provide internally displaced persons with and ensure access
to: (a) Essential food and potable water; (b) Basic shelter and housing; (c) Appropriate
clothing; and (d) Essential medical services and sanitation”(United Nations, 2001).
Additionally, Principle 11(2)(b) states that:
“Internally displaced persons, whether or not their liberty has been restricted, shall be
protected in particular against slavery or any contemporary form of slavery, such as sale
into marriage, sexual exploitation, or forced labor of children.”
These principles support the articles of the 1994 ICPD that called on Governments to address the factors
that contribute to displacement, and to strengthen their support for international activities to protect
and assist displaced persons.
10.2. Status of Emergency Situations
10.2.1 Natural disasters
Kenya is prone to a range of natural disasters notably drought, floods, landslides and mudslides,
earthquakes, wildfires and various epidemics/pandemics (UNDP, 2004)46 47
. The international disaster
database (EM-DAT) shows that during the period 1993-2010, a total of 73 natural disaster events
including droughts, epidemics, flood, landslides and a tsunami, occurred in Kenya and affected a
cumulative total of 48.46 million people (CRED, 2011). This translates to an annual average of 2.69
million people. During the same period, a total of 5,825 people (averaging 323 people annually) died
from the impacts of the 73 natural disaster events. However, drought affected the highest number
of people (about 39.2 million) compared to about 6.9 million affected by epidemics and 2.4 million
affected by floods. On the average, drought episodes affected between 3-5 million people per event
during the period compared to 237,300 by epidemics and 75,600 by flood events.
45 Foreign aid can be a successor of humanitarian response.That is, humanitarian response can address situations arising during and in the immediate aftermath
of an emergency situation, while long-term vulnerability caused by the emergency situation can be addressed by foreign assistance.
46 Exposure to drought risk is a function of marginalization, land tenure arrangements, coping capacities, opportunities and availability of Government
assistance, while flood risk is a function of precipitation, deforestation, urbanization, and landslides (Perch-Nielsen, 2004). Degradation of flood plain land,
unequal patterns of asset ownership and income, land tenure systems, population growth in marginal areas, and Governments land access policies are factors
that influence flood risk (Wisner et al. 2004).
47 The most frequent epidemics include bacterial infectious diseases (e.g. cholera, typhoid fever, and meningitis), viral infectious diseases (e.g. Rift Valley Fever,
visceral leishmaniasis (Kala-Azar), dysentery, and measles), and parasitic infectious diseases (e.g. dysentery). Aflatoxicosis also contributes to the impact by
epidemics.

In the last decade, the scale, frequency, and severity of natural disasters in Kenya have affected larger
numbersofpeople48
.Forexample,beforethe1990s,droughteventsoccurredatfivetoten-yearintervals
and on average affected less than 50,000 people per year (UNISDR, 2012). These statistics dramatically
changed over the 2000-2009 decade when drought events occurred every one to three years and
affected an annual average of 1.5 to 4.5 million people (UNISDR, 2012). The 2008/2009 drought alone
affected ten million people, and decimated over 20 percent of the livestock population in the arid and
semi-arid lands (ASAL) (GOK, 2010). In 2011, drought affected 12 million people in the Horn of Africa
countries, of whom four million were Kenyans (GOK, 2010).
10.2.2 Armed conflicts
The war situations that have involved the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) are few, notably the 1966-1968
ShiftaWar and the on-going“Operation Linda Nchi”intervention in Somalia49
. Otherwise, limited armed
violence has often erupted before, during and after elections, the most notable surrounding the general
elections of 1992, 1997 and 2007, in which the use of both crude and automatic weapons was reported.
Most election-related violence has occurred in regions that host ethnic communities that seem to have
primary competing political interests, or regions with perceived land injustices.The perennial livestock-
related conflicts are often a result of culturally-prescribed ethnic rivalry over livestock wealth, water and
pasture resources, or competing political interests, but occasionally involve the use of guns. Fights over
water and pasture are more common in northern ASAL areas of the country.
10.2.3 Earthquakes
Although Kenya has not had a major earthquake in recent history, that reality is a possibility due to
the latent tectonic activity along the Rift Valley. However, the December 26, 2004 earthquake whose
epicenter was off the Sumatran Island of Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed two people in Kenya,
alongside hundreds of thousands who lost their lives in different countries. The significance of this
event is that the adverse impacts of one great earthquake can be felt far and wide; meaning that Kenya
has to be prepared for earthquake events that occur in other countries.
10.2.4 Health Emergencies
HIV and AIDS are the most well documented disasters in Kenya. Although declared a national disaster
in Kenya in 1999, the HIV prevalence rate has declined from a peak of 10.5 percent in 1995/1996 among
the adult population to its current estimated level of about 6.2 percent. However, the infection rate
among women, at eight percent, is double that of men (UNAIDS, 2008; NACC and NASCOP, 2012). To
date the pandemic has left a trail of over 1.2 million AIDS orphans, an enormous burden on the elderly
persons in whose care the orphans are often left, and a burden on the economy from which resources
must be diverted to provide services to the infected persons and affected families. Although AIDS is a
natural disaster in its own right, researchers are still concerned with questions regarding the HIV and
AIDS dynamics (prevalence rates; infection rates; treatment rates; ARV use; etc.) in various populations,
especially in emergency situations. Consequently, the Kenya Humanitarian Plan 2013 calls for a need
to focus on the increased risk of HIV during humanitarian crises, particularly when there are high levels
of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) (UNOCHA, 2013)50
. The concern is the direct link between
48 Drought-prone areas include the upper eastern counties of Marsabit and Isiolo, the north eastern counties of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera, the coastal counties
of Tana River, Lamu, and Taita Taveta, and the Rift Valley counties of Turkana, Kajiado, Pokot, Markwet, Baringo, and Narok. Flood-prone areas are found in
the western parts of the country (Budalangi in Busia county, Nyando and Nyakach in Kisumu county, Rachuonyo in Homa Bay county, and Nyatike in Migori
county) and the coastal region (Tana delta in Tana River county and parts of Taita Taveta county). Landslide and mudslide prone zones include Murang’a,
Kiambu, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, and Nyandarua counties in the central region; Kakamega county in the western region; Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet and Pokot counties
in the Rift Valley region, and Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties in lower eastern region (Republic of Kenya, 2004).
49 The“Operation Linda Nchi”was a KDF incursion into the Republic of Somalia to secure the country from insurgent terrorist attacks.
50 KENYA Emergency Humanitarian Response Plan 2013. The latest version of this document is available on http://unocha.org/cap/. Full project details,
continually updated, can be viewed, downloaded and printed from http://fts.unocha.org.

food insecurity and the ability to take requisite medication, and the fact that even if commodities are
available the problem is compounded by limited ability to deliver these services.
Other than HIV and AIDS, various health emergencies that have been reported include; outbreaks
of dengue fever, Rift Valley Fever and other haemorrhagic fevers, cholera, polio, malaria, hepatitis E
and measles in refugee camps and host communities. Some of these sporadic outbreaks are often
compounded by cross-border challenges than enable easy transmission, according to UNOCHA.
10.3 Displacement
As at January 2012, the number of internally displaced persons (IDP) in Kenya was estimated by
international agencies at between 250,000 and 300,000 people down from more than 650,000 at the
end of 2008 (UNHCR, 2008)51
. Reference to the 2008-2012 is important because 2008 registered one
of the highest rates of displacement in Kenyan history as a result of the December 2007 post-election
violence52
. Besides conflict situations; natural disasters (especially drought and floods), evictions and
general insecurity are the other main causes of displacement in Kenya. Besides the internally-displaced,
Kenyacontinuestofacethechallengeofrefugeeinfluxfromwar-tornneighbouringcountries,especially
Somalia53
.
Population displacement from sporadic episodes of localized inter- and intra-ethnic violence preceded
the 2007 post-election violence, and occurred after it. For example, in March 2011, over 20,000
people were displaced from the town of Mandera by fighting between the Kenyan armed forces
and members of the Somali Al-Shabaab group who had crossed the border from Somalia to engage
in criminal activities in Kenya. In Isiolo, Marsabit and Tana River counties, inter-ethnic violence over
natural resources and competition for control of local political power caused the death of many people
and displaced thousands of families during the year 2012. In November 2012, heavily armed cattle
rustlers ambushed and killed 42 armed police officers in the Suguta Valley of Samburu County, leading
to the flight of many manyatta villagers who feared retaliatory attacks from security agencies and rival
communities. Sporadic attacks and insurgencies from Ethiopia have caused significant displacement
in Kenya, especially along common border. In 2012, more than 80,000 people were displaced by inter-
communal violence in Moyale, Tana Delta, Isiolo, Mandera and Wajir (UNOCHA, 2013).
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) lived in tents following the 2007/8 post-election violence
Photo: www.friendsofkenyaophans.org
51 The IDP figures by international agencies differ significantly from Government figures which stood at 5,000 households in January 2012 and about 215,000
IDPs by the year 2008 (UNHCR, 2008; UNHCR, 2012). The discrepancy in the figures is blamed on the absence of national data on IDPs as the Government does
not regularly profile IDP numbers and their location across the country.
52 The disputed 27th
December 2007 presidential election holds the Kenyan record for the greatest displacement in recent years, with estimates of over 650,000
victims, mostly from the Rift Valley region, by the end of year 2008 (UNOCHA, 2008; KPTJ, 2010; IDMC and NRC, 2012b).
53 By January 2012, there were about 566,000 refugees in the Kenya up from 450,000 refugees in 2011, which large numbers had overstretched infrastructural
services in the refugee camps (UNHCR, 2012).These large refugee numbers also place enormous pressure on natural resources, such as fuelwood, pasture, and
water, over which they compete with host populations.

In most displacement situations in the country, IDP populations have stayed with relatives or other host
communities where they were largely unreachable by humanitarian responses (IDMC & NRC, 2012b).
The 2007 post-election violence induced displacement led to the creation of many temporary camps to
host IDPs in the first quarter of 2008. Although the Government launched operations in 2008 to return
and resettle all the IDPs (IDMC dan NRC, 2012b), many displaced people still remained in IDP camps
by the end of 2011, unable to return home or rebuild their lives (Jesuit Refugee Service, 2001; IDMC,
2012b).The main reasons for their continued stay in camps were: impunity, homelessness, landlessness,
uncertainty, and fear of revenge attacks (Jesuit Refugee Service, 2001; IDMC, 2012b). In some cases,
there was resistance to resettle IDPs in several parts of Kenya mainly due to aboriginal feelings over
ancestral lands (Jesuit Refugee Service, 2001; IDMC, 2012b). Beside the attendant loss of ‘ancestral
land’to‘aliens’, the resistance to the resettlement of large numbers of IDPs in areas inhabited by other
ethnic communities stems from the fear by local political interests that resettlement may upset voter
demographics.
In order to create a conclusive framework for the management of the IDP question, Parliament passed
the Internally Displaced Persons Act (2012) following the approval of the national IDP Policy in 2011.
The policy and legal frameworks are expected to deal effectively with causes of displacement, safe
return of IDPs, and resettlement and/or reintegration issues. Further, the formation of the National
Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) was a bold step to check on hate speech especially
during electioneering periods while police reforms have deliberately targeted strengthening the
policing function of the Government to ensure that citizen rights are respected, while civic education
is designed to improve the citizens’understanding of their roles in enforcing their own rights. Overall,
the country aims at eliminating the root causes of internal displacement.
10.4 Consequences of Emergency Situations and Displacements
Over time, the most disaster-affected sectors of the country’s economy have been transport, water
supply, health, industry, energy (hydropower), agriculture and livestock. For example, the 1997-1998
El Niño floods caused damage in these sectors equivalent to 11 percent of the national GDP, while the
droughts between 1998 and 2000 incurred losses in the same sectors in excess of 16 percent of the
national GDP (World Bank, 2006). In Nyanza region alone, the country incurred about Kshs49 million in
economic losses and Kshs37 million in humanitarian action annually (World Bank, 2006).
In the reproductive health domain, emergency situations and displacements may exacerbate the
infection rates of STIs and HIV, especially among women and girls. Women are sometimes raped by
armed individuals or groups while others may engage in illicit sex to earn money for food and other
needs. This leads to increased incidences of STIs and HIV among affected populations. In most such
situations, the primary causes of sexual and gender-based violence have occurred due to general
insecurity, prevalence of weapons, increased poverty, lack of income-generating opportunities, and
the general breakdown of law and order (IDMC and NRC, 2006). According to one report by the United
Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR), between 27 December 2007
and 29 February 2008, about 322 cases of sexual assault and rape of women and girls were reported
to Nairobi Women’s Hospital, 26 to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, and two cases to
Nyanza Provincial Hospital in Kisumu (UNOHCHR, 2008). Sexual exploitation within IDP camps was also
rampant but underreported by victims and authorities.
Emergency situations lead to the disruption of health programs, destruction of health facilities, and to
flight or death of health personnel, which hampers provision of vital social services. After Kenya’s post-
election violence of 2007/2008, IDP populations were reported to live in conditions with inadequate

housing, drinking water and sanitation, insecure or exploitative employment, and high prevalence of
common diseases (Women’s Commission on Refugee Women and Children, 2008). Feikin et. al., (2010)
evaluated mortality and morbidity among IDPs who relocated to a demographic surveillance system
(DSS) area in western Kenya following the 2007 post-election violence. They found that the leading
causes of death among IDPs were; malaria, HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malnutrition. The rate of
hospitalization among internally displaced children was almost three times higher than among non-
displaced children. The study attributed the high mortality rates to the post-election violence, as well
as to interruptions to the drug supply and medication regimes, among other factors.
Medical personnel also face challenges of maintaining and initiating medical care in settings where
the population is unconfined and less accessible (Spiegel, 2004; Culbert et al, 2007; Hampton, 2008;
Bamrah et al, 2009; Vreeman et al, 2009). In a 2008 study by the Health Rights Advocacy Forum (HERAF)
on the Effect of Post-Election Violence on the Health System in Kenya, about 1,200 health personnel
were displaced from their places of work due to insecurity, lack of transport or other related factors
(HERAF, 2008).
10.5 Responses to Natural Disasters
Documented evidence shows that the poor in Kenya use self-help and informal mechanisms as the
most preferred strategies for responding to natural disasters, but formal asset insurance is uncommon
or absent (Dercon, 2008). Other response strategies included arrangements such as local borrowing
schemes,merry-go-rounds,andgrouprevolvingfundswithfriendsandneighboursaswellasremittances
from relatives and Diaspora (De La Fuente and Dercon, 2008). Social capital — who a household knows
— is a key aspect of surviving the impacts of natural disasters among many households in Kenya. The
capacity of the poor in Kenya to cope with natural disasters is often hampered by fluctuations in the
value of assets (such as livestock) due to seasonal variations in prices and distress sales, which lead to
low returns on assets, thereby perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty and vulnerability (Dercon, 2005;
De La Fuente and Dercon, 2008).
Emergency situations often lead to distress migration. EM-DAT statistics show that the number of
distress migrants as a result of natural disasters varies by time, location and social groups, but that it
is highest in low income countries (Raleigh et al, undated). A study on Kenyan responses to climate
hazards and droughts observed migrations flows to market centres and a growing dependence on aid
for sustainable lifestyles (Little et al., 2001). Some studies found that chronic drought induces far more
forced migrations than any other natural disaster in developing countries (Burton et al., 1993; Perch-
Nielsen, 2004). Victims of floods have been observed to practice localized temporary out-migration
often to relief centres (El-Hinnawi, 1985; O’Neill et al., 2001; and Perch-Nielsen, 2004).
During periods of displacement, loss of assets among the deprived segments of the population
seriously compromises their health, recovery and long-term socio-economic development. Studies
show that during the famine occasioned by the Horn of Africa droughts of the mid 1980s, it took most
poor households more than ten years to attain their pre-drought cattle holdings (Dercon, 2002). This
was partly occasioned by subsequent drought episodes in the intervening period that slowed recovery
efforts. In other words, increased frequency of disaster events creates asset poverty traps, which make
recoveryextremelydifficultwithoutoutsideintervention,asobservedindrought-pronenorthernKenya
(Barrett et al, 2004; Dercon, 2004). Besides impact on assets, natural disasters have adverse effects on
non-monetary indicators such as nutrition, education status, and life expectancy (Alderman etal, 2006).

One of the defining factors for the frequency, scale and severity of natural disaster events is the
climate change phenomenon, which has led to unpredictable rainfall season patterns, changing
disease patterns, rise in sea level and increased frequency and severity of flood and drought events
in the country54
. In order to counter these adverse consequences of climate change, the country has
invested in a National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) to promote adaptation and address
community risk and vulnerability55
.
10.6 Emergency Situation in Regional Context
Natural Disasters
The numbers of people affected or killed by natural disasters have generally decreased except in the
developing world (CRED, 2012; Guha-Sapir et al, 2012). Although Africa has one of lowest incidences of
natural disasters, it remains one the most vulnerable continents due to high levels of poverty, fragile and
degraded environments, high prevalence of diseases, low access to social services, prevalence of weak
governance structures and of armed conflict events, and low access to disaster reduction technology
(UNISDR and World Bank, 2008; CRED, 2009). Floods and droughts are the most prevalent natural
disasters on the African continent and have had the highest negative impact on human livelihoods
and national economies (World Bank, 2006). In the Eastern African region, Kenya is among the most
affected by floods and drought (Table 10.1a), and has recorded one of the highest flood-and-epidemic-
related deaths and flood-induced homelessness in recent times (Table 10.1b).
Table 10.1a Number of people affected by natural disasters in Eastern Africa in 2010-201156
Disaster type
Country Drought Epidemic Flood Storm Total
Burundi 180,000 600 2,675 183,275
Djibouti 200,258 200,258
Ethiopia 11,005,679 967 120,900 11,127,546
Kenya 4,300,000 3,880 306,856 4,610,736
Madagascar 720,000 281,297 1,001,297
Malawi 104,876 104,876
Mozambique 460,000 3,513 80,946 544,459
Rwanda 3,588 3,588
Somalia 4,000,000 18,800 4,018,800
Tanzania UR 1,000,000 59,000 1,059,000
Uganda 669,000 190 63,075 732,265
Zambia 2,575 2,575
Zimbabwe 1,680,000 1,398 820 1,682,218
Total 24,214,937 10,548 764,111 281,297 25,270,893
Source: CRED, 2012
54 For example, the long and short rains that farmers had been accustomed to in the country have become increasingly unpredictable, leading to crop failures
and chronic food insecurity. Malaria is now endemic in areas where it was unknown.
55 Vulnerability refers to the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or asset that lend to susceptibility to the damaging effects of a natural
hazard, measured by various indicators (Blaikie et al, 1994). The concept of vulnerability integrates cultural, social, environmental, economic, institutional and
political factors defined in terms of both biophysical and socially constructed risk.Thus, vulnerability is embedded in the root causes that reside in ideological,
social and economic systems, the dynamic pressures of a demographic, socio-economic or ecological nature and specific sets of unsafe conditions which,
when combined with a natural hazard, produce a disaster (Oliver-Smith, 2006). This more complex understanding of vulnerability enables researchers and
practitioners to conceptualize how social systems generate the conditions that place different kinds of people, often differentiated along class, race, ethnicity,
gender, or age, at different levels of risk from the same hazard. In other words, a single natural disaster can have different effects on different groups of people,
thus motivating, in many instances, different responses.
56 Population affected or affected people are those requiring immediate assistance during a period of emergency, i.e. requiring basic survival needs such as food,
water, shelter, sanitation and immediate medical assistance and includes the appearance of a significant number of cases of an infectious disease introduced
in a region or a population that is usually free from that disease.

Table 10.1b Number of people killed or left homeless by natural disasters in Eastern Africa in
2010-201157, 58
Epidemic Flood Storm Total
Country Killed left
homeless
Killed left
homeless
Killed left
homeless
Killed left
homeless
Burundi 12 21 1,500 33 1,500
Ethiopia 16 19 35
Kenya 57 227 5,000 284 5,000
Madagascar 155 25,845 155 25,845
Malawi 4 4
Mozambique 57 16 12 85
Rwanda 14 14
Somalia 11 200 11 200
Tanzania UR 37 6,776 37 6,776
Uganda 48 27 23 98
Zimbabwe 53 53
Total 243 none 355 11,976 211 27,345 809 39,321
Source: CRED, 2012
Incidence of armed conflicts
The report on “Global Burden of Armed Violence” by the Geneva Declaration Secretariat (GDS) states
that globally, more than 740,000 people die directly or indirectly each year because of armed conflict-
related violence (GDS, 2008). Recent data show that in Eastern Africa, some of the highest incidences of
armed conflict-related deaths have been observed in Somalia while Kenya recorded one of the lowest
figures (Table 10.2).
Table 10.2 Estimates of the distribution of direct armed conflict deaths in East Africa, 2004–2007
Country/region Year/period
2004 2005 2006 2007 2004-2007
Burundi 820 269 108 49 1,246
Ethiopia 824 825 1,091 2,418 5,158
Kenya 40 124 125 - 289
Rwanda 75 92 - - 167
Somalia 760 285 879 6,500 8,424
Tanzania - - - - -
Uganda 1,649 859 196 111 2,815
Africa main armed conflicts (16) 17,572 8.825 7,996 14,350 48,739
Africa all countries (21) 17,651 8,965 7,995 14,388 48,997
Source: adapted after GDS, 2008
10.7 National frameworks for Managing Emergency Situations
On the policy front, the Government has in the past promoted collaboration among the public, private,
and civil society sectors as well as working with UN agencies, the media and communities in managing
emergency situations. In 2007, the Government unveiled Vision 2030 as a blueprint for the long-term
development of the country, and there is an emphasis on the effective and efficient management of
emergency situations (e.g. disasters) to the successful implementation of the blueprint. The “National
57 Population killed or persons killed means persons confirmed dead and those presumed dead.
58 Population left homeless refers to people needing immediate assistance of shelter.

Policy on the Prevention of Internal Displacement and the Protection and Assistance to the Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Kenya” seeks to prevent internal displacements and guarantee assistance
to IDPs within the country. Though still at Cabinet level, the draft National Disaster Management Policy
aims at establishing and maintaining a coordinated framework for managing disasters in the country.
The draft policy suggests the establishment of a National Disaster Management Authority (NADIMA),
National Disaster Strategic Plans, and a Disaster Trust Fund, among others.
According to The National Food and Nutrition Security Policy of 2012, the Government commits to
implement several disaster-related strategies to ensure food security and population health.59
Other
national policies that are relevant to disaster management include the National Peace Building
and Conflict Management Policy, National Policy for Sustainable Development of ASALs of Kenya,
Industrialization Policy, Draft Wildlife Policy, Health Policy, and Water Policy, and National Housing
Policy.
The Constitution of Kenya 2010 assigns disaster management responsibilities to the national and
county Governments (see fourth Schedule, part 1 no. 24 and part 2 no. 12), with county Governments
being responsible for firefighting services. Aspects of disaster management are also addressed in
several acts60
.
Existing institutional frameworks for emergency situations management in the country include all
Government ministries and agencies, constitutional commissions such as the National Cohesion and
Integration Commission and the Judiciary (system of courts). Specifically, the ministry in charge of
Special Programmes has been responsible for coordination of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities.
The National Platform for DRR was established in 2004 as a stakeholder forum that provides a framework
for participation of public, private, and civil society sectors as well as academia and media in DRR
activities. The Ministry for Northern Kenya Development is responsible for drought risk reduction in
ASAL districts. The Drought Management Authority, the Kenya Food Security Structure, and the Kenya
Meteorological Department play key roles in disaster management. Inter-ministerial DRR committees
exist at the district level while local authorities had a role in the enforcement of by-laws related to DRR61
.
Kenya has also acceded to a number of international institutional arrangements relevant to disaster
management in the country62
.
10.8.1 Challenges
Kenya does not have a coordinated framework for the management of emergency situations based
on clear mandates and responsibilities. Consequently, the country’s approach to managing situations
such as disasters has been ad hoc, often characterized by fire-fighting. However, the Government’s
59 The National Food Security Structure brings together the Kenya Food Security Steering Group, Kenya Red Cross Society, Drought Monitoring Centre, Kenya
Meteorological Department, African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF), several UN Agencies among others to deliberate and make decisions on food
security and response to disasters.
60 These acts include; in the Environmental Management and Coordination Act of 1999, Forest Act of 2005, Factory and other Places of Work Act (Cap 514), Work
Injury Benefits Act of 2007, Civil Aviation Act (Cap 394), Grassfire Act (Cap 327), Local Government Act (Cap 265), Physical Planning Act (Cap 286), Explosives
Act (Cap 115), Kenya Ports Authority Act (Cap 391), Public Health Act (Cap 242), Petroleum Act (Cap 116), Kenya Railways Corporation Act (Cap 397), Food,
Drugs and Chemicals Substance Act (Cap 254), Kenya Bureau of Standards (Cap 496), and the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 2007, Public Order and
Security Act, and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission Act.
61 Local authorities became defunct with the accession of county Governments, which should now take over their DRR roles.
62 These include; AU/NEPAD Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction of 2004; Hyogo Framework for Action of 2005; United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change of 1992; United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification of 1994; the IGAD Framework for Disaster Management; and the
Millennium Development Goals of 2000; Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1966; International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966; Convention on the Elimination of all
forms of Discrimination Against Women of 1979; Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989; International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of
All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families of 1990; the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court of 1998; Convention on the Rights of Persons
With Disabilities of 2007; and the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (the Kampala Convention) of 2009.

awareness of this deficiency in preparedness and long-term capacity, has led to its taking measures
to build a national framework. Kenya’s current legal framework is fragmented and hence the need
for a single framework law that could specifically deal with issues of the management of emergency
situations in the country.
One of the critical concerns is Kenya’s lack of preparedness for emergency management. One study
found a lack of capacity among most hospitals in Kenya to provide reproductive health (RH) services to
persons in emergency situations (Agwanda et al, 2007). According to this study, the deficient capacity
was especially glaring in the areas of emergency transport, emergency communication systems,
and staff preparedness to respond to emergencies. Another study that assessed the provision of
emergency RH services four months after the Kenyan 2007 post-election violence erupted, reported
that: funding was too inadequate to meet the overarching needs of the IDP populations; emergency
response operations for provision of RH services lacked coordination; mechanisms to respond to
sexual violence (including sexual exploitation and abuse) were weak at the field level; and perpetrators
of sexual violence operated in a general atmosphere of impunity (WCRWC, 2008). In addition; care
for pregnancy-related emergencies was not readily available, while response to menstrual hygiene
emergencies was inadequate. Moreover, sudden increases in sexual activity of young people enhanced
their vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections, a situation worsened by their removal from busy
rural lives to overcrowded urban camps where they were idle, reported WCRWC.
During the post election violence of the 2007/2008, the public healthcare system was unprepared to
deliver critical services within an emergency situation due to several factors: massive displacement of
people in a short time span; lack of sufficient capacity to bring healthcare services to the community
level because the provision of health services is fundamentally premised on physical access; and
disruption of logistics and supply chain coordination severely caused shortages of medical supplies
even where there were adequate supplies in stock (HERAF, 2008). On the whole, access to social
services is an important aspect of protection and emergency care; and their absence can culminate
into a secondary disaster.
Thecontinuinginfluxofrefugees(especiallyfromSomalia)hasoverstretchedexistingfacilitiesinthehost
communities around Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps. For example, the inter-agency assessment
of the education sector in Dadaab noted that the pupil-classroom ratio is 113:1, while the teacher-pupil
ratio is 1:85, while over 48,000 refugee school-age boys and girls are currently out of school (UNCHOA,
2013). In the Kakuma Refugee Camp Primary School, classrooms can only accommodate 37 percent of
school going population.
Many higher learning institutions in the country — notably the universities — have curricula with
components on disaster education and research, and some schools offer disaster preparedness
education (UNOCHA, 2013), However, community-based disaster preparedness remains low while
traditional indigenous knowledge for DRR remains untapped.
The 2011-2013 Kenya Emergency Humanitarian Response Plan and its multi-year strategy have
provided the opportunities and mechanisms for stakeholders to not only plan responses to immediate
acute needs, but to also integrate resilience in humanitarian programming. Although 2013 marks the
end of the multi-year strategy, the structure of the 2011-2013 Kenya Emergency Plan offers the best
transition to longer-term programming for the development of a humanitarian response framework.
The 2013 plan also advocates for the integration of humanitarian priorities into national structures and

development plans.
A number of lessons can be drawn from the experiences of emergency situations and the observed
humanitarian responses, particularly with regard to the post 2007 election violence.
Political Commitment
Political commitment is the most important ingredient to addressing emergency situations. Political
commitment should be demonstrated through declaration, legislation, institution-building, public
policy decisions and programme support at the highest level of national politics. At the policy level,
DRR can be integrated into Vision 2030 and performance contracting in all Government ministries
and institutions. At the local level, DRR should be an integral part of county and community-based
development planning. The right of the people affected by emergency situations to live in dignity is a
matter of principle that should be upheld at all times and by all actors.
Capacity Building
In the management of emergency situations, a country’s success lies in the existing capacities to
prevent and mitigate crisis situations. Aspects of vital capacity include research and information use,
institutions, use of technology, resource mobilization and an enlightened citizenry. These capacities
should constitute a national infrastructure for emergency situation mapping, prevention, mitigation
and response at all levels.
Building local capacity can help local communities to learn and emerge as key initiators of DRR actions.
Also, local communities have traditional knowledge, practices and values in DRR that remain largely
unrecognized; yet they could be tapped to strengthen DRR programmes in various local contexts.
What remains is to have a disaster management framework that can document, revive, apply and share
traditional knowledge. DRR depends a lot on the extent to which a country enforces safety standards
and rules, which requires strong institutions. Technological capacity such as GIS and remote sensing
can combine data from maps, aerial photos, GPS receivers, and satellite images and generate vital
information quickly, as well as increase the speed and precision with which disaster operations are
undertaken. Institutionalized disaster education is the key to an enlightened public and citizenry.
Contingency planning helps to anticipate emergency scenarios and to plan for an appropriate
humanitarian response capacity when an emergency situation is declared.
Establishment of Databases
A comprehensive and up-to-date information database should document all disasters, conflicts,
and displacement in Kenya and provide for a basis for risk mapping and vulnerability assessments,
and development of emergency plans focusing on all aspects of DRR. The database would be vital
in building disaster scenarios in the country to inform policy and action (plans, programmes, and
projects). In establishing databases, particular attention should be paid to demographics of emergency
situations. For example, data should be collected and stored that document specific demographic
issues, such as the extent of housing damage, number of people forced out of their homes, where they
went (migrating victims), how long they stayed, assistance they received, and whether they returned to
their pre-displacement homes. Databases should also capture labour migration flows and household/
community resilience differentials. In addition, there is need to understand the social consequences
of different emergency situations. Hotspot mapping of emergency situations would be an important
aspect of scenario prediction, needs assessment and overall emergency situation management.

Mainstreaming the Marginalised and Affirmative Action
Social values predispose women, girls, children, elderly people and persons with disabilities to the
adverse impacts of emergency situations. Integration of these special groups into all the emergency
management processes is a key aspect of addressing their unique vulnerabilities. Listening to what
they have to say, considering their views and mainstreaming their participation can lead to formulation
of interventions that address their specific needs.
10.10 Conclusions
The common disasters and crisis situations in Kenya are triggered by hydro-meteorological processes,
such as floods, droughts, landslides and lightning. However, the human induced disasters such as traffic
accidents, civil conflicts, terrorism and industrial hazards have also become common. More importantly,
the 2007 post-election violence caused the greatest crisis situation in the country’s history. In addition,
theperiodicoccurrenceofextremeoutbreaksofepidemicssuchascholera,malaria,meningitis,typhoid
and Rift Valley Fever often escalate to disaster levels.
The impact of natural disasters mainly depends on the resilience of the affected populations; but factors
like poverty, marginalization and exclusion increase the vulnerabilities of affected populations. The
existing frameworks for disaster management in the Kenya are still fragmented, weak and lacking in
coordination. A lack of political commitment to addressing emergency situations, and a weak national
capacity for the same, remains major impediments. In order to strengthen the national emergency
management architecture, Kenya needs to establish policy, legal and institutional frameworks with
appropriate DRR strategies and preparedness at all levels of society. Although the country has made
major strides in addressing situations of internal displacement; there is great need for a national
emergency situations database. The national data base would be a key asset in building emergency
situation scenarios that could help inform appropriate policy and programme actions.

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CHAPTER 11: URBANIZATION AND INTERNAL MIGRATION
11.1 Introduction
Settlement patterns and population distribution vary in space and time depending on a combinations
of environmental, physical and human factors. Settlement patterns and population distribution are
the end products of changes in the population and, for Oucho and Gould (1993) geographic mobility,
or migration, which has always been an integral part of the human social process. Migration of human
populations is generally recognized as an integral part of the process of socio-economic development
(Bilsborrow, 1998; De Haas, 2005). Furthermore, migration is one of the three components of
population change, besides fertility and mortality. Internal migration influences population structure
and distribution in a country, and is becoming increasingly dynamic and, therefore, complex in nature.
New forms of migration have emerged or old ones have intensified and others have slowed down
(Tacoli, 1997). However, informed policy and interest on internal migration have been hampered by
lack of adequate, reliable and comprehensive data.
Migration from rural areas, the natural increase of population, and reclassification of formerly rural
territories have led to urban growth in most Sub-Saharan African countries. Urbanization will be one
of the main demographic processes of the coming decades, particularly in those regions that are
still largely rural. In 2008, the world passed the 50 percent urbanization mark. From 2018 on, urban
population growth in the world will exceed total population growth, as rural areas will start losing
populations in absolute terms. In sub-Saharan Africa, the urban population will increase from 324
million in 2010 to 730 million in 2035 (UNFPA, 2010). Consequently, there is an urgent need to acquire
the capacity to manage the emerging trends in, and patterns and challenges of urban growth in sub-
Saharan Africa. Since urbanization is inevitable, the main challenge is not to slow it down, but rather,
to learn how to deal with its rapid growth. The challenges associated with urbanization demand a
proactive approach to urban planning, which considers future demographic and environmental issues
while responding to current priority needs. Such an approach demands, in turn, a sound understanding
of urban development processes locally, nationally and even globally.
Nairobi’s Kibera is the largest informal settlement in East and Central Africa.
Photo: www.tatoos.fansshare.com

One way of achieving sustainable urban and regional development is through generating, collecting
and analyzing accurate and reliable data, which can better inform local and national decision-making
processes. The main objectives of this chapter are:
1. To provide an overview of population distribution in Kenya;
2. To describe and analyze trends and patterns of the urbanization process in Kenya; and
3. To describe and analyze trends and patterns of internal migration in Kenya.
11.2 Population Distribution
Population distribution in Kenya is generally uneven across regions for two important, inter-related
reasons which were discussed in some detail in Part 2 of this report. Firstly, Kenyan regions have diverse
agro-ecological heritages which shaped the pre-colonial distribution of ethnic groups into pastoralists,
agriculturalists and mixed livelihoods. The agro-ecological distribution also subsequently shaped
the choices of land for colonial administrators and settlers who followed in their wake. The colonial
development of the Kenya-Uganda railway line was the single investment that shaped subsequent
settlement, a pattern carried deep into independence by the weak prioritisation of a nationally-
rationalised settlement policy. Kenya has done little to open up new parts of the country for new
settlement, resulting in over-population in the areas that are viable for farming, under-population in
the pastoralist areas, and rural out-migration to the main urban centres.
The current distribution of Kenya’s population across the country’s 47 counties and various related
characteristics are summarised in Appendix 11.1. Among the counties, Nairobi, which is the capital
city, has the largest share of Kenya’s population (8.1%), with Kakamega, Kiambu and Nakuru each
having shares of more than four percent. Other counties with comparatively large populations include
Bungoma, Meru, Kisii, Kilifi and Machakos each with shares of about three percent. Counties with small
populations are also typically the least densely populated because many of them are quite expansive
geographically. As a capital city, Nairobi continues to be a preferred destination for rural-to-urban,
urban-to-urban and international in-migration.
Nairobi and Mombasa have the highest population densities of 4,515 and 4,291 people per square
kilometre, respectively (Figure 11.1). Vihiga recorded the next highest density of 1,045 persons per
square kilometre followed by Kisii (875), Nyamira (665), Busia (656) and Kiambu (638). Tana River,
Lamu, Taita Taveta, Marsabit, Isiolo, Garissa, Wajir, Turkana and Samburu are the sparsely populated
counties in Kenya with less than 20 people per square kilometre.The pattern of population distribution
generally reflects the uneven regional distribution of agricultural potential and uneven distribution
of employment opportunities. For example, Nairobi and Mombasa are densely populated due to
employmentopportunitieswhileVihiga, Kisii, Nyamira, Busia and Kiambu have reliable rainfall with fertile
soils. The sparsely populated counties are generally associated with arid and semi-arid conditions.

Figure 11.1 Population Density of Kenya by County, 2009
Source: generated from 2009 Kenya Population and housing census
Figure 11.2 shows the Lorenz curve for county population distribution in Kenya based on the 1999
and 2009 censuses. The counties were ranked in descending order of density and the percentage
compositions by area cumulated. The curves for both censuses are very close together indicating the
unchanging unevenness in population distribution. The index of concentration shows that about 68
percent of Kenya’s population lives in slightly over one tenth (12%) of the land area. The population
living in 50 percent of the total land area declined from about 92 percent in 1999 to about 90 percent
in 2009.

Figure 11.2 Lorenz Curve of Population Distribution, 1999 and 2009
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Percent of land area
PercentofPopulation
1999 census 2009 census
Source: Kenya 2009 population census
11.3 Historical Perspective of Urbanization
11.3.1 Colonial and Post-Colonial Urbanization
Urbanization in Kenya is almost entirely a 20th Century phenomenon and largely a product of British
colonial administration. According to Burton (2002), it was during this period (1895 to 1963) that many
of Eastern Africa’s major contemporary towns and cities were established. Colonial urbanization shaped
Kenya’s urban landscape in a number of ways, directly or indirectly.
First, unbalanced urban — and indeed, nationwide — development can be traced back to colonial
urbanization. The emerging urban centres during the colonial period grew at varying rates depending
on their location, accessibility, resource base, level of economic activity in their hinterlands, and the
population of Europeans and Indians in the surrounding regions (Obudho, 1983). For example, Nairobi
and Mombasa emerged as the major urban centres because of their strategic locations as trading and
transportationnodes,whilethefertileWhiteHighlandsattractedaseriesofmedium-sizetowns.Regions
lacking these favourable factors and conditions lagged behind in terms of economic development,
modernization and urbanization. As such, North Eastern Province of Kenya remains the least urbanized
region in the country to date while Nairobi, Coast, Rift Valley and Central, with strong colonial urban
heritages are highly urbanized.
Second, the network of colonial administrative centres, caravan towns and missionary stations laid
the foundation for the present urban hierarchy in Kenya. Most of the former colonial administrative
centres continue to play their roles as administrative headquarters under successive independence
Governments. Beside their administrative roles, these urban centres serve a wide range of market,
economic, religious and political functions.
Third, the colonial administration regarded towns as non-African areas in which Africans came only
to work temporarily as labourers. Until independence, urban centres were regarded as bases for
colonial administrative and commercial activities, not centres for permanent African settlement and
participation. Although the laws restricting the movement of Africans were abolished at independence,
most indigenous Kenyans still perceived the town as a place where people come to work, accumulate
“wealth”and eventually retire “back home”. To many, a town is not a place of permanent settlement. It
is common for urban Kenyans to identify themselves with an “urban house” and a “rural home”, which
partly explains why a majority are never permanent migrants in towns (Owuor, 2006a; Oucho, 1996).

For example, 75 percent of households in Nairobi live in individual rental units, compared to 13.5
percent who live in their own houses (Ministry of Planning and National Development and Vision 2030
(MPNDV2030), forthcoming, Vol. VIII)63
.
Fourth, in most of the colonial urban centres, racial segregation was central in their internal structure.
The zoning of residential areas into European, Asian and African locations was based primarily on race,
which then fed into other socio-economic‘justifications’. Zoning was used for the purpose of regulating
and controlling the use of particular areas. Segregation on racial grounds has now changed to a largely
socio-economic status in the major urban centres (Owuor and Mbatia, 2011)64
.
Lastly, urban primacy is another effect of colonial urbanization. Urban primacy occurs when the largest
city in a country dominates the urban hierarchy in terms of its population size, and is measured in
terms of a two-city, a four-city or 11-city primacy index. For example, a two-city primacy index is the
ratio of the population of the largest city in the country to the population of the next city in population
rank, while 11-city primacy index is the ratio of the population of the largest city in the country to the
combined population of the next 10 cities in population rank. According to UNECA (1989), a primacy
index of less than 1 is “low”, 1-2.9 is “medium”, while three and above is “high”. Nairobi, the capital city,
the leading commercial and industrial centre and seat of Government, has continued to dominate the
urban hierarchy in Kenya to date.
According to Otiso and Owusu (2008), post-independence urbanization in Kenya can be divided
into the national period from independence to 1980s, and the global period from the 1980s to the
present. This classification enables the distinction of the major urban changes that the country has
experienced in response to national and global political and economic forces. During the national
phase, urbanization in Kenya was largely influenced by localised and national forces, notably the
Government’s national development policies. This phase witnessed very high rates of urban growth, in
particular, immediately after independence. The problem was, however, not the urbanization process
itself, but rather the polarization towards Nairobi. A notable example of the effect of the Government’s
policies on urbanization and spatial distribution of urban centres in Kenya was the promotion of growth
centres leading not only to the growth and development of many urban centres, but also to a high
increase in the urban population (Owuor, 2006b).
The global phase of urbanization is largely associated with the adoption and implementation of neo-
liberal economic reforms in the 1980s. An important feature of the current urban transition in sub-
Saharan Africa is the fact that the nature and extent of urban growth is now more dependent on the
global economy than ever before. On the one hand, globalization means that growth and development
of cities in sub-Saharan Africa will be influenced by the size and structure of foreign markets and the
ability of cities to attract foreign investment and technology. On the other hand, the growth and
development of cities will be influenced by how they integrate into the global economy, as well as
how they will be affected by global changes and forces (Otiso and Owusu, 2008). Such global changes
and forces are mainly, but not necessarily restricted to, the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs)
imposed by international organizations and donors. Many sub-Saharan African countries, including
Kenya, are facing the negative impact of the global recession in the 1980s, and by implication that of
SAPs (Owuor, 2006a).
63 Given a national poverty level of about 50 percent, and the demanding pre-conditions to acquiring an own house, it is likely that for the majority of Nairobi
tenants, ownership is not an option.
64 Parochial segregation is unconstitutional. However, there are many instances in the formerly exclusively Asian neighbourhoods where houses remain vacant
for long durations waiting for a‘culturally-correct’tenant. Amidst rising electoral temperatures, Nairobi landlords have also been reported to evict tenants who
belong to undesirable ethnic groups.

The negative impact of both the economic crisis and reform under structural adjustment on urban
centres has been well documented. Urban economies in sub-Saharan Africa declined markedly during
the1980sand1990sandurbanpovertyincreasedinmuchofthecontinent(Maxwell,1999).Lifeinurban
areas became more expensive while employment in the formal sector went down, with real wages
did not keeping up with price increases, thereby declining in real terms (Dietz and Zaal, 2002; Simon,
1997; Jamal and Weeks, 1988). Standards of living deteriorated and urban unemployment reached
unprecedented levels (Beauchemin and Bocquier, 2003). With the fall in formal sector employment
and increased unemployment, many urban residents moved into the informal sector (Hansen and Vaa,
2004).
Moreover, increases in food prices and service charges, and cuts in public expenditure on health,
education and infrastructure have been felt more severely in the cities than in the rural areas, and
particularly by the urban poor. In response to frequent increases in food prices; urban residents
have adopted a number of livelihood strategies in their attempts to manage — in particular, but not
necessarily restricted to — the changes in their economic environment and circumstances. Engaging in
multiple activities or diversifying food and income sources is now part and parcel of the urban economy
(Owuor, 2006a; Bryceson et al., 2003; Potts, 1997; Rakodi, 1995).
On the other hand, some of the positive aspects of globalization in Kenya include:
• Principles of good governance and accountability being adopted and implemented in the local
authorities (Otiso and Owusu, 2008), for example, the local Government reforms, including Local
Authority Service Development Plan (LASDAPs) and Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF);
• Foreign investment and real estate developers in the major urban centres (Otiso and Owusu, 2008);
• Public-private partnership in urban development and management;
• Springing up of new Central Business Districts, global complexes and malls (Owuor and Mbatia,
2011); and
• Competitiveness and globalization of Nairobi to a “world class” city — leading to the creation of
the Nairobi Metropolitan Region (NMR) and a Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development, with
an ambitious vision — Nairobi Metro 2030 (Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development 2008).
11.3.2 Urban Policies and Programmes
Kenyahashithertolackedacomprehensivenationalurbanpolicy;butoneispresentlybeingdeveloped.
This presents a major challenge in achieving sustainable urban development. Policies and strategies
related to urbanization have traditionally been formulated within the framework of broader national/
sectoral development plans and policies. For example, the spatial distribution policies adopted by the
Government of Kenya in the post-independence National Development Plans were aimed at reducing
the rapid population growth in the major urban centres, promoting the growth of small and medium-
size urban centres, and encouraging rural development (Owuor, 2006b). There are also various Acts
of Parliament that have guided urban development such as The Local Government Act (Cap 265).
However, an urban development policy for Kenya is under formulation. This new policy will aim to
guide aspects of urban development countrywide, such as development planning, land management,
urban investment and delivery of infrastructure and services.
In a broader national context, Kenya’s Vision 2030 — the national long-term development blueprint
— aims to transform the country into a newly-industrializing, middle-income nation providing a high
quality of life to all its citizens in a clean and secure environment (Government of Kenya, 2007). Vision
2030 recognizes that Kenya is moving towards a predominantly urban population, requiring planning
for high quality urban livelihoods

11.3.3 Urban Population Distribution
Comparative Global and Regional Trends
Urbanization is a process of town formation and growth. It is a function of population increase, both
through natural growth and net in-migration, and the spatial expansion of the settlements in order to
accommodate the increasing populations. Today, half of the world’s population lives in urban areas
(Table 11.1). Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America and Oceania have more than 70
percent of their populations living in urban areas. Africa and Asia, in contrast, remain mostly rural, with
40 percent and 45 percent, respectively, of their populations living in urban areas in 2011.
Table 11.1 Percentage Urban and Urban Growth Rate by Major Areas, 2011
Region Percent urban Average annual urban growth
rate (2005-2010) (%)
World 52.1 2.14
Africa 39.6 3.27
Asia 45.0 2.70
Europe 72.9 0.50b
Latin America and the Caribbean 79.1 1.56
North America 82.2 1.23
Oceania 70.7 1.81
Source: United Nations (2012).
Despite being the least urbanized region in the world, Africa has the highest average urban growth rate
of 3.3 percent per annum. Over the coming decades, the level of urbanization is expected to increase
in all major areas of the developing world, with Africa and Asia urbanizing more rapidly than the rest
(United Nations, 2012). However, urbanization levels and urban growth rates are not uniform in Africa
(Table 11.2). Southern and Northern Africa have more than half of their populations living in urban
areas, respectively. Eastern Africa is the least urbanized region in the continent with less than one-
quarter of its population residing in urban areas, while at the same it is characterized by a high urban
growth rate, alongside Middle and Western Africa.
Table 11.2 Percentage Urban and Urban Growth Rate in Africa, 2011
Region Percent urban Average annual urban growth rate (2005-2010) (%)
Sub-Saharan Africa 36.7 3.67
Africa 39.6 3.27
Eastern Africa 23.7 3.90
Middle Africa 41.5 3.94
Northern Africa 51.5 2.14
Southern Africa 58.9 1.82
Western Africa 44.9 3.92
Source: United Nations (2012).
In 2009, Kenya had 31.4 percent of its population living in urban areas with an annual growth rate of 8.3
percent. Figure 11.3 provides comparative figures for selected Eastern Africa countries in 2011. Kenya
has the highest proportion of population living in urban areas, as well as the highest urban population
growth rate.

Figure 11.3 Percentage Urban and Urban Growth Rate for Selected Eastern African Countries
10.9
17.0
31.3
19.1
26.7
15.6
5.4
3.5
8.3
4.3 4.5
5.9
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Burundi Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Tanzania Uganda
% Urban Urban Growth Rate
Source: Ministry of Planning and National Development and Vision 2030 (forthcoming, Vol. VIII) for
Kenya; United Nations (2012) for other countries.
The above trends indicate that urbanization, especially in Africa, is inevitable and managing its trends
and patterns constitutes a major challenge. Furthermore, cities are merging together, creating urban
settlements on a massive scale, such as mega-regions, urban corridors and city-regions. They are
emerging in various parts of the world, turning into spatial units that are territorially and functionally
bound by economic, political, socio-cultural and ecological systems (UN-HABITAT, 2010). The regional
urban systems of Suez-Cairo-Alexandria (Egypt), Kenitra-Casablanca (Morocco), Gauteng (South Africa),
Ibadan-Lagos-Accra (stretching from Nigeria to Ghana), and the emerging Nairobi Metropolitan Region
(Kenya) are key examples in Africa (UN-HABITAT, 2008).
11.3.4 Trends of Urban Growth in Kenya: 1948 to 2009
Table 11.3 shows the trends of urbanization in Kenya between 1948 and 2009. At the time of Kenya’s
first population census in 1948, there were 17 urban centres with an aggregate population of 285,000
people. An urban centre was officially defined as any compact and gazetted town with a population
of 2,000 inhabitants and above, a definition which persisted until the 2012 passage of the Urban Areas
and Cities Act. The share of the urban population at that census was a mere 5.3 percent of the total
population, but it was disproportionately concentrated in Nairobi and Mombasa, with majority of the
urban dwellers being non-Africans. Since then, the number of urban centres, the urban population
and the proportion of people living in urban centres have been increasing. By 1962, the number of
urban centres had doubled to 34 and the urban population increased to 747,000 people, representing
an urbanization level of 8.7 percent, growing at 6.3 percent per year. Still, this was disproportionately
concentrated in Nairobi and Mombasa, and disproportionately non-Africans.
Table 11.3 Urbanization Trends in Kenya, 1948-2009
Year Total
population
No. of urban
centres
Urban
population
Percent of urban to
total population
Intercensal
growth rate (%)
1948 5,407,599 17 285,000 5.3 -
1962 8,636,263 34 747,651 8.7 6.3
1969 10,956,501 47 1,076,908 9.8 7.1
1979 15,327,061 91 2,315,696 15.1 7.7
1989 21,448,774 139 3,878,697 18.1 5.2
1999 28,159,922 180 5,429,790 19.3 3.4
2009 38,412,088 230 12,023,570 31.3 8.3
Source: Ministry of Planning and National Development and Vision 2030 (forthcoming, Vol. VIII).

The growth in the number of urban centres and their populations accelerated after independence when
Africans were allowed to migrate to the urban areas without any legal and administrative restrictions.
As a consequence, the urban population grew to one million by 1969. The national share of the urban
population rose to 9.8 percent, with Nairobi and Mombasa accounting for a relatively larger share (67%)
of that urban growth. The influx of Africans into the urban areas subsequently reduced the proportion
of non-African population in most towns. By 1979, the overall level of urbanization had risen to 15.1
percent, with 91 urban centres and an urban population of 2.3 million dominated by Nairobi and
Mombasa.
Although the urban population increased from 2.3 million in 1979 to 3.8 million in 1989, the growth
rate had fallen to 5.2 percent, compared to the 7.7 percent of the previous decade.The number of urban
centres increased to 139, with major increases being recorded in Nyanza (seven to 19), Western (six to
14) and Central (13 to 19) provinces.The increase in the number of urban centres and their populations
raised the proportion of the population living in urban centres to 18 percent. The majority of the urban
population (61%) resided in the six major urban centres: Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Machakos
and Eldoret. Nairobi continued to dominate the urban hierarchy by having 34 percent of the total urban
population, and together with Mombasa accounted for 46 percent of the total urban population.
In 1999, about 20 percent of the national population lived in urban areas, more than half of these in the
major urban centres of Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu. While the urban population shares of
Nairobi and Mombasa fell to 32 percent and the urban growth rate also fell to 3.4 percent, the numbers
of urban centres increased to 180 with a total population of 5.4 million people.The decline in the urban
growth rate between 1979 and 1999 corresponds to a similar decline in Kenya’s population growth rate
from 3.8 percent in 1979 to 3.3 percent in 1989, and eventually to 2.9 percent in 1999.
In 2009, the number of urban centres increased to 230 with a total population of 12 million people.
The urban population as a percentage of the country’s total population stood at 31.3 percent, meaning
that one out of every three Kenyans lives in urban areas. However, the country experienced one of the
highest urban growth rates (8.3%) since independence between 1999 and 2009.This may be attributed
to the fact that in 1999, only the “core urban” population was used in the analysis of urbanization in
Kenya, while in 2009 both the“core urban”and“peri-urban”populations were used.
‘Core urban’ refers to the central, built-up area of an urban centre with intense use of land and high
concentrations of service functions and activities. The peri-urban area is that beyond the central built-
up area, and forms the transition between urban and rural areas. As a result of outward extension of
town boundaries, peri-urban areas that were formerly rural and agricultural lands are gradually turning
to urban land use (Ministry of Planning and National Development and Vision 2030, forthcoming, Vol.
VIII). For the purposes of future censuses, there is need for a clearer definition of what constitutes urban,
peri-urban, rural, and informal settlement, as well as their spatial contexts.
Table 11.4 presents the population of major urban centres with populations of more than 150,000
people in 2009. The major urban centres (Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Kikuyu, Ruiru,
Kangundo-Tala, Naivasha, Thika and Machakos) contribute half of the total urban population in Kenya.
The capital city of Nairobi leads the urban hierarchy with 3.1 million people and a disproportionate
percent share of total urban population. Mombasa is the second largest urban centre with 0.9 million
inhabitants, followed by Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret. The other major urban centres — Kikuyu, Ruiru,
Kangundo-Tala, Naivasha, Thika and Machakos — are apparently in close geographic proximity to
Nairobi. However, peri-urban population is much higher than the core urban population in Kangundo-
Tala and Machakos. Similarly, Kisumu and Naivasha have more than half of their population living in

peri-urban areas. Out of the total urban population in Kenya, 2.9 million are residing in peri-urban areas.
Table 11.4 Population by Major Urban Centres, 2009
Urban centre Total
population
Core urban
population
Peri-urban
population
Percent of total
urban population
KENYA 12,023,570 9,090,412 2,933,158
Nairobi 3,109,861 3,109,861 0 25.9
Mombasa 925,137 905,627 19,510 7.7
Kisumu 383,444 254,016 129,428 3.2
Nakuru 367,183 343,395 23,788 3.1
Eldoret 312,351 247,500 64,851 2.6
Kikuyu 264,714 200,285 64,429 2.2
Ruiru 240,226 238,329 1,897 2.0
Kangundo-Tala 218,722 13,119 205,603 1.8
Naivasha 170,551 91,898 78,653 1.4
Thika 151,225 136,386 14,839 1.3
Machakos 150,467 40,819 109,648 1.3
While Nairobi continues to have the largest share of Kenya’s urban population, small and medium-size
urban centres are emerging in the urban hierarchy. Small urban centres have population of less than
10,000 people, while medium-size urban centres have a population of more than 10,000 but less than
100,000 people. Table 11.5 demonstrates that the number sand population size of small and medium-
size urban centres are growing and are expected to dominate the urban hierarchy in future.
Table 11.5 Urban Population by Size Category of Urban Centres, 1962-2009
Year
Category of urban centres by population size
1 million and over 100,000-999,999 10,000-99,999 2,000-9,999
No. Total
Population
No. Total
population
No. Total
population
No. Total
population
1962 0 - 2 523,075 5 105,712 27 118,864
1969 0 - 2 756,359 9 79,267 36 153,282
1979 0 - 6 1,321,566 24 717,855 64 276,275
1989 1 1,324,570 5 1,046,588 40 1,080,726 93 426,813
1999 1 2,083,509 4 1,214,927 62 1,508,180 113 623,174
2009 1 3,109,861 22 4,617,114 97 3,665,486 110 631,109
Note: No.= Number (of urban centres).
Most of the urban centres in Kenya are small and medium-size. In 2009, the small and medium-size
urban centres were 207 in number with a total population of about 4.3 million people, which amounted
to 35.7 percent of the country’s total urban population. Additionally, urban centres with populations
between 100,000 and 999,999 increased in numbers by 2009.The small and medium-size urban centres
play an important role in migration into and out of the major cities. They provide the first opportunity
of migration from the rural areas to the major urban centres (step migration), as well as an avenue for
counter-migration.

By serving as localized focal points for production, distribution, trade, services and livelihoods, small
and medium-size towns can contribute greatly towards the achievement of geographically more
balanced national urban development, stimulating the national and regional economies in the process.
By building enhanced capacities among local authorities, small and medium-size towns can also play a
greater role in efficient service provision to increasing urban populations; assist in poverty reduction as
employment and income generators; contribute to the achievement of Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs); and secure more equitable and geographically balanced economic and social development
(UN-Habitat, 2008; Owuor, 2006b; Satterthwaite and Tacoli, 2003).
Furthermore, the growth of small and medium-size urban centres has reduced the national primacy
index to an average of 0.9 since the 1980s. The 11-city primacy index has reduced from 1.22 in 1969
to 0.89 in 1979, after which it rose to 0.94 in 1989, 0.99 in 1999 and to 0.98 in 2009. However, the
dominance of one urban centre is not only experienced at the national level but also at provincial
levels. Urban primacy is also evident at regional levels where one urban centre contributes a larger
share of the region’s urban population. Figures 11.4 and 11.5 illustrate the declining dominance of
Nairobi in terms of contribution to the total urban population and population growth rates, further
demonstrating the potential of small and medium-size urban centres.
Figure 11.4 Kenya’s Population Growth Trends, 1948-2009
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1948 1962 1969 1979 1989 1999 2009
Census Year
Population(inmillions)
Kenya Urban Nairobi
Figure 11.5 Kenya’s population growth rate trends, 1948-2009
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1962 1969 1979 1989 1999 2009
Census Year
IntercensalGrowthRate(%)
Kenya Urban Rural Nairobi

Nairobi’s growth rate increased considerably after independence because of its attractiveness to
migrants from the rural areas. The growth rate increased from 4.6 percent in 1948 to 12.2 percent in
1969. However, from 1979 to 1999, Nairobi grew at a sustained and constant rate of about five percent
a year (4.9% in 1979, 4.7% in 1989 and 4.5% in 1999). In 2009, Nairobi’s population growth rate reduced
to 3.8 percent. According to UN-Habitat (2006), Nairobi had the highest annual population growth rates
compared to similar cities in Africa. Box 11.1 gives a brief history of Nairobi.
Box 11.1 Nairobi: From a transportation centre to a city
Nairobi was originally established as a transportation depot, but grew to become an administrative
centre. The site was chosen by the constructors of the Kenya-Uganda railway in June 1899 because it
offered a suitable stopping place between Mombasa and Kisumu (Blevin & Bouczo, 1997; Boedecker,
1936). By the end of 1899, the Government then had selected a site on the high ground north of the
Nairobi River and away from the railway station, to be its administrative headquarters. This marked
the beginning of Nairobi’s growth into an administrative and transportation centre. In 1900, Nairobi
was incorporated as a township, marking the birth of local Government in the town. In 1905, Nairobi
was confirmed as the capital of the country with seven distinct functional zones (Tiwari, 1981). By
1906, the original railway depot and camp had grown into an urban centre of 11,000 people, with
definite land-use zones. By 1909, much of the internal structure of Nairobi was already established. In
1919, Nairobi was elevated into a municipality and finally, in March 1950, Nairobi became a city by the
Royal Charter of Incorporation.
In response to urban growth projections, and in an attempt to address current and future Nairobi
metropolitan region challenges, 2007 saw the Government of Kenya prepare an ambitious Nairobi
Metro 2030 vision to spatially redefine the Nairobi Metropolitan Region (NMR) and create a world class
city region envisaged to generate sustainable wealth and quality of life for its residents, investors
and visitors. Apart from Nairobi Municipality itself, the NMR vision encompasses 14 other adjacent
independent local authorities (Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development, 2008).
11.3.5 Sources and Factors of Urban Growth
Generally, there are five sources of urban population growth in sub-Saharan Africa. These are: 1) rural-
to-urban migration; 2) increase in the number of urban centres over space and time; 3) natural urban
increase; 4) expansion of urban boundaries; and 5) daily commuters. Though daily commuters from
rural areas are important for an urban areas economy, they are rarely captured in population censuses,
as they are only seen to increase the daytime population.
Rural-to-urban migration continues to be the major source of urban growth in Eastern Africa, including
Kenya. However, urban natural increase, in-situ urbanization and refugees from neighbouring war-torn
countries, are emerging as significant contributors to urban growth (UN-Habitat, 2008). The natural
increase in urban population occurs when there are more births than deaths, while in-situ urbanization
is the absorption of rural and peri-urban settlements in the expansion of an urban area’s boundaries.
Besides the sources of urban population, there are other factors that lead to the continued growth
and development of urban centres in Kenya, in addition to acting as “pull” factors. These factors are
varied and specific to the urban centres. Proximity to good transport network, a strong economic base,
a rich hinterland, better infrastructural facilities and services, and the town’s functions (especially in
terms of employment opportunities) are examples of some of the factors that stimulate the growth and
development of urban centres in Kenya.

11.3.6 Regional Variations in Urbanization
Demographic, social, economic and political factors have impacted greatly on the urbanization
process in Kenya, resulting in varied urbanization levels, trends and patterns across counties. Being
simultaneously the capital city and a county, Nairobi is the most urbanized part of Kenya with a
population that is entirely urban (Table 11.6). The former Coast and Central provinces accounted
for one-third of the country’s urban population in 2009. Nyanza, Rift Valley and Eastern provinces
had between 21 percent and 25 percent, while North Eastern and Western provinces were the least
urbanized provinces in Kenya with less than 20 percent of the population living in urban centres.
Table 11.6 Urban Population by Province, 2009
Province Total
population
Rural
population
Urban
population
Percent of urban
population in
province
Percent of
total urban
population
KENYA 38,412,088 26,388,518 12,023,570
Nairobi 3,109,861 - 3,109,861 100 25.9
Central 4,370,124 2,868,781 1,501,343 34.4 12.5
Coast 3,291,225 1,869,714 1,421,511 43.2 11.8
Eastern 5,640,797 4,448,772 1,192,025 21.1 9.9
North Eastern 2,301,837 1,893,246 408,591 17.8 3.4
Nyanza 5,421,889 4,086,898 1,334,991 24.6 11.1
Rift Valley 9,955,646 7,599,156 2,356,490 23.7 19.6
Western 4,320,709 3,621,951 698,758 16.2 5.8
In addition, Table 11.6 shows that Nairobi Province has the largest share of the total urban population
in the country, followed by Rift Valley Province. The two provinces contributed 45.5 percent to the
total urban population. They are followed by Central, Coast, Nyanza and Eastern provinces, each with
between 10 percent and 13 percent share of total urban population. The contribution of Western and
North Eastern to the total urban population was relatively small.
Table 11.7 presents the share of each province’s urban population to the total urban population for
the national census years between 1969 and 2009. The urban population of each province has been
increasing except for Eastern Province, whose share fell sharply between the 1989 and 1999. Generally,
Nairobi has been dominant with the largest share of the urban population. On the other hand, North
Eastern has had the least share of not more than three percent. Rift Valley and Western have had
consistent increases in their shares while those of the other provinces fluctuated
Table 11.7 Urbanization Trends by Province, 1969-2009
Province Percent share of total urban population
1969 1979 1989 1999 2009
Nairobi 47.0 35.7 34.1 38.4 25.9
Central 4.3 5.6 8.0 6.7 12.5
Coast 26.3 17.6 15.2 16.5 11.8
Eastern 3.5 10.1 9.2 5.3 9.9
North Eastern - 2.7 2.3 2.7 3.4
Nyanza 4.1 9.0 9.1 7.9 11.1
Rift Valley 13.8 14.8 17.3 17.4 19.6
Western 1.0 4.6 4.8 5.2 5.8

Two important points to consider in interpreting these regional figures include: 1) the fact that further
variations occur at the sub-province level; and 2) only one or two urban centres dominate the urban
population populations.65
Further analysis by county reveals that the majority of counties have low
urbanisation levels, as shown in Figure 11.6. Only five counties — Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu, Machakos
and Kisumu — have more than half of their population living in urban centres. Nairobi and Mombasa
are the two largest cities in Kenya, and are entirely urban. The other counties with significant urban
populations include: Nakuru (45%), Isiolo (44%), Kajiado (41%), Uasin Gishu (39%), Kericho (38%),
Migori (34%), Vihiga (31%) and Kilifi (25%). The rest of the counties have less than one-quarter of their
population living in urban areas. Meru, West Pokot and Narok are the least urbanized counties with less
than 10 percent urban populations.
11.3.7 Implications of Urban Growth Trends
The high rate of urbanization in Kenya has resulted in social, economic and spatial development
challenges that must be addressed. The fundamental problem is that the urban population is growing
very fast without the economic growth and development transformations necessary to support it and
enhance the quality of urban life (Bocquier et al., 2009; Owuor, 2006a; Stren and White, 1989). Thus,
instead of urbanization being driven or accompanied by economic growth, it is driven by poverty and
the need for economic survival strategy (UN-Habitat, 2008).
An aerial view of Nairobi from Kibera informal settlement.
Photo: www.wikimedia.org
Urban growth in Kenya has resulted in social, economic and spatial development challenges, such as:
• Increasing levels of poverty, economic vulnerability (SID, 2004; Odhiambo and Manda 2003), food
insecurity and informality (Robertson, 2002).These realities have led to the urbanization of poverty
and “informalization” of the urban economy. In 1992, the percentage of Kenya’s urban poor was
estimated at 29 percent compared to 42 percent in the rural areas. In 1997, the urban figure had
risen to 49 percent compared to 53 percent in the rural areas (Odhiambo and Manda, 2003). In
2004, it was estimated that 44 percent of Nairobi’s population was living below the poverty line of
less than one dollar a day (SID, 2004);
• Deepening social differentiation and inequality (SID, 2004), polarization, and segregation and
fragmentation of the cities (Owuor and Mbatia, 2011). According to SID, the gap between the rich
and the poor is widening with every Kenyan shilling earned by a poor Kenyan, mapping against
65 For example, Garissa and Mandera dominate North Eastern province, while Machakos and Embu dominate Eastern province.

Kenya shilling 56. The wealthiest 10 percent of the population control about 42 percent of the
country’s income, while the poorest 10 percent earn less than 1 percent;
• Inadequate and poor provision of services (i.e. housing, water and sanitation, security), especially
to the urban poor — sometimes leading to privatization of urban services (Owuor, 2006a). For
example, the 1999 census reveals that access to main sewer is very poor in urban Kenya. Almost
220 out of 230 urban centres have less than 25 percent of their households connected to the main
sewer. Nationally, only three urban centres have more than half of the households connected to
main sewer. On the other hand, 213 urban centres have less than 25 percent of their households
connected to piped water in the house (Ministry of Planning and National Development and Vision
2030, forthcoming, Vol. VIII);
• Considerable strain on existing urban infrastructural facilities; and
• Proliferation of informal and unplanned settlements popularly referred to as slums (UN-Habitat,
2006) — resulting in declining quality of life and standards of living. According to the 2009 Census,
15 percent of Kenya’s urban population lives in informal settlements. Kisumu leads with a high
proportion (46.9%) of informal settlements’ population, followed by Nairobi (36.2%), Mombasa
(23.55), Eldoret (23.3%) and Thika (10.9%), respectively (Ministry of Planning and National
Development and Vision 2030, forthcoming, Vol. VIII).
Despite these challenges, cities will inevitably have an increasingly critical role in future economic
and social development. According to Martine et al. (2008), urbanization can be critical for economic
growth, reduction of poverty, stabilization of population growth and long-term sustainability. However,
realizing this potential will require a different mindset on the part of policymakers, a proactive approach
and better governance.
Figure 11.6 Percent Urban Population by County, 2009

11.4 Internal Migration
Migration has come to the top of political and social agenda across all of Africa and some researchers
on migration have advocated for greater inclusion of migration issues in the processes of development
planning. Historically, the migration in East and Central Africa were influenced significantly by European
settlement (Mitchell 1959; Mitchell 1969, cited in Rempel, 1981) and colonial tax system66
(Eicher and
Baker, 1984). Immediately after independence, the opening of high-wage jobs in the urban areas
following the removal of controls on urban in-migration in 1959, rural-urban migration increased to
a level beyond the absorptive capacity of the urban economies in Kenya (International Labour Office
1972, p. 85).
Althoughmigrationisoneofthethreecomponentsofpopulationchange,besidesfertilityandmortality,
studies on internal migration has been scarce and mainly limited to census data. However, migration
influences the population structure, composition and size of a country. Internal migration refers to
movement for settlement within and across a country’s regional administrative boundaries. Internal
migration can be categorized by type (in-migration and out-migration) and directional flow (rural-rural,
rural-urban, urban-rural, and urban-urban).‘Recent migration’occurs when a person changes his or her
usual place of residence at least once in the year before the census date, i.e. where she/he is enumerated
is different from where she/he resided a year before the census date. Lifetime migration occurs when
one’s area of usual residence at the time of population census differs from the area of birth.
11.4.1 National Policies and Programmes
Up to the recent past, Kenya has lacked a comprehensive national migration policy. Much of the policy
interest in internal migration has been with respect to rural-urban migration and the rate of growth
in urban populations. As noted earlier, the spatial distribution policies adopted by the Government of
Kenya in the independence era, National Development Plans were aimed at slowing down the rate of
rural-urban migration, promoting growth of small and medium-size urban centres, and encouraging
rural development (Owuor, 2006b). Some of these policies include: the growth-pole/growth-centre
approach; selective dispersal and selective concentration strategy; service centres strategy; rural
trade and production centres; district focus for rural development strategy; growth with distribution
policy; rural-urban balance strategy; and more recently, the Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF)
and Constituency Development Fund (CDF). The Government realized that the concentration of all
economic,socialandpoliticallifeinthetwomainurbancentrescarriedtheriskofpolarisingthecountry.
11.4.2 Recent Migrants
Nairobi Province has the largest share of the country’s recent in-migrants (30.5%) followed by RiftValley
(23.7%) and Central (16.6%). Conversely, North Eastern Province recorded the least proportion (Figure
11.7). There are more women recent in-migrants than men in Nairobi, Western and Nyanza provinces;
but male recent in-migrants dominate North Eastern and Eastern provinces.
66 Colonial tax systems required cash payments and therefore necessitated wage work particularly in colonial farms. The colonialists also introduced cash crops
but the white settlers monopolized their production workers from Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique, and Rwanda were recruited to Kenya,Tanzania, and Uganda
for employment on agricultural estates.

Figure 11.7 Percent Recent In-Migrants by Sex and Province, 2009
31
17
8 6
1
8
24
6
46
50 51
55
64
49
52
48
53
50 49
46
36
51
48
52
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Eastern
Percent
Total Male Female
Source: Compiled from 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census Data.
Nairobi Province also has the largest share of recent out-migrants (18.9%) followed by Eastern (18.0%),
Rift Valley (16.5%), Central (13.7%), Nyanza (13.2%) and Western (12.9%), while Coast and North Eastern
provinces experienced very low recent out-migration (Figure 11.8). Women dominated the recent out-
migration stream from Central, Eastern, Nyanza and Western provinces.
Figure11.8 Percent Recent Out-Migrants by Sex and Province, 2009
19
14
5
18
2
13
17
13
50
47
52
48
59
49
52
4850 52
48
52
41
50 48
52
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Eastern
Percent
Total Male Female
Further analysis shows that Eastern, North Eastern, Nyanza and Western provinces are areas of recent
net out-migration (with net loss of populations), while Nairobi, Central, Coast and Rift Valley provinces
are areas of recent in-migration (with net gain in populations). The same trend was experienced in
1999; but Nyanza Province recorded a net gain in that year (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2004).
11.4.3 Lifetime Migrants
Nairobi and Rift Valley provinces have the largest shares of lifetime in-migrants: 39.7 percent and 25.6
percent of their respectively (Figure 11.9). North Eastern has the least share of less than 10 percent of
the total lifetime in-migrants in Kenya. Women dominated the lifetime in-migration stream in Western,
Nyanza and Central provinces.

Figure 11.9 Percent Lifetime In-Migrants by Sex and Province, 2009
40
12
9
4
1
5
26
4
51 49
53 51 49 47
50
43
48 50 48 49
41
53
50
57
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Eastern
Percent
Total Male Female
On the other hand, Central province has the largest share of lifetime out-migrants (20.8%) followed by
Eastern (19.1%), Western (18.6%) and Nyanza (18%). Coast and North Eastern provinces experienced
very low life-time out-migration (Figure 11.10). Women dominated lifetime out-migration stream from
Nairobi, Central and Rift Valley provinces.
Figure 11.10 Percent Lifetime Out-Migrants by Sex and Province, 2009
6
21
4
19
2
18
12
19
49 48 50 51
54 54
49 5151 52 50 48 47 47
50 49
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Eastern
Percent
Total Male Female
Further analysis reveals that Central, Eastern, North Eastern, Nyanza and Western provinces are areas
of lifetime out-migration (with a net loss of lifetime migrants), while Nairobi, Coast and Rift Valley
provinces are areas of lifetime in-migration (with a net gain of lifetime migrants). The same trend was
experienced in 1989 and 1999, but with varying shares (Central Bureau of Statistics, 1996; 2004).
Nairobi Province is a net receiver of lifetime in-migrants from all provinces, while Western province has
net lifetime out-migration to all provinces (Table 11.8). Central province experiences net out-migration
to Nairobi, Rift Valley and Coast provinces. Those migrating from Eastern Province go to Nairobi, Coast,
Central and Rift Valley provinces. North Eastern, like Nyanza, is a major out-migration province. Coast
Province receives most migrants from Eastern and Nyanza provinces, while Rift Valley province has a
large proportion of in-migrants from Western, Nyanza and Central provinces.

Table 11.8 Distribution of Net Lifetime Migration Flows Between Provinces (1999)
Nairobi Central Coast Eastern North Eastern Nyanza RiftValley Western
Nairobi 0 422,714 33,894 473,420 41,541 352,283 108,190 314,404
Central -422,714 0 -44,648 75,820 1,039 41,569 -175,415 46,391
Coast -33,894 44,648 0 149,567 19,437 67,992 13,149 34,831
Eastern -473,420 -75,820 -149,567 0 3,335 11,719 -87,660 10,498
N. Eastern -41,541 -1,039 -19,437 -3,335 0 -1,829 -4,130 3,146
Nyanza -352,283 -41,569 -67,992 -11,719 1,829 0 -247,649 21,663
Rift Valley -108,190 175,415 -13,149 87,660 4,130 247,649 0 307,719
Western -314,404 -46,391 -34,831 -10,498 -3,146 -21,663 -307,719 0
Source: Agwanda (forthcoming).
Table 11.9 presents a general overview of lifetime migrants’ characteristics in terms of education
attainment, marital status and economic activity. The majority of lifetime migrants in Kenya have
completed school (primary or secondary); are either married or unmarried; and are already working.The
high proportion of those married implies family migration or spouse’s migration as a family obligation.
Furthermore, most migrants are young (i.e. with a peak of around 25 years), suggesting that migration
is likely inspired by the search for job opportunities (Agwanda, forthcoming).
Table 11.9 Percent Distribution of Lifetime Migrants by Socio-Economic Characteristics, 2009
Education attainment
None
Primary incomplete
Primary complete
Secondary and above
9.9
5.2
46.3
37.9
Marital Status
Never married
Married
Widowed
Divorced
45.0
49.8
3.2
2.0
Economic activity
Working
Unemployed
Inactive
64.7
6.8
38.5
a
While the figures were provided by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, some of the categories
add up to more than 100 percent although they are mutually exclusive.
Data from the post independence censuses indicate that the migration patterns in Kenya can be
summarized into six broad areas (Oucho and Odipo, 2000; Agwanda and Odipo, 2011). These include
migration in: (a) resettlement areas, (b) cash crop growing areas, (c) nomadic areas, (d) border areas,
(e) Western and Eastern regions of Kenya, and (f) migration in metropolitan areas. However, political
factors and resource conflicts may have reversed migration flows into former resettlements areas in the
recent past (Agwanda and Odipo, 2011).
In summary, the trends in recent and lifetime internal migration show that:
1. Nairobi, Central, Coast and Rift Valley provinces are the most favoured areas of net in-migration,
while Eastern, Nyanza, North Eastern and Western provinces are areas of net out-migration.

As the capital city of Kenya and major urban centre, Nairobi is highly developed and has more
opportunities, better infrastructure and services. Rift Valley is a vast agricultural area with large
farms and favourable conditions for settlement and farming, while Central is comparatively well
developed. Coast attracts in-migrants from all regions of Kenya because of tourism and the port
city of Mombasa;
2. Since independence, the general spatial pattern of internal migration has remained relatively
stable, implying that there have been no major changes in Kenya’s development pattern (Oucho,
2007); and
3. Women are increasingly joining the internal migration stream. This can be attributed to improved
access to education and training opportunities; increased participation in labour force and
household’s income generating activities; and greater social and economic empowerment and
independence.
11.5 Rural-Urban Dimensions of Internal Migration
Kenya experiences four types of internal migration defined by the direction of the flow between urban
and rural areas. Rural-rural migration is typically undertaken in search of pasture and (arable) land, more
often than not, due to population pressure and/or landlessness at the point of origin. Migration from
one rural area to another also occurs in the search for employment or better opportunities in the rural
agricultural plantations. Rural-urban migration is the most common ever since colonialism instigated
labour migration, and has been one of the major drivers of urban growth in the country. People migrate
to towns in search of employment; better opportunities, infrastructure and services; and because of
family and social networks. Rural-urban migration is conspicuous because it underlines the disparity
between the two locales (Oucho, 2007). In the 1960s and 1970s, high rural-urban migration occurred
despitelowemploymentopportunitiesintheformalsector(Todaro,1976;1997)becauseurbaninformal
sector formed for migrants a transitional sector from the traditional sector (agriculture) towards the
urban formal sector.
Urban-urban migration is dominated by formal sector (Government, parastatal) employees, who are
occasionally transferred from one town (station) to another, as well as traders and businesspeople
seeking (more) viable economic activities. It may also occur during step-wise migration, such as moving
from a small urban centre to a medium-size urban centre and lastly to the largest city. Urban-rural —
or return — migration is associated with retirees going back to their rural homes (Oucho and Gould,
1993). Return migration is not a new phenomenon, and seems to be growing in importance. In addition
to the traditional return flows of migrants, a new kind of urban-rural migration is emerging which is
linked to flight from persistent economic crisis.
AnothercomponentofinternalmigrationinKenyaisforcedmigrationwhichistriggeredbydevelopment
projects, conflicts, civil unrest, ethnic tensions and clashes, political violence, extreme environmental
conditions and natural disasters — leading to internally displaced persons (IDPs) (Kamungi, 2009) and
environmental refugees (Bates, 2002). For example, the post-election violence of 2007 in Kenya resulted
in the displacement of about 663,921 people (Kamungi, 2009). An estimated 350,000 sought refuge in
118 camps spread all over the country, while the rest either integrated within communities or moved
to their rural homes (Kamungi, 2009).
11.5.1 Urban-Rural Linkages
As an important part of the urbanization processes in sub-Saharan Africa, urban-rural linkages have
been well documented in broader migration and urban-rural interaction studies, which linkages persist
to date (Owuor, 2006a). Migrants maintain close relations with their rural homes even from a distance:

they return to visit; they invest in housing, social activities, education and health amenities; they send
money home and sometimes receive goods or host visiting relatives (Beauchemin and Bocquier,
2003). Although urban dwellers have always maintained links with the rural areas, economic crisis
and structural adjustment in the past decades seem to have produced fundamental and interrelated
changes to urban-rural linkages (Owuor, 2007; 2006a).
There are indications that the rate of rural-urban migration has decreased, while return migration, i.e.
from the city to the rural home, is emerging (Tacoli, 1998; Potts, 1997), with circular migration between
urban and rural areas increasing (Smit, 1998). Second, rural links have become vital safety-valves and
welfare options for urban people who are very vulnerable to economic fluctuations (Frayne, 2004).
Lastly, to reduce household expenses, a husband may return his wife and all or some of the children
to the village while he remains in town. Similarly, migrants unable to find jobs in town may be“forced”
to return to the rural home. Furthermore, fostering urban children at the rural home is also common
among female-headed households. In short, urban-rural linkages are not only important for the rural
households, but are becoming an important element of the livelihood (or survival) strategies of poor
urban households (Owuor, 2007).
11.5.2 Implications of Internal Migration Trends
Internal migration not only affects the sizes of populations in areas of origin and destination, but also
affects demographic characteristics. In addition, the receiving areas, especially urban centres, are likely
to experience the challenges of urban growth and development, such as pressure on existing resources
(including infrastructure and services); conflicts in resource use; and competition for job and economic
opportunities. On the other hand, sending communities — especially the rural areas, lose farm labour
and the young and educated, as a result of the selective nature of migration patterns. This results in
changes in affected household dynamics.
11.6 Policy Issues
11.6.1 Policy Issues on Urbanization
1. As with other highly urbanizing sub-Saharan African countries, Kenya should urgently manage the
emerging trends, patterns and challenges of urban growth. Since urbanization is inevitable, the
main challenge is not to slow it down, but rather to learn how to deal with the rapid growth it
generates. Already, it is estimated that about 50 percent of Kenya’s population will be living in
urban areas by 2015. These challenges call for a national urban policy to guide urban development
countrywide. In addition, the policy should aim at guiding the urbanization process by reducing
risks and maximizing opportunities attributed to urban growth. It is indeed possible to move from
the spontaneous and, therefore, chaotic cities to harmonious cities, provided good policies and
strategiesareadopted,investmentsmobilized,stakeholderparticipationsecured,goodgovernance
practiced and human development prioritised. The challenges associated with urbanization
demand a proactive approach to urban planning, which considers future demographic and
environmental aspects while responding to current priorities. Such an approach demands, in turn, a
sound understanding of urban development processes, locally, nationally and even internationally.
2. The growth of Nairobi city has spilled over to adjacent urban centres, pointing to prospects of a
metropolis. Other large urban centres will gradually experience the same growth trend. At the same
time, there is no doubt that small and medium-size urban centres will continue to grow and absorb
a larger proportion of the urban population. There is a need to encourage area-wide metropolitan
planning and governance, as well as planning for the spatial growth and development of small and
medium-size urban centres, alongside strengthening their governance capacities.

3. Urban centres are central places where people — residents and non-residents alike — converge
on a daily basis. Consequently, they serve not only the urban residents, but also the populations
living on the peripheries. However, the itinerant daytime population of urban centres is hardly ever
captured in the population censuses, yet such inclusion is imperative for comprehensive planning
purposes.
11.6.2 Policy Issues on Internal Migration
1. As Kenya lacks a comprehensive internal migration policy, there is a need to integrate internal
migration into the wider urban, regional and national development policies and planning.
Alternatively, Kenya should develop such a policy. The aim would be to maximize the potential
benefits of internal migration, especially for poor people, while minimizing its risks and costs.
2. Internal migration is important and is increasingly becoming even more dynamic and complex.
However, informed policy and interest on internal migration have been hampered by the lack of
adequate, reliable and comprehensive data, such as can be generated by national-level surveys.
More research and data on all aspects of internal migration are needed to shape academic debates
on the phenomenon and inform policy debates.
3. Superficially, there is a close relationship between various aspects of regional inequality and the
different types of internal migration in Kenya (Oucho, 2007). Unless the country adopts radical
changes in regional and national development programmes that redress regional inequalities, the
current patterns of internal migration will continue. The more developed counties will continue
to attract in-migrants, while the least developed ones continue to be net out-migration areas.
Furthermore, urbanization is perceived to be the primary driver of rural-urban migration owing to
regional socio-economic disparities between the rural and urban areas, with the latter perceived
to offer better opportunities. To correct the resulting imbalances and spread the benefits of
urbanization across the country, a starting point could be investment in strategically located
flagship projects that even out differences.
11.7 Conclusion
Development theorists and practitioners have until recently viewed rural and urban areas as two
mutually exclusive entities with their own unique populations, activities, problems and concerns.
However, this does not reflect the reality of urban-rural linkages and interactions, which include both
urban and rural elements (Owuor, 2006a). Interactions between urban and rural areas play an important
role in processes of rural and urban change. According to Satterthwaite and Tacoli (2002), it is essential
that policies and programmes reflect the importance of the “urban” part of rural development and
the “rural” part of urban development. In other words, urban development strategies must take into
account the rural links and context; and vice versa.The answer to urban poverty cannot be found in the
urban areas alone. Policies ignoring this may increase poverty and vulnerability for those groups for
whom‘straddling the urban-rural divide’is an important part of their survival strategy.

Appendix 11.1 Population Distribution and Densities by County, 1999-2009
County
Area in
square km Population
Percent share
of the total
Population
density
1999 2009 1999 2009 1999 2009
Nairobi 695.1 2,082,191 3,138,369 7.40 8.13 2,996 4,515
Nyandarua 3,245.3 468,458 596,268 1.67 1.54 144 184
Nyeri 3,337.1 647,887 693,558 2.30 1.80 194 208
Kirinyaga 1,479.1 454,090 528,054 1.61 1.37 307 357
Murang’a 2,558.8 907,446 942,581 3.23 2.44 355 368
Kiambu 2,543.4 1,204,009 1,623,282 4.28 4.20 473 638
Mombasa 218.9 643,060 939,370 2.29 2.43 2,938 4,291
Kwale 8,270.2 490,973 649,931 1.75 1.68 59 79
Kilifi 12,609.7 815,994 1,109,735 2.90 2.87 65 88
Tana River 38,436.9 178,609 240,075 0.64 0.62 5 6
Lamu 6,273.1 71,215 101,539 0.25 0.26 11 16
Taita Taveta 17,084.0 241,942 284,657 0.86 0.74 14 17
Marsabit 70,961.2 172,481 291,166 0.61 0.75 2 4
Isiolo 25,336.1 98,971 143,294 0.35 0.37 4 6
Meru 6,936.2 1,096,325 1,356,301 3.90 3.51 158 196
Tharaka 2,638.8 303,932 365,330 1.08 0.95 115 138
Embu 2,818.0 443,409 516,212 1.58 1.34 157 183
Kitui 30,496.5 810,779 1,012,709 2.88 2.62 27 33
Machakos 6,208.2 895,816 1,098,584 3.18 2.85 144 177
Makueni 8,008.8 766,111 884,527 2.72 2.29 96 110
Garissa 44,175.0 262,694 623,060 0.93 1.61 6 14
Wajir 56,585.8 309,268 661,941 1.10 1.71 5 12
Mandera 25,991.5 246,063 1,025,756 0.87 2.66 9 39
Siaya 2,530.4 712,305 842,304 2.53 2.18 281 333
Kisumu 2,085.9 788,539 968,909 2.80 2.51 378 465
Homabay 3,183.3 745,040 917,170 2.65 2.38 234 288
Migori 2,596.4 656,935 963,794 2.34 2.50 253 371
Kisii 1,317.5 943,202 1,152,282 3.35 2.98 716 875
Nyamira 899.3 495,620 598,252 1.76 1.55 551 665
Turkana 68,680.3 389,319 855,399 1.38 2.22 6 12
West Pokot 9,169.4 305,583 512,690 1.09 1.33 33 56
Samburu 21,022.2 135,565 223,947 0.48 0.58 6 11
Trans Nzoia 2,495.5 568,498 818,757 2.02 2.12 228 328
Baringo 11,015.3 400,571 555,561 1.42 1.44 36 50
Uasin Gishu 3,345.2 613,386 894,179 2.18 2.32 183 267
Elgeyo Marakwet 3,029.8 282,793 369,998 1.01 0.96 93 122
Nandi 2,884.2 568,998 752,965 2.02 1.95 197 261
Laikipia 9,461.9 316,791 399,227 1.13 1.03 33 42
Nakuru 7,495.1 1,176,233 1,603,325 4.18 4.15 157 214
Narok 17,933.1 529,711 850,920 1.88 2.20 30 47
Kajiado 2,1901 395,905 687,312 1.41 1.78 18 31
Kericho 2,479.0 461,651 590,690 1.64 1.53 186 238
Bomet 2,471.3 689,512 891,835 2.45 2.31 279 361
Kakamega 3,051.2 1,289,233 1,660,651 4.58 4.30 423 544
Vihiga 530.9 496,588 554,622 1.77 1.44 935 1,045
Bungoma 3,5828.0 1,005,094 1,375,063 3.57 3.56 28 38
Busia 1134.4 548,163 743,946 1.95 1.93 483 656

Appendix 11.2 Urban and Rural Population by County, 2009
County Total
population
Rural
population
Percent of rural
population
Urban
population
Percent of urban
population
Nairobi 3,109,861 0 0 3,109,861 100
Kiambu 1,618,422 611,426 37.8 1,006,996 62.2
Kirinyaga 525,962 444,270 84.5 81,692 15.5
Muranga 940,882 808,326 85.9 132,556 14.1
Nyandarua 595,421 480,814 80.8 114,607 19.2
Nyeri 689,437 523,945 76 165,492 24
Kilifi 1,102,937 823,795 74.7 279,142 25.3
Kwale 645,955 531,554 82.3 114,401 17.7
Lamu 100,398 80,773 80.5 19,625 19.5
Mombasa 925,137 0 0 925,137 100
Taita Taveta 277,475 229,905 82.9 47,570 17.1
Tana River 239,323 203,687 85.1 35,636 14.9
Embu 513,271 431,741 84.1 81,530 15.9
Isiolo 141,711 79,956 56.4 61,755 43.6
Kitui 1,008,156 871,473 86.4 136,683 13.6
Machakos 1,093,503 529,112 48.4 564,391 51.6
Makueni 880,048 779,595 88.6 100,453 11.4
Marsabit 289,337 225,642 78 63,695 22
Meru 1,350,481 1,247,092 92.3 103,389 7.7
Tharaka-Nithi 364,290 284,161 78 80,129 22
Garissa 619,571 479,668 77.4 139,903 22.6
Mandera 1,023,670 845,368 82.6 178,302 17.4
Wajir 658,596 568,210 86.3 90,386 13.7
Homa Bay 961,956 825,241 85.8 136,715 14.2
Kisii 1,148,612 921,077 80.2 227,535 19.8
Kisumu 959,882 462,793 48.2 497,089 51.8
Migori 914,289 606,874 66.4 307,415 33.6
Nyamira 597,730 520,708 87.1 77,022 12.9
Siaya 839,420 750,205 89.4 89,215 10.6
Baringo 553,564 490,321 88.6 63,243 11.4
Bomet 889,447 789,027 88.7 100,420 11.3
Elgeyo Marakwet 369,270 317,356 85.9 51,914 14.1
Kajiado 682,123 402,097 58.9 280,026 41.1
Kericho 587,416 362,228 61.7 225,188 38.3
Laikipia 396,086 317,744 80.2 78,342 19.8
Nakuru 1,593,448 875,125 54.9 718,323 45.1
Nandi 751,815 649,204 86.4 102,611 13.6
Narok 845,196 789,592 93.4 55,604 6.6
Samburu 222,327 185,234 83.3 37,093 16.7
Trans Nzoia 815,810 655,907 80.4 159,903 19.6
Turkana 849,277 748,660 88.2 100,617 11.8
Uasin Gishu 888,043 546,102 61.5 341,941 38.5
West Pokot 511,824 470,559 91.9 41,265 8.1
Bungoma 1,372,020 1,160,283 84.6 211,737 15.4
Busia 740,043 657,865 88.9 82,178 11.1
Kakamega 1,655,013 1,423,717 86 231,296 14
Vihiga 553,633 380,086 68.7 173,547 31.3

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CHAPTER 12: INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT
12.1 Introduction
As with many developing countries, Kenya is a country of origin, transit and destination of international
migration of three dominant forms, one of which is clandestine and therefore illegal. First, there is
the general voluntary ‘international migration’ defined in terms of movement across international
boundaries, which includes labour migration across the skills spectrum. Second, refugee movements
— just about exclusively into, as opposed to out of, Kenya — are a dominant form of forced migration
involving movement from the contiguous states with the exception of Tanzania. Finally, irregular
migration in the form of migrant trafficking and smuggling is becoming increasingly significant with
Kenyans moving to the Middle East, and people from the Horn of Africa crossing through Kenya to
southern Africa, and subsequently to Latin America or southern Europe notably Portugal and Spain.
This chapter analyses the situation of various types of international migration involving Kenya for
which data are available. It consists of five main sections. This introductory section provides the
context and thrust of international migration in Kenya, explaining the changing configuration of the
phenomenon and highlighting its character involving ‘mixed migration’. Section 2 sheds light on the
sources of data used for this chapter, pointing to their inherent limitations that provide challenges
in analysis, but also offer opportunities for improved work in the area. It highlights the methods of
analysis employed on the data and the resulting limitations. The third section examines the status of
and trends in international migration in five sub-sections focusing on: i) pertinent issues in analysing
international migration in Kenya in the context of eastern Africa; ii) documented immigration from the
African, European and Asian regions; iii) refugees in Kenya from contiguous states and further afield;
iv) emigration from Kenya, comprising the brain drain, brain circulation, brain waste and emigration
of unskilled and semi-skilled Kenyans; and v) irregular migration through migrant trafficking and
smuggling. Section 4 uses four sub-sections to draw attention to the consequences and implications of
international migration: i) Kenya’s position with respect to the signing, ratification and implementation
of international migration instruments; ii) the threat of heavy immigration; iii) the Kenyan diaspora and
its role in Kenya’s development; and iv) the challenges as well as opportunities that emigration and
development interrelations raise.The final section draws conclusions based on the main findings of the
study.
An aerial view of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Photo:www.airporsinternational.com

12.1.1 International Migration Scene and the Changing Configuration in Kenya
In keeping with mainstream demographic tradition, Kenya’s population analysis, based on the classical
demography of the western world, has tended to ignore international migration into and from the
country. The best known form of recent international migration for most Kenyan citizens, including its
policymakers and planners, is that of refugee inflows from a volatile sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region
that has witnessed diverse disruptive forces, such as civil wars, political upheavals, ethnic strife, and the
vagaries of climate (in particular floods and drought).
Typology of International Migration: Various Perspectives
In propounding a general theory of migration, Petersen (1969: 229) argued that:
“Migration is not unitary; it differs from fertility and mortality in that it cannot be analyzed, even
primarilyintermsofsupracultural,physiologicalfactorsbutmustbedifferentiatedevenatthemost
abstract level with the social conditions obtaining. This means that the most general statement that
one can make concerning migration must be in the form of a typology, rather than a law.”
This explains why the types of migration considered vary by disciplines, individual analysts, planners
and policymakers, institutions and different stakeholders. Against such a multifaceted backdrop, this
chapter will endeavour to adopt such contemporary migration typologies as are most pertinent to the
Kenyan context.
Conventionally, the Population Division of the United Nations classifies international migration into
three categories, namely A, B and C (United Nations, 1998). Categories A and B involve estimation of
the migrant stock based on foreign-born persons in a national population, while category C entails
estimation based on foreign citizens in the population. However, migration scholars prefer more refined
distinctions, such as the taxonomies employed by Appleyard (1991) and Bilsborrow et al. (1997).
Table 12.1 Typology of international migration by various analysts and practitioners
Type of migration Main characteristics
Permanenta
Permanent residence status/settlers; naturalisation; amnesty beneficiaries
Labourb
Temporary/permanent; skilled/semi-skilled/unskilled; emigrant/immigrant;
brain drain, brain circulation, brain waste, brain gain
Refugees and asylum
seekersa
Categorised by the UN Convention 1951, Protocol 1967; OAU/AU
Convention 1969 as forced to move across common borders
Undocumented/illegal/
clandestine/irregular/
unauthoriseda
Nomenclature differs by country of origin and especially country of
destination. Include those lacking entry/work documents,‘overstayers’,
unsuccessful applicants for refugee/asylum status, amnesty defaulters,
trafficked/smuggled migrants
Mixed migrationb
A concept popularised by IOM for all types of migration
Source: Adapted from Oucho (2006: 50), table 3.1.
Notes: a
Classification by the Population Division, United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (UNDESA).
b
Includes different types of voluntary and forced migration caused by wide ranging factors.
Strictly speaking,‘cross-border migration’refers to the movement of people between states that share
a common border (Oucho, 2006: 48). In southern Africa, in particular in South African reference to
the immigration of nationals of the neighbouring countries, the concept is dominant in the literature
with derogatory adjectives: ‘border jumpers’, ‘illegal immigrants’ and ‘illegal aliens’ (McDonald et al.,
1998); and‘black tide’from the North and‘barbarians’(Mattes et al., 1999). It is a form of migration that
conventionally takes place between contiguous countries, such as among the East African Community

(EAC) partners, as well between them and immediate non-EAC neighbours. As in many other regions
of Africa, EAC cross-border migration is heightened not just by shared borders, but also by the fact that
colonial balkanisation caused various ethnic communities to be arbitrarily sub-divided into different
countries67
.
Table 12.1 presents the types of migration that have been refined by scholars to enable structured
analysis. For example, Appleyard (1991) defines‘permanent migration’as permanent settlement either
by residence or naturalisation; ‘labour migration’ is sub-categorised into temporary contract workers
who may be unskilled or semi-skilled, and temporary transients comprising skilled and professional
persons; refugees and asylum seekers are seen as a distinctive group; and clandestine/illegal migrants
are seen to belong to the various aforementioned categories. In a major methodological work on
internationalmigration,Bilsborrowetal.(1997)cameupwithacompletelydifferenttypologyconsisting
of five main categories: (i) immigrants who may be settlers with unrestricted periods of stay and those
moving because of family reunification; (ii)‘foreigners’, designated thus because they are permitted to
move freely, are frontier workers or a migrant workforce (project-tied, contract, temporary, established
highly skilled or business travellers); (iii) asylum migration (conventional refugees, humanitarian
admissions or those granted stay of deportation); (iv) unauthorized, regular migrants; and (v) citizens
returning to their countries of origin.These varied classifications point to the fact that the distinction of
international migration broadly in immigration-emigration contexts is grossly simplistic. However, such
classifications are convenient for this chapter’s analysis which does not seek to delve into much detail.
The term‘mixed migration’has become popular in recent times, but is viewed differently by institutions
that work within its context. Tinde’s (2011:89) illuminating clarification of the concept is particularly
useful:
“The concept of mixed migration has its origins in the efforts in the 1990s to draw a clearer line between
refugees and asylum-seekers that are protected by International Refugee Law, and migrants who are
not.Astheinterestintheconceptiswidening,ittakesonbroaderconnotations,withtheriskofconfusion
between security, economic, political considerations, and humanitarian concerns. Governments focus
normally on frameworks and procedures to disaggregate and manage mixed migration.”
For example, the Danish Refugee Council (2009) defines mixed migration as “complex population
movements including refugees, asylum seekers, economic migrants and other migrants ... such
as people displaced due to climate change.” Conversely, the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) distinguishes between migrants and refugees, stating that:
“Migrant is a wide-ranging term that covers people who move to a foreign country for a certain
length of time - not to be confused with short-term visitors such as tourists and traders.... Migrants are
fundamentally different from refugees and, thus, are treated very differently under international law....
Migrants, especially economic migrants, choose to move in order to improve their lives. Refugees are
forced to flee to save their lives or preserve their freedom (UNHCR, 2011).”
The global migration agency, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), notes that ‘mixed
migration’:
“(R)eferstoflowsofpeoplethataremigratingforavarietyofreasons—toavoidfoodinsecurity,conflict,
forced military service, or persecution and includes asylum seekers, economic migrants, and victims
of trafficking and smuggling. In many cases, these reasons overlap, and can shift during the journey
as a result of hardship, economic and legal reasons, among others. As the initial cause of migration
is likely different at later stages, mixed migration is multi-faceted and requires Governments and
agencies to adapt operational strategy and capacity to manage appropriately.”(IOM, Kenya Mission
67 The most prominent case for Kenya must be that of the Somalis; but others involve the Digo, Maasai and Luo spread into Tanzania; and the Samia, Pokot and
Turkana into Uganda.

with Coordinating Missions in the Horn of Africa, n.d.).
To this end, IOM breaks the four categories of Table 1 into 12 categories of mixed migration as: (i)
refugees; (ii) asylum seekers; (iii) economic migrants; (iv) trafficking and smuggling victims; (v) stranded
migrants; (vi) unaccompanied and separated migrants; (vii) vulnerable persons (pregnant women,
children, elderly); (viii); migrants detained in transit or upon arrival; (ix) migrant workers; (x) cross-
border traders; (xi) climate-induced factor migrants; and (xii) nomadic peoples. This study analyses
only certain types of international mixed migration, limiting itself to immigration in Kenya, refugees
inflows and stock, emigration of Kenyans with particular reference to the brain drain and brain waste,
emigration of semi-skilled and unskilled workers to the Middle East, irregular migration (specifically
human trafficking and migrant smuggling), and the Kenyan Diaspora (which is a distinctive group of
emigrants for having sustained links with Kenya).
12.1.2 Data Sources
Data on international migration are drawn from a variety of sources. First, Kenyan data are available
from the last five population censuses held in the independence era (1969, 1979, 1989, 1999 and 2009),
restricting this study to data only on immigrants and refugees hosted by the country. While emigration
data were collected for the first time in the 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census, the results have
not been published. Second, among the Government ministries with international migration data, the
Ministry of Immigration and Registration of Persons has useful immigration and emigration data which
remains largely unanalysed. The Ministry of Labour and Human Resources is an additional custodian
of data on immigrant and emigrant labour, the latter often destined for the Middle East. Further, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has information on emigrant Kenyans loosely dubbed the “Diaspora”, even
though the information is by no means complete. Third, sectoral ministries in charge of improving
human capacity — Education and Health — keep data of emigrant Kenyans and immigrant workers
serving in the ministries. In the same vein, countries to which Kenyans migrate report their numbers
in national censuses or administrative data bases of counterpart ministries. Even Kenya’s diplomatic
missions overseas lack complete data on the status of Kenyans in their jurisdictions. A fourth data
source is that within the UN system. These include the resources of the Population Division of UNDESA,
UNHCR, World Bank — particularly on remittances, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), International Labour Organisation (ILO), and IOM. These various data sources
provide the pieces for a jigsaw puzzle that depicts the diverse forms of Kenya’s international migration.
12.2 Trends and Situation of International Migration
12.2.1 Migration Stock, Remittances and State Parties to International Instruments
This section presents results of the data analysed to provide various perspectives of international
migration, namely migration stock, remittances and state parties to international instruments
governing international migration. The term ‘international migrant stock’ denotes the number of
people born in a country other than that in which they live, including refugees. Table 12.2 shows the
trend of international migrant stock in Kenya for the half century 1960-2010. It bears three important
features. The international migrant stock rose steadily from 1960 through to 1975, declining between
1980 and 1985, and thereafter increasing dramatically in the 15 years from 1995 to 2010. Perhaps the
steady inflow of refugees from Sudan and Uganda in the 1970s, and from Somalia since 1991, account
for this dramatic increase, while the drop between 1980 and 1985 is attributable to the departure of
Ugandan refugees after the military dictatorship was overthrown in the country.

Table 12.2 Trend of international migrant stock in Kenya, 1960-2010
Year Migrant stock Year Migrant stock
1960 59,330 1990 162,981
1965 101,581 1995 527,821
1970 109,044 2000 755,351
1975 160,512 2005 780,071
1980 159,892 2010 817,747
1985 151,892
Source: UNDESA (2008).
Table 12.3 presents basic information on migration flows, with refugees as a distinct category,
remittances and the status of various UN instruments on international migration. It provides details
that often enter the policy locus.
Table 12.3 Data on International Migration in Kenya, 2009
Migration issue Kenya Eastern Africa
Total migrant stock (‘000) 818 5,034
Percent of total population 2.0 1.5
Percent of female migrants 50.8 49.6
Percent Annual rate of change of migrants (2005-2010) 0.7 -0.4
Net migration among foreign born (‘000) 61.8 151.7
Refugees end of 2008 (‘000) 320.6 1,074.6
Net migration (2005-2010)
Average annual net migration (Emigration less Immigration) in‘000
Average annual net migration rate (per 1,000)
-37.9 -323.9
- 1.0 -1.1
Remittances
Total in US Dollars (millions) 1,588 2,901
Percent of total GDP 6.6 2.5
State Parties to UN Instruments
1951 Refugees Convention 1966 14 EA states1
1967 Refugees Protocol 1981 13 EA states2
1969 OAU/AU Protocol 1969 14 EA states1
1990 Migrant Workers Convention (MWC) Not signed
yet
3 EA states3
2000 Human Trafficking Protocol (HTP) 2005 10 EA states4
2000 Migrant Smuggling Protocol (MSP) 2005 10 EA states5
Table 12.3 shows that in 2009, Kenya accounted for 16.2 percent of total migrant stock in Eastern Africa
(818,000 out of 5,034,000), the country’s share of female migrants also marginally eclipsing that of the
region. Refugees in Kenya in 2008 constituted nearly one-third of all refugees in Eastern Africa. Kenya’s
share of remittances was also impressive, standing at slightly more than half of remittances to Eastern
Africa, which also translated into a much higher percentage share of GDP compared to the other
countries in the sub-region. Finally, alongside its Eastern African neighbours, Kenya has signed most of
the UN instruments on migration, the exception being the 1990 Convention on Migrant Workers and

Members of Their Families (MWC). The failure of all the countries in the sub-region except three, to sign
the MWC is surprising even as the countries receive increasing numbers of immigrants and lose their
nationals to other parts of the world. In effect, non-signatories are excluded from demanding privileges
for its nationals in accordance with the related instrument(s).
12.3 Documented Immigration
Three major regional origins of immigration into Kenya can be detected from the 2009 census returns,
including Africa, Europe and Asia. The 2009 census migration data was more detailed than had been
the case with previous censuses, whose scant immigration data was apparently never published by the
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
12.3.1 Immigrants from the African region
The 2009 census data show that the vast majority of the immigrants into Kenya were from Africa, their
357,468 numbers amounting to 84.0 percent of the country’s entire migrant population, these figures
excluding UNHCR refugees. Of the rest of the migrants, Asia accounted for 10 percent, Europe had a
four percent share, and North America had two percent. Immigrants from Australia and the Caribbean
accounted for less than one percent. By gender, female immigrants at 179,432 were slightly more than
the male immigrants numbering 178,036, and females dominated immigrants from the rest of Africa.
More than one-third of immigrants in Kenya reported by 2009 census (36.3%) were located in Nairobi
Province, followed by North Eastern Province which accounted for 28.7 percent of the nationwide total
(Ministry of Planning and National Development and Vision 2030 (MPND), forthcoming, Vol. VI).
A closer look at immigrants from other African countries provides interesting insights. Of the total
298,258 foreign population enumerated in 2009 census, 147,339 were men compared to 150,919
women. The majority of these — 60.5 percent — were from Eastern Africa, notably the greater Sudan
(before split into two countries), Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. The migration-distance decay is evident
from the analysis made as immigrants from East Africa dominated (31.9%), followed in descending
order by Central Africa (2.6%), West Africa (2.2%), South Africa (1.8%) and North Africa (1.0%). Most of
the Eastern Africans — 63.5 percent of the men and 57.5 percent of the women — were refugees who
had become integrated into Kenyan society.Those from the EAC partner states comprised 31.9 percent
of the total immigrants from Africa; evidence of increased cross-border migration attributable to trade,
marriage and other factors.
Figure 12.1 summarizes immigration from the four EAC partner states and Sudan, with whom Kenya
shares membership of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Common
Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). As in previous censuses, immigrants from Tanzania
and Uganda continued to come to Kenya in large numbers, followed by Sudanese immigrants.
Immigrants from both Rwanda and Burundi were less significant.That women dominated the migrants
from peaceful Tanzania and Uganda was as surprising as their not dominating flight from strife-torn
Sudan, a possible hindrance in the latter case being distance.

Figure 12.1 Eastern African immigrants by country of origin and gender, 2009
35.7
19.4
2.4 1.1
31.8
23.8
2.7 1.4
39.1
15.5
2.1 0.9
41.4 40.3 42.4
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Tanzania Uganda Sudan Rwanda Burundi
Percent
Total Male Female
Source: MPND (forthcoming), Vol. VI, Figure 4.3.
12.3.2 European Immigrants
The total number of European immigrants in Kenya was 26,960, of whom 14,129 (52%) were males.
UK immigrants led the other European countries with a total share of 35.3 percent, followed by Italy
(10.9%) and Germany (10.6%). The rest of the European countries share about 43 percent of the total,
led by the Netherlands, France and Sweden. There was no major variation in immigrants from these
countries by gender.
Figure 12.2 European immigrants in Kenya by country of origin and gender, 2009
35.3
10.6 10.9
4.6 3.8 2.9
32.0
10.6 11.5
4.8 3.8 2.8
31.9
10.6 10.2
4.3 3.7 3.0
32.0
34.5
36.2
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
UK Germany Italy Netherlands France Sweden Other
Percent
Total Male Female
Source: MPND (forthcoming), Vol. VI, Figure 1.
12.3.3 Asian immigrants
Given the long connections between Kenya and Asians (notably the Indians who participated in the
late 1896-1901 construction of the Kenya–Uganda railway line), about 78 percent of Asian immigrants
to Kenya are of Indian origin. Interestingly, the Kenyan share of Chinese immigrants, a most recent
group into the country, even exceeds that of the Pakistanis who have a history largely identical to that
of the Indians68
. The gender distribution of Asian migrants is also interesting: while women constitute
68 The Kenyan media has claimed – with the endorsement of public opinion - that many Chinese immigrants working on Kenya’s infrastructure (in particular
roads) have increasingly become involved in street vending, which gives them an even higher profile than the earlier, arguably more class conscious Asian
migrants, such as the Pakistanis.

about 48 percent of all Asian migrants into Kenya, the Chinese and Israelis do not bring their own
women, a likely source of Kenyan inter-racial breeding.
Table 12.4 Immigrants by Asian country of origin and gender, 2009

Country
Total
No.
Japan China India Pakistan Israel Other
Per-
cent No.
Per-
cent No.
Per-
Cent No.
Per-
Cent No.
Per-
cent No.
Per-
cent No.
Total 36,658 1.4 501 4.1 1,507 78.2 28,670 3.5 1,270 0.5 181 12.4 4,529
Male 19,102 1.2 237 6.2 1,191 76.7 14,646 3.0 581 0.6 108 12.2 2,339
Female 17,556 1.5 264 1.8 316 79.9 14,024 3.9 689 0.4 73 12.5 2,190
Source: MPND (forthcoming), Vol. VI, Table 2.
Note: No. = Number of immigrants.
Data from UNDESA’s Population Division underscore the huge migrant stock in Kenya (Table 12.5). The
country has a substantial proportion of young migrants aged zero to nine years most of who must have
accompanied their parents or guardians into the country. This age group constituted more than one
half of the migrant stock in Kenya and Eastern Africa, while the youth aged 10 to 19 years constituted
one-tenth and just under one-tenth respectively of Kenyan and Eastern Africa migrant stock. The old
age population comprises the smallest number of migrant stock in both Kenya and Eastern Africa.
Table 12.5 International Migrant Stock in Kenya and Eastern Africa by 2010
Age group (in years) Migrant Stock
(a) Broad age groups Kenya Eastern Africa
Migrant stock
(‘000)
Percent Migrant stock
(‘000)
Percent
0-9 817.7 50.7 19,263.2 57.2
10-19 162.1 10.1 2,397.4 7.1
20-39 177.8 11.0 3,053.8 9.1
40-64 316.3 19.6 8,165.7 24.2
65+ 137.5 8.5 820.4 2.4
1,611.4 99.9 33,700.5 100.0
(b) Youth and old age 24.1 3,719.9
15-24 183.2 1,419.4
60+ 41.4
Females constitute half of all immigrants across the age brackets in Kenya and in Eastern Africa (Table
12.6).Yet, the migrant stock as percentage of the total population of Kenya is below three percent in the
stated age brackets. While the dominant share of females in the Kenyan migrant population persists
across all age groups reported, the declining share of females in the Eastern African migrant population
suggests that as they grow older, women migrants either return to their country of origin, or leave their
country of migration in the region for other countries outside the region.

Table 12.6 Age distribution of female migrant stock in Kenya and Eastern Africa, 2010
Age group
(in years)
Female migrants as percent
of the international
migration stock
International migrants
stock as percent of the
total population
Percentage distribution
of international
migrants
Kenya Eastern Africa Kenya Eastern Africa Kenya Eastern Africa
0-9 50.5 51.9 1.6 1.0 41.6 28.3
20-64 51.0 44.8 2.5 2.8 55.5 67.4
65+ 52.7 43.9 2.2 2.3 2.9 4.3
Source: MPND (forthcoming), Vol. VI, Table 5.
12.4 Refugees Inflows and Stock
The United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951 (in Article 1A) defines a
refugee as a person who“owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his
nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that
country”. This definition was expanded by the 1967 UN Protocol, and by regional conventions in Africa
and Latin America, to include persons who had fled war or other violence in their home country. Thus,
refugees constitute a distinct category of international migrants.The 1969 Organisation of African Unity
(OAU — which became the African Union (AU) in 2001) Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of
Refugee Problems in Africa adopted the 1967 UN Protocol’s expanded definition of refugee to include
people who left their countries of origin not only because of persecution, but also due to acts of
external aggression, occupation, and domination by foreign powers, or serious disturbances of public
order.The OAU/AU 1969 Convention was adopted soon after much of Africa became independent from
colonialism and succumbed to the scourges of civil strife and wars.
Kenya’s relative peace and tranquillity during its independence years in a politically volatile region, has
rendered it a dependable host country for a huge number of refugees, even if there were periods of
declining numbers, as illustrated in Table 12.769
.
Table 12.7 The Annual Stocks and Flows of Refugees in Kenya, 1991 to 2010
Year 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Stocks 120,163 402,194 301,595 252,423 234,665 223,640 232,097 238,187 223,696 206,106
Arrivals/Departures 105,914 282,031 -100,599 -49,172 -17,758 -11,025 8,457 -6,090 -14,491 -17,590
Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Stocks 239,221 233,671 237,512 239,835 251,271 72,531 265,729 320,605 358,928 402,905
Arrivals/Departures 33,115 -5,550 3,841 2,323 11,436 -178,740 193,198 54,876 38,323 43,977
Source: World Bank (2013).
The data show that the majority of refugees in Kenya come from countries in the region that have had
civil strife for decades. The stock of refugees from Somalia, Sudan, Burundi and other African countries
dropped, while those of all other nations increased between 1999 and 2009 (Table 12. 8). This explains
the volatility of the refugee stock in Kenya. Repatriation and voluntary return of Somalis, Sudanese,
Ethiopians, Ugandans, Rwandese and nationals of other African countries explain the large drops in
their respective stocks.
69 The discrepancy in the stock of refugees shown in tables 7 and 8 might be attributable to the difference in data sources used.

Table 12.8 Stock of refugees in Kenya by country of birth, 1999 and 2009
Stock in 1999
Somalia Sudan Ethiopia Uganda DRC Eritrea Rwanda Burundi
Other African
countries
Total
Refugees
141,088 64,254 8,191 5,947 251 90 2,858 205 303 223,187
Stock by sex in 2009
Total 103,345 7,657 3,832 405 706 32 238 236 77,230 193,681
Male 53,452 4,523 2,186 221 400 20 119 125 40,085 101,131
Female 49,893 3,134 1,646 184 306 12 119 111 37,145 92,550
Sources: MPND (forthcoming, Vol. I, p. 47; and Vol. VI).
Human Rights Watch (2012) noted that the overstretched refugee camp in Dadaab in north-eastern
Kenya continued to receive thousands of new arrivals during the year, including some 34,000 people
between January and September 2011. It further noted that many of the new arrivals from Somalia
endured serious abuse at the hands of the Kenyan police as they crossed the border which had been
officially closed, including violence, arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention in inhuman and degrading
conditions, threats of deportation and wrongful prosecution for“unlawful presence”.This mistreatment
was experienced by men, women and children alike with the Kenyan police reportedly raping women
and consequently failing to investigate and/or prosecute related cases. In early 2010, huge numbers of
Somali refugees were sent back to Somalia by the Kenya Government in flagrant violation of its own
and international laws on managing refugees. Yet, the Somali refugee inflows will persist as long as
Somalia remains a country without a strong Government.
12.5 Emigration of Kenyans
This section provides insights into the emigration of Kenya to other countries, primarily composed
of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled persons, those seeking education and/or employment abroad,
and irregular migrants. One characteristic of all these categories is that they often maintain links with
Kenya through remittances. The size of the stock of Kenyans abroad differs by source of data, since
data is often reported either by citizenship or country of origin. Thus, the World Bank, OECD and the
European Union countries (through EUROSTAT or national censuses) provide data whose numbers vary
considerably even though the magnitudes are indisputable.
A survey by IOM in 2006 noted that the vast majority of emigrant Kenyans residing outside the African
continent are in the United Kingdom, and that Tanzania ranks as the major country of destination of
Kenyans residing elsewhere in Africa (Table 12.9).The table also provides insights on Kenyan emigrants’
remittances. The highest amount of remittances is from the United Kingdom, with United States a
distant second.

Table 12.9 Number of Kenyans residing abroad and remittances sent by country of residence,
2006
Country of
residence
Number of
Kenyans
residing
Percent of
emigrant
Kenyans
residing
Workers’ remittances sent
through regular channels
(Millions of US Dollars)
Percent of
remittances sent
through regular
channels
United Kingdom 144,089 33 254 51
Tanzania 109,552 26 32 6
United States 48,250 11 94 19
Uganda 32,910 7 10 2
Canada 22,236 5 36 7
Germany 7,210 2 12 2
Other countries 63,077 14 56 11
Total 427,324 100 494 100
Source: IOM (2010), Table 1, page 5 (for details, see references).
Note: This table is inconsistent with Figure 3, which implies reliance on different sources of data.
The 2009 census reported 160,331 emigrants from Kenya, their origins almost evenly distributed in four
main provinces of emigration: 20.8 percent from Rift Valley province, 17.8 percent from Central, 17.1
percent from Nairobi and 15 percent from Nyanza (Government of Kenya, forthcoming).The conflicting
figures suggest that the various sources of data are irreconcilable.
Another study provides a picture of remittance flows into Kenya in 2004-2009, based on household
survey data (Table 12.10). On aggregate, remittances increased steadily until 2009 when they dipped
presumably because of the world economic crisis and the post-election violence in Kenya in 2008.
While remittances from ‘other’ sources increased steadily over the six-year period, those from North
America and Europe performed erratically.
Table 12.10 Remittance Flows in Kenya, 2004-2009
Aspect of
remittance
Year
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Volume (US $ millions) 338.3 382.0 407.6 573.6 611.2 609.2
By source
North America 61 59 57 50 50 52
Europe 26 27 28 34 32 26
Other 12 14 15 15 18 22
Source: Ngugi (20XX : 157), Table 6.1.
12.6 Brain Drain and Brain Circulation
The term brain drain denotes emigration of highly educated and skilled persons, often from the less
developed to the more developed countries. It has dominated literature since the 1960s when it was
considered a curse to the countries of origin (Glaser, 1978), but has since the 1980s been considered an
asset to those countries, particularly as a contributor to development (Oucho, 2003; yet other studies
consider its effects indeterminate (Ikenwilo, 2007; Oucho, 2010). There is no universally accepted
definition of ‘highly skilled’ worker; but popularly, highly skilled workers are individuals whose jobs
require knowledge and experience equivalent to a higher education/university degree, or those
with scientific or technological training obtained through the completion of tertiary level education.
According to the definitions cited by Özden (2005), skilled workers are those with an average education

of at least 16 years, and include managers, accountants, engineers, social workers and teachers, medical
and legal professionals, and scientists. The same author defines semi-skilled workers as those with an
average education between 12 and 16 years, including engineering technicians, police, secretaries,
and administrative assistants. However, McDonald and Crush (2001: 6-7) provide a definition of“skilled”
which goes beyond the conventional interpretation, arguing that:
“The functional core of an economy does not only consist of people with post-graduate degrees, in
well-paying, high-level corporate positions...It is also sustained by people, who, despite having no
advancedformaleducation,havestartedtheirownsuccessfulbusinesses,orplayacriticalroleinthe
public sector... anyone who has special training or work experience which is in relative short supply
in relation to the labour market as a whole.”
Whatever the connotation, “skilled” migration involves the movement by nationals with desired
vocational attributes that, when lost to other countries, denies the losing country opportunities for
developing itself if it had deployed such skills optimally. When both highly educated and skilled
Kenyans emigrate, they leave gaps in the country’s labour market, which can potentially undermine
development. To this end, Iredale (2001:16-18) identifies five typologies of skilled migration
distinguished by: 1) motivation (forced exodus; ethical emigration; brain drain; Government induced;
and industry led); 2) nature of source and destination (originating in less developed or more developed
countries and moving to more developed or less developed destinations); 3) channel or mechanism of
movement; 4) length of stay — permanent or circulatory/temporary; and 5) by mode of incorporation
(through integration) of the skilled into destination economies.
A study of the levels of international skilled emigration to OECD countries in 1990 and in 2000 ranked
Kenya in 29th position, with an emigration rate of 38.4 percent (Docquier etal., 2006).70
The study ranked
Kenya fourth in brain drain intensity when the sample was restricted to countries with populations
of up to five million; and third among African countries. The study reported further that immigrants
constituted 38 percent of Africans in the EU-15 in 2000, compared to 82 percent of the African stock in
the United States, implying heavier emigration to the latter (author’s emphasis). Indeed, the 2006 study
found that the share of Kenyan emigrants with tertiary education was much higher than that of the
unskilled: in 1990, 11 percent of Kenyan emigrants to the US had tertiary/university level education,
while only 0.2–0.3 percent had up to secondary level education, and 0.1 had only primary school
education (Docquier et al., 2006). If this is a pattern rather than a one-off situation, then these findings
suggest that Kenyans and African immigrants in general, are likely to be highly skilled. One of the
most adversely affected sectors by emigration in Kenya is the health sector, about which a 2005 study
made startling findings. It found that the total cost of educating a Kenyan medical doctor from primary
school to university was US$65,997; and that for every doctor who emigrates, the country loses about
US$517,931 worth of returns from the initial investment (Kirigia et al., 2006). The total cost of educating
one nurse from primary school to a college of health sciences was US$43,180, with their emigration
resulting in a loss of about US$338,868. The study concluded that developed countries continue to
deprive developing countries like Kenya of much needed, scarce human resources for health (and other
professionals), thus undermining the prospects of achieving development objectives, such as those
contained in the Millennium Development Goals.
70 In the abstract of their article, Docquier et al. (2006) clarify their methodology as follows: “An original data set on international migration by educational
attainment for 1990 and 2000 is used to analyze the determinants of brain drain from developing countries.The analysis starts with a simple decomposition of
the brain drain in two multiplicative components, the degree of openness of sending countries (measured by the average emigration rate) and the schooling
gap (measured by the education level of emigrants compared with natives). Regression models are used to identify the determinants of these components
and explain cross-country differences in the migration of skilled workers.”

12.6.1Triggers of Emigration
Against the backdrop of persistent labour activism over terms and conditions of employment in both
the health and education sectors in Kenya, emigration is likely to persist. In Kenya, there are educational
institutionsthat,throughaccreditation,recogniseeducationalequivalentsfromcurriculaofimmigrants’
countries of origin. In Nairobi and other major urban centres in the country, the country has permitted
the establishment of schools offering non-Kenyan curricula, such as the German, Swedish, and French
schools, the International School of Kenya, and a handful of other British and American preparatory
schools. While such schools are primarily for expatriates, they also attract a few Kenyans who can afford
their often exorbitant fees. Various foreign missions in Kenya also invest extensively in marketing their
cultures to Kenyan youths, including the British Council, Goethe Institute, French Cultural Centre,
and Italian Cultural Centre, to name a few. Such exposure to foreign values enhances the desire of, or
prospects for, young Kenyans’emigration to the respective home countries of the various institutions.
Yet, such outcomes merely follow a tradition whose foundations were laid around the time of
independence when a large number of Kenyans were sent overseas for higher education and skills
training.InthecontextoftheemergingColdWar,theUnitedStatesreceivedtheyoungKenyansthrough
the Mboya Airlift, even as the defunct Soviet Union and its Communist satellite states also received
students under the Odinga Airlift71
.Yet both the Western and Eastern bloc investments in the education
ofKenyansandpeoplesfromothernewlyindependentdevelopingcountrieswerenotentirelyaltruistic:
the anticipated influence of such graduates in the soon-to-be independent Governments contained
potential political and material benefits for their respective benefactors. However, while virtually all the
eastern-trained Kenyans promptly returned, some among the western trained ones never did, laying
the foundations of the contemporary brain drain phenomenon.
Figure 12.3 provides a ten-year record of emigration of Kenyans to the United States. Given Kenya’s
colonial links with the UK, it is interesting that three decades after independence, the number of
Kenyans going to the US was more than double that of those going to the UK.
Figure 12.3 Inflow of Immigrants from Kenya to the United States and United Kingdom
Source: Migration Policy Institute (2013).
Note: This figure depicts information that is inconsistent with data
on Table 9, which implies reliance on different sources of data.
71 As in the Cold War, newly independent Kenya’s politics soon became polarized between a right wing led by Tom Mboya who managed the US airlift, and a left
wing led by Oginga Odinga who oversaw the Eastern European scholarships.

During the middle years of ex-President Moi’s two and a half decades tenure (1978-2002), and especially
in the wake of the abortive 1982 coup d’etat, political repression and general economic uncertainty
drove a large number of Kenyans into self-exile, while many others who were already overseas either
postponed their return, or abandoned the idea of ever returning.The defeat of the independence party
KANU at the 2002 general elections encouraged some Kenyans to return and contribute to the National
Alliance Rainbow Coalition (NARC) party’s Economic Recovery Strategy which revived the economy.
However, rampant political parochialism would lead the country to near disaster over the 2005 national
referendum on the proposed constitution, and the 2007 presidential elections, deterring further return
migration from the Diaspora. Additional to these deterrents, the old Kenya constitution had provided
for exclusive Kenyan citizenship, meaning returning Kenyans who had struggled to acquire permanent
residence status in country of exile would have had to surrender such status, or return to Kenya as
non-citizens. With the dual citizenship provided for in the Kenya Constitution 2010, and the increasing
embrace of the Kenyan Diaspora in development, previous generations of emigrant Kenyans are likely
to become trans-national citizens.
Unemployment, rampant corruption, ethnicised politics and nepotism conspired with other
shortcomings to bring the country’s development to a halt under former President Moi (Oucho, 2002).
Unsurprisingly, by 2001 sizeable numbers of Kenyans resided in different countries in the developed
world, amongst others, US, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany and Sweden (Figure 12.4). Meanwhile,
Kenyan students have continued to dominate the African student populations abroad: in 2001-2002,
for example, Kenya had the highest number of African students in the US, numbering 7,097 compared
to 3,820 Nigerians, 2,672 Ghanaians, 2,409 Egyptians and 2,232 South Africans. In 2009, the top five
countries of origin for the 1.5 million African immigrants in the United States were Nigeria (14.1%),
Ethiopia (9.9%), Egypt (9.3%), Ghana (7.3%) and Kenya (5.8%) (McCabe, 2011).
It is, therefore, not surprising that the Kenya Government puts a premium on the Kenyan Diaspora and
its engagement with their motherland. The move towards the realisation of a Diaspora Policy and the
adoption of Citizenship Act 2011 underline the importance Kenya has attached to its Diaspora over the
last decade. In December 2011, the First Diaspora Homecoming Conference was held in Nairobi to woo
Kenyan investors to their country (Mwakilishi, 2011).
Figure 12 .4 Stock of Kenyan Immigrants for selected Countries
47.0
20.6
15.0
6.9
5.2
1.3
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
United States, 2001
Canada, 2001
United Kingdom, 2000
Australia, 2001
Germany, 2001
Sweden, 2001
Number of Kenyan Immigrants (000)
Source: Migration Policy Institute (2013)

Even in Germany, a most unlikely destination, the number of Kenyans more than doubled from 576
in 1980 to 1,222 by 1990, and reached more than 5,200 by the end of 2001. These figures reveal the
geographical spread of Kenyan emigrants across Europe, beyond the country’s historical European
partner, the UK. In sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya is perhaps the most dependable source of the kind of
human resources that emigrates among countries in the region. Throughout the 1990s, Kenyan
elementary and high school teachers were recruited to work in the island states of Comoros and
Seychelles, as well as in Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Republic of the Congo. This skilled emigrant
traffic has also gone to the buoyant southern African economies of South Africa, Botswana and Namibia,
and to Zimbabwe before its economic decline (Oucho, 1998).
OftenneglectedwheneverKenyanemigrationisconsideredistheemigrationofKenyanAsians(notably
Indians and Pakistanis) who have been an integral part of the country. At Kenya’s independence, some
of these took advantage of existing loopholes/permissiveness, to become triple citizens, of Kenya itself,
of the Asian country of origin, and of Britain which initially brought them and/or their ancestors to
Kenya. Today, many Kenyan emigrants of Asian origin have achieved economic success overseas while
maintaining links with the home country, such as Pakistan (Poros, 2001), and with Kenya where some
of their relatives still live. They have gone through successive phases from being indentured labour to
becoming business magnates, as globalisation has taken a firm grip on the world economy (Heizig,
2006). Clearly, Asians will be great beneficiaries of the new constitutional provision for dual citizenship,
as it will enable them to enjoy the economic fortunes they are likely to make in the country.
With stringent immigration controls in most developed countries of destination, Kenyans, like all other
African emigrants, have resorted to brain circulation, the movement back and forth between a country
of origin and a country of destination without recourse to permanent residence. The free spirit nature
of this practice might even make it more attractive than dual citizenship.
12.6.2 Brain Waste: An Unknown variant of Brain Drain
Most countries of emigration fail to grapple with the brain waste experienced by their nationals who
emigrated. Torres and Wittchen (2010), for instance, argue that most Kenyan immigrants who arrive
in developed countries experience brain waste working in situations, and consequently drawing
remuneration beneath their qualifications72
.Yet,Torres andWittchen’s (2010) evidence is contradictory:
in the 1970s, the probability of a Kenyan Bachelors degree holder getting skilled employment in the
US was 34 percent, rising to 38 percent in the 1980s, and to 59 percent in the 1990s. Additionally,
the authors found that about 71 percent of Kenyan emigrants with a Master’s degree got skilled jobs,
compared to 63 percent of those with professional/bachelor degrees. Thus, these data demonstrate
that brain waste diminishes among migrants with enhanced qualifications.
12.6.3 Imperfect knowledge of Emigration of Unskilled and Semi-skilled Kenyans
These unskilled and semi-skilled emigrant Kenyans are normally mainly destined for the Middle East
where they work as domestic workers, office assistants, truck drivers and such like occupations. Kenyan
newspapers report numerous cases of emigration of unskilled and semi-skilled Kenyan labour to the
Middle East, in particular domestic workers whose contractual agreements and individual rights were
violated by their employers, and who returned to the country under duress. Unfortunately, Kenyan
censuses have no figures on emigrants by occupation or skill levels, and the African countries receiving
large numbers of Kenyans might be reluctant to divulge their numbers through unofficial circles. While
some of the emigrant labour had been recruited by private recruitment agencies of low integrity in
72 The authors note that they included Kenya among their case studies because it is located centrally on the continent, with a population abroad that is among
highest of African countries, and is also among the top five African countries suffering from brain drain, and likely brain waste.

Kenya, resulting in problems at the emigrants’destinations, others went out of the country as irregular
emigrants: part of human trafficking and/or migrant smuggling. Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
receives Kenyan workers’complaints ranging from mistreatment, lack of payment of salaries, overwork,
denial of food and lack of communication opportunities with their relatives back home. As a result
of frequently reported cases of maltreatment of emigrant Kenyan workers in the Middle East, the
Government has had to suspend the recruitment of Kenyan workers to the region (Sing’oei, 2012). This
move might inadvertently spur irregular emigration: migrant trafficking and smuggling to the Middle
East. This category of emigrants can be considered illegal in the destination countries where they
possess no immigration documents, and irregular given the mode of migration as interpreted by the
two trafficking and smuggling protocols – HTP and MSP respectively.
12.7 Irregular Migration: Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling
There are good prospects for irregular emigration of Kenyans, especially to the Middle East, involving
both trafficking and smuggling. Broadly speaking, irregular migration is “international movement or
residency in conflict with migration laws”, or “crossing borders without proper authority, or violating
conditions for entering another country”(Jordan and Duvell, 2002:15). The confusion in academic and
policy discourses in interpreting trafficking as opposed to smuggling might arise in Kenya where both
phenomena are occurring, with Kenya as an origin, transit or destination country, or a combination of
all three. ‘Trafficking’ involves dealing in people who have been deceived, threatened or coerced into
exploitation(includingprostitution),whereas‘smuggling’involvesthewillingpurchasebyaprospective
migrant of services to circumvent immigration restrictions (Carling, 2006: 9). While Articles 27-30 of the
Kenyan Constitution underscore freedom of movement, Article 30 specifically protects against slavery
and servitude, which are characteristic of human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The country
criminalizes the trafficking of children and adults for sexual exploitation through its Sexual Offences Act,
enacted in July 2006, which prescribes penalties considered sufficiently stringent and commensurate
with those for rape.This Act is in tandem with the Employment Act of 2007 which outlaws forced labour
and which contains additional statutes relevant to labour trafficking (US Department of State, 2008).
Trafficking does not affect unskilled and semi-skilled emigrant labour only; it also involves graduates
from Kenya: Haddadi (2012) reports that an international human trafficking ring works with employees
of some embassies in Kenya to trick gullible Kenyans into forced labour in the United Arab Emirates,
Saudi Arabia, and Qatar; but the exact numbers of graduates trafficked or smuggled is unknown given
the sensitivity of the matter.
Through research, IOM sought to establish a baseline on human trafficking in Eastern Africa,
distinguishing the push factors from the pull factors (IOM, 2008: 5-6). The research also sought to
establish the profiles of trafficked persons and the traffickers, the processes through which victims are
recruited, and for what alleged purposes, the origins, transit modes and routes, and the destination
areas of trafficking, and the health challenges faced by trafficking victims.The IOM research established
that for Kenya, the groups most predisposed for trafficking included bar workers, prostitutes, domestic
workers, orphans, refugees and street children (p. 18). Kenya was the destination of human trafficking
from Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, and Somalia and as far away as South Africa (p. 14). Except for domestic
work in trafficking destinations that the media has been reporting as reserved for women and girls,
men worked as manual labourers, skilled/semi-skilled/professionals, in the streets, as entertainers and
in other informal/illegal work (p. 32).
The main lesson drawn from the IOM study is on the extent of destruction human trafficking visits on
the victims who may never overcome their trauma despite extensive rehabilitation. An IOM counter-
trafficking officer stated that:

“Mombasa is a source, destination and route of trafficking. Individuals, especially girls from
as far as Uganda, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo come to Kenya with hopes
of linking up with rich tourists but some of them unfortunately turn them into sex slaves.
Brothels and massage parlours have turned to be exploitation dens for foreign young wom-
en... victims are trafficked from Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda
and Somalia and are coerced to work in these establishments, increasing their vulnerability
to sexual exploitation or (are) forced into prostitution.”
The Executive Director of Trace, a counter trafficking organisation based in Mombasa, observed that
other victims of trafficking and smuggling are ferried by traffickers through Mombasa as a transit route:
the victims are brought from Asia and Pakistan through the town, learn Kiswahili and then work for
other Asians, eventually heading to Canada and Europe (Mudi and Oriedo, 2009).
ForKenyans,researchestablishedthatthemainperpetratorsofhumantraffickingwereownersofstores
(15%), followed by unskilled manual labourers (14%), semi-skilled manual labourers (10%) and other
persons (11%) (IOM, 2008: 56).The health risks of trafficking that were identified at rehabilitation centres
were extensive, and were experienced at recruitment points, in transit, at destinations and on return
migration (IOM, 2008: 63). Mudi and Oriedo (2009) report that in November 2008, the police discovered
a Nairobi syndicate from which it rescued 76 women who were being trafficked to Saudi Arabia, having
already received money for their medical tests and visas. It is likely that many such enterprises are
undetected, disguised as private agencies recruiting unskilled labour for overseas placement. The
victims of human trafficking and migrant smuggling fall prey to various tricks.The IOM’s (2008) baseline
study of Eastern Africa provides useful insights into this criminalised phenomenon, whereby the main
traffickers were females.
12.8 Kenya in the Regional Migration context
Kenya is a member of four Regional Economic Communities (REC) serving different African sub-regions,
as listed in Table 11. All the RECs embrace — even if only nominally — protocols underlining the “free
movement”of populations, as well as capital and products, to enhance the scope for sharing common
opportunities and challenges. In several contexts within these RECs, Kenya enjoys a comparative
advantage which in some instances attracts admiration, while in others, it incurs displeasure, as Kenya
is seen to benefit disproportionately, such as over employment opportunities. The latter prejudice is
surprising given that emigrant skilled labour is readily recruited in virtually all the member states of
respective RECs, and that virtually all African RECs have, albeit incompletely, adopted protocols on free
movement (‘facilitation of movement’in the case of the Southern Africa Development Cooperation) of
the factors of production. As the RECs have not made major strides in implementing existing protocols,
the ‘free movement’ ideal remains just that, an ideal. Table 12.11 suggests that free movement is
important in the listed protocols; but prejudices such as mentioned above suggest the need for
research to delve into and document citizen perceptions of the protocols and their implementation
(Oucho, 2012).

Table 12.11 Kenya’s membership in Regional Economic Communities
REC Date of
formation
Member States
CEN-SAD (Community of Sahel-Saharan
States)
Free movement of persons, capital and
observance of the interests of member
states’nationals
1998 Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic,
Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, the Comoros, Djibouti,
Egypt, Eritrea, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Kenya, Mali,
Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome
and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia,
Sudan, Togo, Tunisia
COMESA
Free movement of persons, labour,
services, right of establishment and
residence
1993 Burundi, the Comoros, Democratic Republic
of Congo , Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius,
Rwanda, Somalia, Seychelles, Sudan, Uganda,
Zambia, Zimbabwe
EAC
Protocol on the Establishment of the EAC
Common Market has Free Movement
of goods, persons, labour, services and
capital, right of establishment and
residence
2001 Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda
IGADa
Development of a protocol underway
1996 Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan,
South Sudan, Uganda
Source: Oucho (1998: 266), Table 7.1; updated from Wikipedia.
a
Eritrea has withdrawn its membership of the REC, a decision which IGAD endorsed given the
intransigence of the state.
12.9 Consequences and Implications of International Migration
12.9.1 UN International Migration Instruments and Policymaking in Kenya
The signing of a UN instrument is one thing; but its ratification never guarantees implementation.
That Kenya has signed five of the six UN instruments on the different characteristics of international
migration, suggesting commitment73
; yet, the country has dithered on implementation. Most surprising
is Kenya’s failure to sign the 1990 MWC when it is both a country of origin and a destination of huge
numbers of migrant workers who might be accompanied by members of their families.Thus, Kenya can
both expel immigrant workers and receive Kenyan workers expelled from other countries.
12.9.2 Threat of Heavy Immigration from Different Regions
A cursory review of how Kenya handles immigration issues suggests that heavy inflows of people from
diverse origins threaten the political and socio-economic fabric of the society. While the Congolese,
South Sudanese, Ethiopians and Somalis came into the country as refugees, many of these have
remained in the country long after the restoration of order in their respective countries. The last three
groups have taken undue advantage of coming from contiguous states to stay and do business, some of
them without the necessary immigration papers or work permits. A more curious feature is the growing
number of West Africans in Nairobi. A number of citizens of Mali, Senegal, Cameroun and Nigeria, who
live in Nairobi engage in street vending and other unskilled occupations that should be reserved for
73 Except for the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, the country has signed the refugee-based
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951), the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (1967); the OAU/AU Convention Governing the Specific
Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (1969); the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000); and
Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (2000). The latter two fall within the United Nations Convention against Transnational Crime.

Kenyans. It is a category of immigrants requiring careful research into who they are and what they do
for a living because they could be a great expense to the country. Kenya’s Business Daily (2013) reported
a ban on foreign workers earning below Kshs168,000 (about US$1,976) per month, or those below 35
years of age from securing work permits74
.
There is some evidence that the unstable situation in Somalia has adverse consequences for Kenya.
Remittances to Somali refugees — most probably also financed by piracy revenues — are enabling
Somalis in Kenya, including refugees, to take over key areas of the Central Business District economy,
such as forex bureaux, restaurants, business and residential real estate, and are moving deeper into the
countryside, such as in introducing high-tech fishing methods in Lake Victoria. Moreover, the refugees
unwillingness to live in designated camps compounds the threat already posed by the Al Shabaab
terrorist group. Indeed, it is conceivable that the refugee situation could have been one of the causes
of the mismanagement of 2009 census in North Eastern Province, which led to delayed publication of
the comprehensive census results.
12.10 Contribution of the Kenyan Diaspora in Homeland Development
Some analysts have observed that migration by Africans is an emigration–Diaspora–return continuum
(Adepoju,2006,quotedinKinuthiaandAkinyoade(2012).Inthe1960sand1970s,emigration,especially
of the highly skilled and educated, was considered a drain of a country’s human resources. However,
some analysts like Glaser (1978) considered the brain drain a“safety valve”to leverage unemployment.
Thus, emigration of highly educated and skilled Kenyans was to be seen as an employment opportunity
for graduates at various levels of the education system who increasingly failed to obtain paid jobs
while also finding it difficult to go into viable self-employment.Today, a growing number of developing
countries and international institutions now view migrants in the Diaspora as an antidote to the very
brain drain that some people saw their departure to have created, with a great role to play in national
development. A paramount factor here is that migrants can contribute to developing their countries of
origin through remittances, gifts or even investments.
12.10.1 Foundations of the Kenyan Diaspora
It was earlier stated that the foundations of the Kenyan Diaspora were laid by the academic airlifts of
the late 1950s and early 1960s. The initiative was part of a cultural programme organised under the
auspices of the African-American Students Foundation (AASF), which sponsored African students at
the height of Africa’s decolonisation between 1959 and 1963. This US initiative was countered by one
to the communist East; and India and later China, which also offered further opportunities for Kenyan
students. Yet one important phenomenon emerged in the US airlift: some Kenyan students opted for
US citizenship, which became an implicit challenge to other young Kenyans to follow in their wake to
the‘El Dorado’.
The number of emigrant Kenyans has increased, with large communities being found in UK, US and
the Far East. It is estimated that in 2006, approximately 430,000 Kenyans — approximately 1.1 percent
of the current national population — were residing abroad (World Bank, 2007a, quoted in IOM, 2010:
vii). Recent evidence suggests that Kenyans in the Diaspora represent eight percent of all Kenyans, with
some working and others studying (World Bank, 2011). The big increases in the volume of remittances,
and in the face of threats to the country’s traditional exports, such as tea and coffee as well as tourism,
Kenya places a special interest in remittances. This explains the Government’s encouragement for the
Diaspora to participate in national development, with the real estate sector attracting a substantial
74 See http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Kenya-locks-out-young-and-low-paid-foreign-workers-/-/539550/1450584/-/1408lhs/-/index.
html; accessed on 17 February 2013

part of remittances. According to Matunda Nyanchama, a successful Kenyan information computer
technologist, entrepreneur, and publisher in Canada, “Kenyans occupy almost every profession and
job as engineers, business people, professors, doctors, nurses, technicians, factory workers, babysitters,
and watchmen, among others.” During preparations for the 2013 General Election, it was estimated
that about one million Kenyans live in North America alone. Some estimates put the Kenyan Diaspora
at over 2.5 million in North America, Southern Africa and the neighbouring Eastern African countries.75
These divergent estimates are, however, not based on sound Kenyan data or from the countries of
destination. The Diaspora growth can increase remittances that could substitute foreign exchange
constraints.
12.11 Migrants’Remittances
Kenya receives, on average, 60 percent of total remittances to East Africa, and an average of 10 percent
of all remittances to the sub-Saharan Africa region (Ngugi, 2011:157). In 2009, inward remittances to
Kenya stood at US$1.7 billion, representing 5.4 percent of GDP (World Bank, 2011). A study by the
World Bank put total remittances by Kenyans in the diaspora in 2010 at $1.9 billion, about 20 percent
of Kenya’s current annual budget. As with most such data, however, the figures differ according to data
sources and conceptualisation.
One analysis of the remittance service provider (RSP) market in Kenya found service gaps, inefficiencies,
and unmet demand, especially among low-income groups and micro- and small-business enterprises
(Kabbucho, Sander and Mukwana 2003, quoted in Ngugi, 2011). FinScope Kenya (2007) found that
the mobile-phone money transfer service M-PESA — which entered the domestic remittance market
in 2007 - had become the most popular mode of domestic money transfers, and is currently working
with Western Union to kick off cross-border money transfer services (Ngugi, 2011). Other mobile
telecommunications providers, such as Airtel and Yu, have followed in M-PESA’s wake. Additionally,
various commercial banks have also introduced mobile-phone money transfer facilities to any of the
networks in Kenya, such as Kenya Commercial Bank with MOBI76
. The Central Bank’s (CBK) record of
remittances to the country summarised in Figure 12.5 shows a rising trend in the four years under
review, even if the figures have not been adjusted for inflation (2008-2012).
Figure 12.5 Remittances to Kenya, 2008-2012
Source: Central Bank of Kenya (2012)
75 The draft Diaspora Policy of Kenya, dated 9 March 2011, estimates a 3 million Kenyan Diaspora, a figure that has been quoted almost everywhere; see Republic
of Kenya, Diaspora Policy of Kenya (draft), March 2011, p.6.
76 Kenya is the first country in Africa to use M-PESA—a Safaricom service (in partnership with Vodafone) that provides a fast, safe, and affordable way to transfer
money by mobile phone. The system has been introduced for Kenyans living in diaspora with the result that they now transfer funds through mobile-phone
system rather than through the more expensive money transfer organisations (MTOs) such as Western Union or Money Gram.

The 2010 IOM study found that majority of its respondents sent remittances to support their families
(83.1%);butothernon-exclusiveprioritiesincludedbusinessesandinvestments(23.8%)andcommunity
development (19.9%) (IOM, 2010: 14). Remittances for business and investment, and for community
development, were more common among the respondents with a household income above £50,000
and those educated to the Masters level. This indicates that there may be a positive correlation
between level of education and ability to initiate investments in a migrant’s country of origin. Perhaps
the mushrooming of the real estate sector in Nairobi and other Kenyan towns is attributable — even if
only partially so — to the steady inflow of diaspora remittances to the country.
12.12 Diaspora Participation in Kenya’s Political Changes
The Kenyan Diaspora has played an important role in Kenya’s political advances, leading to significant
improvements in democratisation and good governance, witnessed especially since 2002. In their
associations and links with other well-wishers, the Kenyan Diaspora has participated effectively in the
socio-political and economic discourses taking place at home. These include raising funds to support
presidential and parliamentary candidates in the 2002 and 2007 general elections, and sustained
technical contributions to the 20 year constitutional review that eventually led to the August 2010
promulgation of a new constitution incorporating dual citizenship.The Diaspora has also helped Kenya
to nurture modern technology, notably increased ICT utilisation.
Diaspora Kenyans have also sustained their national identity by participating in a variety of cultural
activities and commercial ventures; yet, certain parochial stereotypes still constrain solidarity among
them to the extent of reconstructing ethnic identities abroad, such as in Kikuyus dominating the Boston
area, while Luos identify with New Jersey and Dallas, and Kisiis with Minneapolis. This characteristic is,
however,consistentwiththenetworktheoryofinternationalmigration(Masseyetal.,1993:448-9)which
arguesthat“migrantnetworksaresetsofinter-personaltiesthatconnectmigrants,formermigrants,and
non-migrants in origin and destination areas through ties of kinship, friendship, and shared community
origin.” Such ties — effectively, social capital — increase the likelihood of international movement by
lowering the costs and risks of movement, while increasing the expected net returns to migration.
One way in which to gauge the Kenyan diaspora’s vibrancy is with its solidarity in scholarship. In
2008, the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA) was founded to promote scientific research
and scholarship, cooperation and to facilitate the dissemination of information and publications on
Kenya. Its role can be clearly accessed in the website http://kessa.org/home/conferences and on its
online peer-reviewed academic journal, the Kenya Studies Review, as well as through the books it has
published. Meanwhile, Kenyan students and its enterprising professional class have been attracted to
seek greener pastures in Australia because of its liberalised immigration policy.
12.13.1 Challenges
Among the biggest challenges in discussing international migration is the dearth of data which
constrains meaningful and detailed analysis and interpretation of context. In Kenya, while the periodic
censuses have generated immigration data, and lately emigration data, a number of potential datasets
remainuntapped.Suchsourcesincludedataonvisasandworkpermits,border-postdataandpassenger
surveys at international airports. Second, no international labour market surveys have been undertaken
to inform Kenya about its immigrant labour, especially those trafficked and smuggled to undertake
jobs that Kenyans are overqualified for. Third, information on emigrant Kenyans is incomplete, leaving
room for speculation on the size and profile of the Diaspora, including such information as current and

previous employment and residence. While the nature and character of the Diaspora can be gleaned
from its involvement in Kenya’s development (such as through remittances), its meetings at emigration
destinations, and occasional homecoming ventures, do not provide a comprehensive perspective of
the phenomenon. The perpetually growing refugee stock (see Table 12.8) poses serious challenges to
Kenya’s development, including the peaceful implementation of the Constitution (2010) and successful
containment of the threat of terrorism in contiguous states. Kenya’s comparative peace, stability and
prosperity in the Eastern Africa means it is likely to continue to offer refuge to people from unstable
states, making it imperative for policy to address the refugee burden in the context of the country’s
international obligations.
Immigration to Kenya, and emigration from it, has hitherto taken place devoid of a national migration
policy77
. Yet UNDESA data, presumably collected from authoritative Government sources, reveals that
Kenya views both its immigration and emigration situations as satisfactory and wishes to maintain
the status quo. It is time, however, for Kenya to devote attention to desirable effects of immigration
and emigration with a view to sustaining them while taking steps to eliminate undesirable effects. The
country’s dual citizenship policy has far-reaching implications for substantive or would-be takers that
need to be periodically monitored and evaluated to assess impact; which has led to the Government’s
launch of new regulations for work permits78
. To this end, the Kenya Citizen and Foreign Nationals
Management Services Board has the onerous task of reviewing existing migration management
policies, and promptly acting on the findings. Given the persistent complaints from Kenyan emigrants
to the Middle East, the country requires properly crafted bilateral arrangements for the mutual benefit
of both emigrant labour and its employers.
A related issue that is emerging among Kenyans, who have hitherto not been xenophobic, is concern
with the growing number of immigrants of diverse backgrounds who come to, or stay on in the country
after retirement. This is an area that policy must target before it precipitates into the xenophobia that
has been observed in southern Africa’s buoyant economies (Crush and Pendleton, 2004). The Kenyan
case appears in recent newspaper reports which indicate that Kenyans are increasingly becoming
wary of immigrants from non-English speaking countries, and even from English-speaking ones whose
nationalswereformerlybannedfromcomingtothecountry.Thewaveofxenophobiahasbeenbuilding
especially against Somalis, following a spate of bomb and grenade attacks on churches and minibuses
attributed to the Al-Shabaab insurgents of Somalia and their recruited agents operating in Kenya.
The challenges mentioned in the previous sub-section can be transformed into opportunities. For
example, the large Kenyan Diaspora has been sufficiently active in the country’s recent political
deliberations as to achieve the constitutionalisation of dual citizenship, which has opened up avenues
for enhanced Diaspora participation in national development. Also, Kenya has made significant
contributions to brokering peace in countries formerly torn apart by the war: South Sudan’s 2009 peace
accord with Khartoum led to the birth of Africa’s newest nation in July 2011; and Kenya’s intervention in
Somalia has uprooted insurgents, allowing the re-establishing of a civilian Government. Additionally,
since NARC Government’s accession to power in 2003, Kenya has introduced legislation that should
improve the context within which international migration occurs, such as the Counter-Trafficking in
Persons Act (2010) which seeks to manage human trafficking.
To the extent that constrained opportunities for gainful employment drove emigration, the Kenya
77 During 20XX, IOM sponsored work on a Kenyan migration policy which is yet to be presented to stakeholders. It is hoped the policy will be broad enough to
capture different types of international migration discussed above, and strategies for managing them.
78 See http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Kenya-locks-out-young-and-low-paid-foreign-workers-/-/539550/1450584/-/1408lhs/-/index.html

Vision 2030 and constitutional devolution to county Governments will provide great opportunities for
prospective returnees, or individuals wishing to exploit dual citizenship and/or brain circulation. An
underlying imperative of Vision 2030 is that the Government will make Kenya an increasingly attractive
investment destination, attracting international capital, including that held by Kenyans in the Diaspora
Kenyans. In turn, devolved system of Government has shifted the locus of extensive public spending
from Nairobi to the counties, which will now become a new locus for investment spending, including
by Kenyans in the Diaspora.
12.14 Some Policy Recommendations
Like many other SSA countries, Kenya has a dearth of data on international migration, among the
reasons for this being the lack of a broad-based migration data policy79
. To this end, the country should
emulate the IOM (2010) study in the United Kingdom and the work of countries, such as India, the
Philippines, and Jamaica that have succeeded in accounting for their people in the Diaspora. Such
work should gauge the extents of Kenya’s brain drain, brain waste and brain circulation in the West
and in other loci of emigrant labour, including the Middle East and the rest of Africa. Indeed, attention
to South-South migration has already been the focus of research designed to develop bilateral and
multilateral arrangements with pertinent partners80
. With the dual citizenship policy adopted recently,
Kenya must be prepared to compete with the countries where its citizens reside in wooing them to
acknowledge the ambivalence of some of their lifestyles abroad and its implications for individuals and
the country.
Kenya’s involvement in international migration agenda in RECs, at the AU and at the global level should
be manifested in its ratifying and implementing international migration instruments. Given that
Kenya is a country of origin, transit and destination of legal and illegal migrants, it should complete
its commitment to the entire slate of statutory migration management instruments by signing the
Convention Governing the Protection ofWorkers and Members ofTheir Families (1990). However, given
the many challenges in the comprehensive adoption or domestication of international instruments,
Kenya has to establish a carefully designed domestic programme for accession to the requirements of
such frameworks.
The country should develop policy to guide the judicious utilisation of Diaspora remittances,
while recognising them as private flows subject to market forces. Such endeavours should draw
on international experiences, such as the Mexican three-in-one system, to ensure the injection of
county and central Government funds into the pool of remittances, thereby augmenting revenue for
development. An important recommendation is for Kenya to appreciate“social remittances”— norms,
non-monetary remittances such as practices, identities and social capital (Levitt, 2001). While values
such as democratization, good governance and transparency have been dear to Kenyans throughout
the independence years, it is likely that Diaspora pressure was instrumental in shaping and bringing to
closure the Constitution promulgated in August 2010, after two decades of a tussle on this landmark
political change.
With respect to refugees, research should target the South Sudanese, Ethiopians and Somalis to
investigate their unwillingness to return to their countries even after normalcy has been restored.There
could be legitimate apprehensions behind their reluctance to return, or they might have become so
Kenyan that returning to their countries might disrupt their lifestyles. Another research area would be
79 Through the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Observatory on Migration, IOM recently commissioned a study on the availability of migration data, and the
capacity building needs for that data’s effective management. That commission’s output should chart the way forward for improved data management.
80 The ACP Migration Observatory, Brussels, commissioned the African Migration and Development Policy Centre (AMADPOC) to conduct an“Assessment of the
Kenyan Policy Framework concerning South-South Labour Migration”.

to have a matched survey of home-based citizens to establish the extent to which they share certain
events in Kenya, or whether they are polarised in their perceptions of and attitudes toward each other. A
research carried out in Kenya and Tanzania in 2009 found that home-based citizens have both positive
and negative perceptions of, and attitudes towards, the Diaspora (AMADPOC, 2012).
Conclusion
Kenya finds itself at a crossroads of increasing immigration and emigration which policymakers have
to grapple with despite the lack of substantive research evidence, and the consequent absence of
pertinent policies and programmes.
Diaspora remittances are playing a key role in Kenya’s development. They need to be studied more
closely to acquire an improved picture of the context in which they are made, such as knowing remitters
by background characteristics, reasons for, and frequencies of remittances, the recipients of remittances
and their utilisation of the resources, and the overall socio-economic impacts of remittances..

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PART 4
CHAPTER 13: INEQUALITIES AND THE EXERCISE OF RIGHTS
“Inequality reduces the pace of human development and in some cases may even prevent it entirely.”
(UNDP, Human Development Report 2013, Page 29)
13.1 Introduction
Inequality refers to differences or variations in an attribute or group of attributes of individuals,
households, communities and society. These differences or variations may be biological or natural,
while others are artificial — due to social, economic and political arrangements in society. Inequalities
that arise from social arrangements that are unjust — i.e. contrary to the common notions of fairness,
are referred to as inequities (Whitehead, 1990). According to Whitehead’s conceptualization, all
inequities arise from some form of inequality, but not all inequalities may be considered inequitable,
i.e. unjust. Although poverty and income inequality are different, they are intimately connected
because a significant fraction of the high poverty rates encountered in some societies are attributable
to acute levels of economic inequality (UNFPA, 2010)81
. High levels of inequality have been associated
with a greater prevalence of conflict and violence in societies which consequently become unable to
respond to economic development challenges (Development, 2007). Besides linkages between levels
of poverty, average income level and income inequality (Ravallion, 1997; Bigsten and Levin 2000),
human rights advocates suggest that discrimination, which is a key underlying cause of inequality,
is also linked to poverty because it limits the ability of people to participate in the development of
poverty reduction strategies (Human Rights Watch, 2013; Development, 2007). Inequalities related to
human rights violations partly result from weak accountability mechanisms, and partly from the lack of
knowledge among the excluded and vulnerable groups, on how to make their voices heard.
Previous studies in Kenya show striking inequalities in human welfare that are manifest in various
dimensions (World Bank, 2008; Nyanjom, 2011; Kiringai, 2006). These differences are not only due to
climatic and agro-ecological differences, but also from the effects of Government policies. Although
Kenya is well-known for devoting resources to relatively wealthier populations rather than to those
who are poor or hard to reach (HPI, 2010), evidence indicates that this mis-prioritisation applies to other
developing countries as well (HPI 2007; Castro-Leal et. al., 2000). It is in this respect, that the Government
of Kenya has placed greater emphasis on developing strategies and policies to overcome the challenges
of inequality and poverty in relation to development (Republic of Kenya, 1965; 2003; 2008 and 2012a).
The observed substantial intra- and inter-regional disparities in poverty and inequality levels in Kenya
(KNBS, 2007a; World Bank, 2008) may reflect complex features resulting from interactions between
agro-ecological heritages and public policies, as well as due to socio-cultural beliefs and practices
(social arrangements).
This chapter summarizes the population related inequalities in Kenya with an emphasis on reproductive
health, a domain which is linked to poverty through various choices that people make, which govern
81 The definition of poverty has been debated extensively.The most commonly used measures of poverty have been based on food/calorie intake or expenditure
levels. The 2005/06 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) estimated the absolute poverty based on expenditure levels. Kenya’s 2001 Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) defined poverty as: the inadequacy of income needs and the lack of access to productive assets; social infrastructure,
and markets (Ministry of Finance and Planning, 2001). More generally, poverty is multidimensional and denotes people’s exclusion from socially adequate
living standards and it encompasses a range of deprivations that include: economic (income, livelihoods, decent work), human (health, education), political
(empowerment, rights, voice), socio-cultural (status, dignity) and protective (insecurity, risk, vulnerability) (see also 1995 United Nations World Summit on
Social Development). While a concern between poverty and income is understandable and immediate; but inequality is a step beyond. Poverty is the lack
of access to acceptable/decent levels of social, political and economic opportunities, which income is just one of the set. There can be massive income
inequalities without poverty, such as if the Government subsidises goods and services.

mortality, pregnancies, births, marriage and reproduction. With respect to population sizes and trends,
inequality typically refers to three aspects of demographic change, namely the: (i) risk of early mortality;
(ii) final fertility intensity; and iii) timing of fertility (UNFPA, 2012). These three areas of potential
disparity reflect the systemic pattern inherent in the population dynamics of poverty (UNFPA, 2012). It
also examines attempts to reduce inequalities through the application of a rights-based perspective in
policy and interventions targeted towards the most socially vulnerable groups.
13.1.1 Rationale
Historically, Kenya has been characterized by sharp inequalities across key socioeconomic dimensions
(Republic of Kenya 2007,World Bank 2008). A critical feature of inequalities among Kenyan communities
is their respective agro-ecological heritages (Okwi et al, 2006; see also Appendix 2)82
. However, a key
driver of the differences based on natural heritages stems from the significance placed on them by
colonial policies since the late 19th
Century, which shaped colonial settlement patterns and resulted
in imbalanced infrastructural development. Thus, areas that were inhabited by the settlers had better
access to education, health and roads infrastructure (World Bank, 2008; ILO, 1972). Colonial settlement
largely focused on the high agricultural potential areas of Central and Rift Valley provinces, and led to
the emergence of a class society based largely on land ownership. The first independence Government
did little to redress the inherited inequalities, and instead, espoused policies that underscored them.
Contemporary Kenya has not moved substantially away from the policies that ignored nature-based
differences, or those that exacerbated their effects, the net effect being that these are the bases of the
country’s unequal patterns of development, and levels of poverty and inequality.
Sessional Paper No. 10 of 1965 is widely recognized as the inaugural post-independence policy
instrument that guided subsequent Government programs. Some of the key concerns were to foster
rapid economic growth, and to Africanize the economy by correcting past racial imbalances (Republic
of Kenya, 1965). However, its implementation created more imbalances, particularly with respect to the
management of the acquisition of land left by European settlers, and in terms of access to education and
employment (ILO, 1972). The National Development Plan 1964-1970 re-emphasized investments and
allocation of funds in the high potential areas since these areas had the greatest return on investment
(Republic of Kenya, 1964), with the gains being shared equitably (ILO, 1972). Similarly, Sessional Paper
No. 1 of 1986 further indicated the need to invest in high priority potential areas. In the late 1980s and
early 1990s, the Kenya Government implemented Structural Adjustment Programs83
. As a result, Kenya
introduced cost sharing in the health and education sectors, which, for example, worsened existing
inequalities in access to health services by preventing vulnerable groups from seeking appropriate
health care (Huber 1993; Quick and Musau, 1994).
Kenya Vision 2030, the country’s current long-term development blueprint, not only aims at improving
equity in access to opportunities by geographical units, income status, sex and age, but also emphasizes
equal political liberties and entitlements to human rights for all. In order to achieve the goal of a socially-
just and equitable society,Vision 2030 specifies the following objectives, among others: raising average
annual incomes; avoiding gross disparities while rewarding talent and investment risks in a manner
that is deemed socially just and therefore not politically destabilizing; reducing poverty from the
current level (46%) by between three and nine percent; and implementing policies that minimize the
differences in income opportunities and access to social services across Kenya’s geographical regions
(Republic of Kenya, 2012: 152).
82 See also http: www.infonet-biovision.org
83 The immediate reason for implementing SAPs was to fulfill World BanK/IMF conditions for qualifying for development aid

13.1.2 Measurement Inequality
According to UNDP’s Human Development Report (HDR) 2011, measuring inequalities and inequities
canbeproblematicbecausetheyhaveaspectsthatarenoteasilyquantifiableorobserved(UNDP,2011).
HDR 2011 indicated that because of difficulties in measuring inequities, distribution in inequalities
can be used as proxy measures of inequity. In this chapter, we use a wealth index (wealth quintiles)
generated from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) to measure aspects of poverty84
.
Inequalities can be measured by three indicators, namely; absolute differences, relative differences and
concentration index (see technical note number 1 in the Annex)85
.
The concentration index lies between –1 and +1.The magnitude of the index reflects both the strength
of the relationship and the degree of variability.That is, for outcomes that decline as conditions improve
(e.g. mortality or total fertility rates) the index ranges from -1 reflecting perfect inequality to zero for
perfect equality. For outcomes that increase as conditions improve (e.g. contraceptive prevalence), one
indicates perfect inequality and zero means perfect equality.
13.2 Overview of Poverty Levels and Income Related Inequality
Based on analyses of data from the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey of 2005/2006 (hereafter,
KIBHS), almost half of the Kenya population (47%) lived in poverty, 85 percent of whom were in rural
areas, meaning the poverty incidence was considerably lower in urban areas (KNBS, 2007a). These
KIHBS data reported in Table 13.1 suggest that the national poverty level had declined markedly from
the 57 percent level estimated from the household welfare survey of 1997 (World Bank, 2008).
Table 13.1 Poverty Estimates 2005/2006
Poverty Measure5
Headcount (%) Number Poor (millions)
National Overall 46.6 16.6
Food 45.8 16.3
Severe 19.5 6.9
Urban Overall 34.4 2.5
Food 40.4 2.9
Severe 8.3 0.6
Rural Overall 49.7 14.1
Food 47.2 13.4
Severe 22.3 6.3
The Fourth Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA-IV) of 2006 conducted by the Kenya National Bureau
of Statistics (KNBS) gathered qualitative information on community perceptions of poverty (KNBS,
200b7). It revealed that both rural and urban communities considered extreme poverty to be closely
linked to food consumption.The report further indicated that a majority of respondents described poor
people as those who are never sure of their next meal, depend on others for survival, have dilapidated
housing, and are poorly dressed and cannot even afford second-hand clothes (KNBS, 2007b; World
Bank, 2008). Generally, poor people do not own property (such as land) and work on other households’
farms to earn a living. Poor people were said to be always in poor health and unable to afford to educate
their children.
84 If a sample or population is arranged from the lowest (earner, consumer, etc) to the highest, and the distribution is divided into 5 equal groups, the group of
the poorest members is termed quintile 1 while the richest/least poor group is quintile 5.
85 Indices showing differences or ratios between the lowest quintile (Q1) and the highest quintile (Q5) are simple and easy to understand. The concentration
index is more complex; but it has the advantage of measuring inequality across the whole distribution at once.

World Bank (2008) estimates of Kenyan inequality showed that the national consumption decile ratio
rose from 13 to 19 between the 1997 and 2005/2006 household surveys, indicating large and growing
inequality86
. Further, almost 28 percent of overall inequality was attributed to the differences between
the rural and urban populations. However, the bulk of inequality is within rural areas alone, and within
urban areas alone.
Kenya has been characterized by considerable variation in poverty levels across provinces and districts.
Analysis of KIHBS data found that the poverty incidences in Nairobi and Central provinces are far below
the national average (see Figure 13.1), with the two regions combined contributing only 12 percent
of national poverty (KNBS, 2007). Conversely, the poverty incidence was higher in Coast and Western
provinces, which together accounted for a quarter of the poor, and in sparsely populated North Eastern
Province which had the most pronounced poverty incidence (top left of Figure 13.1)
Figure 13.1 Scatter Plots between Poverty Level, Population and Percent Share Population
percent share of population
3020100
povertylevel
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
percent share of pov
25.60
17.70
14.20
13.90
11.70
8.10
4.90
3.70
Western
Rift valley
Nyanza
Eastern
Central
Nairobi
Source: Computed from KIHBS 2005/2006
The variation in the poverty incidence is more pronounced at the district level, from 94 percent in
Turkana to 12 percent in Kajiado (KNBS, 2008: 13). Further, the poverty gap in Turkana is 70 percent
compared to two percent for Kajiado (World Bank, 2008). Moreover, one quarter of the population that
is poor resided in only seven districts (World Bank, 2008).
86 Decile ratio is the ratio of the average consumption or income of the richest decile, i.e. richest 10 percent of the population, divided by the average income
of the bottom decile or 10 percent. This ratio can also be calculated for other percentiles, and is easily understood as a measure of the income of the rich as a
multiple of that of the poor.

Figure 13.2 Scatter Plot Between Percent Absolute Poor With Share of Population Size
(counties)
share 2009
1086420
percentabsolutepoor
100
80
60
40
20
0
KAKAMEGA
KAJIADO
TURKANA
MANDERA
LAMU
KILIFI
KWALE
NAIROBI
Source: Computed from 2005/6 KIHBS
13.3 Demographic Inequalities
13.3.1 Population Age-Sex Structure
In Chapter 3 of Part 3, the national population age sex structure shows that Kenya is still a youthful
population. The two parts of Figure 13.3, parts (A) and (B) respectively show the age structure of the
richest and poorest quintiles based on KDHS data. The pyramid for richest quintile shows a structure
typical of societies that have experienced rapid changes in birth and death rates, while the one for the
poorest quintile reflects a persisting high dependence for the future on children.
Figure 13.3 Population Pyramid for the Richest and Poorest Quintiles
(A) Pyramid for Richest Quintile (B) Pyramid for Poorest Quintile
Source: Computed from 2008/9 KDHS
13.3.2 Household Size and Composition
According to the 2009 population census, the average household size was about 4.4, almost similar
to the average size in the 1999 census, except for North Eastern Province whose average size was

7.4. About 3.4 percent of households have a single person while about 14 percent have nine or more
members.
Table 13.2 Percent distribution of Households by Size and Wealth Index
single person 2-4 members 5-8 members 9+ members Number
Poorest 0.9 21.7 58.0 19.3 9,373
Poorer 1.8 24.2 56.5 17.5 6,694
Middle 2.2 30.2 51.4 16.1 6,862
Richer 3.1 35.5 49.5 11.9 7,103
Richest 8.4 49.5 37.3 4.9 8,483
Total 3.4 32.3 50.4 13.9 38,515
Source: Computed from 2008/2009 KDHS
The data suggest that poor households have large average sizes and are therefore more likely to have
higher dependency ratios. According to previous poverty reports, poverty increases as the household
size and age of the head of household increase (World Bank, 2008). Table 13.3 shows calculations of
poverty incidence by presence of children under age six and household size based on World Bank
calculations using KIHBS data. While those households which had no children under age six consisted
of one third on total population, nearly four in ten of them are poor. In contrast, about 18 percent
of the households had 3 or more children and a poverty rate of 63 percent. About 47 percent of the
population lived in households with seven members or more, 60 percent of which were poor.
Table 13.3 Poverty Incidence by Presence of Children under six years and Household Size
No of children under age 6 Poverty Headcount (%) Distribution of the Poor
(%)
Population share
(%)
None 37.7 23.6 29.2
1 43.2 25.3 27.3
2 48.7 26.7 25.6
3 or more 63.4 24.4 18.0
Household size
1 10.8 0.4 1.9
2 22.6 1.7 3.4
3 25.9 3.8 6.8
4 30.3 7.8 11.9
5 38.1 11.8 14.4
6 46.6 15.0 15.0
7 or more 59.8 59.6 46.5
Total 46.6 100.0 100.0
13.4 Early Mortality
The risk of early mortality is one of the aspects of inequalities in population behavior. Early mortality
reflects features of systematic patterns in the differences in health status (Whitehead and Dahlgren,
2006; UNFPA, 2010). In general mortality and morbidity increase with declining social position, but
this near universal pattern vary in magnitude and extent among countries. Table 13.4 shows trends in
childhood mortality rates by wealth index.The children born in poor families are clearly disadvantaged

and face early mortality compared to children from the wealthier groups. However, the differences
have been declining over the last one and a half decades.
Table 13.4 Trends in Childhood Mortality by Wealth Index
Wealth Index Ratio of Difference
Between.
Year Mortality Low 2nd 3rd 4th High Avg. Low/
High
Low-High
1993 Infant mortality rate 90.0 79.3 52.7 39.1 43.3 62.5 2.08 46.76
Under-five mortality rate 129.3 120.2 81.2 61.5 61.9 93.2 2.09 67.44
2008 Infant mortality rate 66 64 67 39 57 58.6 1.16 9
Under-five mortality rate 98 102 92 51 68 82.2 1.44 30
Source: Gwatkin et al 2007; 2008/2009 KDHS
Figure 13.4 shows trends in concentration index (CI) for infant and under-five mortality. Unlike the rise
and fall as shown in absolute and relative differences (Table13.4), the trends in CI show a monotonic
decline.Initially,therewaslargerinequalityintheinfantmortalityratecomparedtounder-fivemortality
rate, but there was a crossover in 2000, with greater inequality being experienced in the under five
mortality compared to the infant mortality rate.
Figure 13.4 Trends in Concentration Indices for Childhood Mortality
-0.0578
-0.0863-0.0979
-0.1533
-0.1757
-0.1101
-0.1486-0.1684
-0.2
-0.18
-0.16
-0.14
-0.12
-0.1
-0.08
-0.06
-0.04
-0.02
0
1993 1998 2003 2008
ConcentrationIndex
IMR U5M
Source: Gwatkin et al 2007; CI for 2008 is computed from 2008/9 KDHS
Table 13.5 shows trends in early mortality by region, place of residence and level of education of the
mother. The last row shows the ratio of the highest to lowest for each group. The largest differences
occur by region of residence. For all the groups, the greatest variation occurred between 1993 and
2003 when there was an upsurge in early mortality. One noticeable fact was that when early mortality
was low, urban rural differences was minor (see data for 1989 and 2008 in Table 13.5). In addition, as

the mortality situation worsened between 1993 and 2003, early childhood mortality was highest for
women with some primary education.
Table 13.5 Trends in Infant Mortality and Under Five Mortality
Year of Survey
1989 1993 1998 2003 2008/9
Residence IMR U-5MR IMR U-5MR IMR U-5MR IMR U-5MR IMR U-5MR
Urban 56.8 89.0 45.5 75.4 55.4 88.3 61 93 63 74
Rural 58.9 91.2 64.9 95.6 73.8 108.6 79 117 58 86
Rural – urban ratio 1.04 1.02 1.43 1.27 1.33 1.23 1.30 1.26 0.92 1.16
Region
Nairobi 46.3 80.4 44.4 82.1 41.1 66.1 67 95 60 64
Central 37.4 47 30.9 41.3 27.3 33.5 44 54 42 51
Coast 107.3 156 68.3 108.7 69.8 95.8 78 116 71 87
Eastern 43.1 64.3 47.4 65.9 53.1 77.8 56 84 39 52
Nyanza 94.2 148.5 127.9 186.8 135.3 198.8 133 206 95 149
Rift 34.6 50.9 44.8 60.7 50.3 67.8 61 77 48 59
Western 74.6 132.8 63.5 109.6 63.9 122.5 80 144 65 121
North Eastern 91 163 57 80
Ratio of highest to lowest
region
3.10 3.16 4.14 4.52 4.96 5.93 3.02 3.81 2.26 2.92
Education
None 71.7 108.7 66.3 99.8 82.2 122.5 80 127 64 86
Some Primary 59.1 95.2 80.1 120.6 91.4 138.1 97 145 73 112
Primary complete 49.3 72.5 57.4 78.8 61.4 86.9 69 98 51 68
Secondary 41.8 64.2 34.8 53.7 40 59.9 44 63 45 59
Ratio of None to sec + 1.72 1.69 1.91 1.86 2.06 2.05 1.82 2.02 1.42 1.46
13.4.1 Sex Differentials in Early Mortality
In many societies where boys and girls have the same access to resources (mainly food and medical
care), boys have lower survival chances compared to girls. Some studies have indicated that as survival
chances in childhood increase (mortality levels fall), the female advantage in infant and child mortality
would normally increase (Hill and Upchurch, 1995; Tabutin 1998). Figure 13.5 shows trends in sex ratios
of infant mortality and under-five mortality for Kenya and Norway87
. Female advantage for Norway is
very high and trends for Kenya also indicate increasing female advantage.
87 Norway is one of the countries with lowest childhood mortality rates in the world, and is also one of the most equitable with regard to gender disparities.

Figure 13.5 Male/Female Disparities in Early Mortality for Kenya and Norway
Source: Sawyer, 2012.
The national female advantage in childhood mortality reflects important differences across the regions.
The female advantage in survival can be eroded if girls are deprived relative to boys in access to health
care or to proper nutrition88
. According to the 2009 Kenyan census, some regions show male advantage,
the largest being in childhood mortality for Mombasa followed by Kwale. Situations in which the
survival of girls is lower than that of boys may imply differential treatment or access to resources that
put girls at a disadvantage, argues Sawyer (2012) who reports that such situations have been observed
in southern, eastern and western Asia as well as northern Africa.
Table 13.6 Male Female Differences in Childhood Mortality
Male Female Female to male ratio
1q0 5q0 1q0 5q0 1q0 5q0
Coast Province 69 100 70 87 1.014 0.870
Mombasa 78 114 97 116 1.244 1.018
Kwale 53 78 60 76 1.132 0.974
Tana River 79 114 82 102 1.038 0.895
Lamu 79 116 72 95 0.911 0.819
TaitaTaveta 62 86 60 70 0.968 0.814
Marsabit 44 55 45 54 1.023 0.982
Tharaka 43 57 48 60 1.116 1.053
Embu 46 49 43 50 0.935 1.020
Mandera 116 152 120 158 1.034 1.039
Source: 2009 census analytical report on mortality
13.4.2 Child Malnutrition
The period from birth to two years of age is of great importance for growth, health and development of
a child. Adequate nutrition is critical at this stage because well-nourished children have strong immune
systems which reduce their chances of dying prematurely from communicable diseases. Infants who
are undernourished in the first 36 months of their lives can suffer irreparable damage to their physical
and mental development, debilitating them throughout their life. Malnutrition affects children’s
cognitive learning, educational performance and even status in life. A child’s nutritional status is the
result of complex interactions between food consumption and the overall status of health and care
88 Historically this was mainly observed in India and China

practices. One of the 48 Millennium Development Goal indicators is to reduce by half the proportion
of malnourished children by 2015.Table 13.7 shows trends in indicators of nutritional status of children
by wealth index and concentration index (shown in column 7). Stunting reflects failure to receive
adequate nutrition over a long period of time and may also be caused by recurrent and chronic illness.
Underweight reflects either acute malnutrition (wasting) or chronic malnutrition (stunting) or both.
Overtime, inequalities in stunting have been irregular and do not show clear trends while inequalities
in underweight have been increasing. There is greater inequality in the proportion underweight
compared to stunted children.
Table 13.7 Trends in Child Nutrition Status
Year of
Survey
(KDHS)
Low 2nd 3rd 4th High Avg.
CI
Ratio of
Highest to
lowest
1993 Stunting 48.60% 43.30% 37.40% 41.70% 23.10% 39.80% -0.103*** 2.10
Underweight 28.30% 21.60% 18.70% 19.20% 9.80% 20.20% -0.164*** 2.89
1998 Stunting 49.10% 41.20% 35.50% 35.90% 21.00% 37.80% -0.134*** 2.34
Underweight 26.10% 21.80% 16.10% 14.70% 8.60% 18.30% -0.196*** 3.03
2003 Stunting 44.00% 38.70% 34.40% 33.70% 25.20% 36.10% -0.103*** 1.75
Underweight 24.90% 15.80% 14.60% 14.10% 7.50% 16.10% -0.208*** 3.32
2008 Stunting 45.10% 40.00% 33.80% 28.90% 24.10% 35.50% -0.126*** 1.87
Underweight 24.60% 18.00% 13.70% 12.00% 9.10% 16.30% -0.221*** 2.70
*** refers to P- value< 0.001
Source: World Bank. (2012).
13.4.3 Utilization of Child Health Services
Figure 13.6 shows trends in CIs in the utilization of childhood health care services. One noticeable effect
is the increase in inequalities during 2003 when use of services declined (CBS and ICF Macro, 2004).The
trends in CIs are not similar to those of the early mortality.
Figure 13.6 Trends in the CIs of Childhood Immunization
0.012 0.013
0.065
0.023
0.039
0.063
0.103
0.061
0.03
0.042
0.075
0.0450.049
0.058
0.067
0.111
0.00
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.10
0.12
1993 1998 2003 2008
BCG coverage Measles coverage DPT coverage Full basic coverage

13.5 Reproductive Behaviour — Fertility
There is a wide and growing body of evidence in all developing regions showing that larger households
have a much higher incidence of poverty (UNFPA, 2004).This is largely due to the increased dependency
burden, where more family members must divide a relatively fixed level of income and consumption.
The close association between trends in fertility and poverty is shown in Figure 13.7 Over time, UNFPA
(2010) notes, this poverty is likely to be transmitted inter-generationally, as fewer resources are available
to invest in children’s welfare.
Figure 13.7 Scatter Plots Between the Below Poverty Line Population and Fertility
Source:ComputedfromUnitedNations,DepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs,PopulationDivision
(2011). World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision, CD-ROM Edition; World Bank Data base.
Mothers await treatment for their children at a mobile clinic in Samburu.
Photo: www.UNFPA

Table 13.8 shows TFR trends by wealth index. Fertility levels among the poor have not changed much
over the 15 year period of the data while those for the higher quintiles have steadily declined. There
is an apparent increase over time in the relative differences in fertility levels among the highest and
lowest socioeconomic levels. Similarly the absolute differences between the highest and the lowest
quintiles have been increasing. Generally, while all the indicators of inequality show similar trends,
year 2003 appears unique; fertility among the poorest increased by slightly over one birth per woman
(about 17 percent) while among the richest it increased by about three percent. This may explain the
apparent increase in the indices of inequality.
Table 13.8 Trends in Total Fertility Rates by Wealth index
low 2nd
3rd 4th
high Average Low/High ratio Low-High Difference CI Value
1993 7.2 6.2 5.6 5.3 3.3 5.4 2.17 3.91 -0.1351
1998 6.5 5.6 4.7 4.2 3.0 4.7 2.17 3.50 -0.1514
2003 7.6 5.8 5.1 4.0 3.1 4.9 2.44 4.50 -0.1741
2008 7.0 5.6 5.0 3.7 2.9 4.6 2.41 4.10 -0.1130
13.5.1 Utilization of Maternal Health Services
a) Family Planning
Table13.9showssomeinequalitiesintheuseofmoderncontraceptionforallwomen.Theuseofmodern
contraception by all women rose over the years to 2003, and then declined to 2008. For the poorest
women, use has not changed, but it has declined among the richer groups. The positive values of CI
mean that richer women are more likely to use modern contraception methods. The relative decline
in use among the richer group partly explains the decline in the CI since 1993. The poor continued to
have high and unchanging fertility rates (Table 13.8) because of low uptake of contraception. Although
the need for contraception is not being adequately addressed among all segments of society, given
evidence of declining use among all women, the need for contraception is still considerably high
among the poor (Townsend, 2010). However, it is important to note that the differences in contraceptive
prevalence may be due, not only to difference in access to and ability to pay for them, but also to the
differences in women’s interest in, and motivation to, regulate their fertility (Foreit et al., 2010).
Table 13.9 Trends in Percent of all Women Using Modern Contraceptives
Low 2nd 3rd 4th High Ave Low/high High -low CI index
1993 10.3 15.7 27.3 37.5 45.0 27.3 0.2289 34.7 0.2638
1998 12.6 24.1 30.7 39.7 50.0 31.5 0.2520 37.4 0.2312
2003 11.8 24.2 33.4 41.0 44.5 31.5 0.2652 32.7 0.2332
2008 10.4 23.4 29.3 32.3 33.6 26.4 0.3095 23.2 0.1403
Source Gwatkin et al 2007; CI for 2008 is computed from 2008/9 KDHS
b) Delivery Care
The spider graph in part (A) of Figure 13.8 shows CI trends for persons assisting in delivery over
successive KDHS studies. High inequality is indicated by values closer to one while lower inequality is
reflected by values closer to zero (root of the spider graph). The use of doctors and delivery in private
facilities were the most unequal, the latter indicator simply reflecting the ability to pay. Overall, the
trends indicate increased inequality in skilled attendance (use of medically trained personnel) over the
course of the successive surveys. Utilization of skilled attendance has been low (KNBS, ICF macro 2010);
but this trend analysis also shows there has been an increase in inequality overtime.

Figure 13.8 Trends in the CIs of Assisted Deliveries and Home Deliveries
(A) Assisted Deliveries (B) Home Deliveries
Part B of Figure 13.8 shows trends in the CIs for delivery at home, the negative values reflecting the
poorer women’s greater likelihood of choosing that option.There was an increase in inequality between
1993 and 2003, suggesting an increase in women delivery at home rather in facilities. However, 2008
showed a remarkable decline from the previous KDHS.
Figure 13.9 shows the extent of non use of facility deliveries by province, Nairobi excluded, and by
wealth index. In all provinces except Central, women of the poorest quintile are greatly disadvantaged,
the rate of non-use in North Eastern being nearly 85 percent. If services are improved, inequalities
would be substantially reduced: for example, the poorest women in Central Province are even more
likely to use facilities during delivery than the richest women in the same province.
Figure 13.9 Non Use of Facility Delivery by Wealth Quintile and Region
5
48
43
27
50 50
18 18
25
7
32
19 19
31
12
18
5
19
15 15
35
14 15
3
17
11 1112 12
0 2
8 7 7
84
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Central Coast Eastern North Eastern Nyanza Rift Valley Western
Percent
Poorest Poorer Middle Richer Richest
Source: computed from 2008/9KDHS (unweighted data).
Figure 13.10 shows the CI for non-facility deliveries within regions.The index is highest in North Eastern
Province: where non use is very high, the extent of inequality is even higher. Put simply, in regions
where non utilization is high, the poor are disproportionately more disadvantaged.

Figure 13.10 Concentration index for Non-facility Deliveries WithinRegions
-0.214
-0.886
-0.879
-0.842
-0.944
-0.950
-1.053
-1.200 -1.000 -0.800 -0.600 -0.400 -0.200 0.000
Cental
Coast
Eastern
Nyanza
Rift valley
Western
N Eastern
Source: computed from 2008/2009 KDHS
13.6 Gender Inequalities
Some of the mechanisms that perpetuate poverty are connected with gender
inequalities. The existence of these inequalities is not based on biological differences
betweenmalesandfemales;insteadtheyarisefromcultural
and institutional reasons that are often reinforced by
public policies that lack a gender focus89
. Gender
inequality affects the spheres of culture, religion,
home, work, income groups, politics, sexuality,
power, and violence. To examine the magnitude
of gender-based disparities in the distribution of
resources and opportunities, this section examines
trends and progress over time in gender inequalities
using Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI)90
.
13.6.1 Global Gender Gap Index
The GGGI was introduced by the World Economic Forum
in 2006, and examines the attainment gap between
men and women in four fundamental realms: economic
participationandopportunity;educationalattainment;healthandsurvival;andpoliticalempowerment.
An index of one indicates complete equality while an index of zero indicates complete inequality. The
Global Gender Gap Report of 2011 shows overall ranking of nations by revealing those countries that
are role models in dividing their resources equitably between women and men, regardless of the
overall level of those resources (ILO, 2012). Figure 13.11 shows trends in GGGI for Kenya since 2006,
reflecting improvements to 2008 after which there has been a sustained decline to 2012. However, in
terms of global ranking, there has been a sustained decline since 2006.
89 A ‘gender focus’ would for instance require a policy maker to determine how a particular policy proposal affects men as distinct from women, and girls as
distinct from boys.
90 See http://www.weforum.org/issues/global-gender-gap. Accessed 6th March 2013.

Figure 13.11 Trends in the GGGI for Kenya
Source: Hausmann et al 2011
The four highest GGGI-ranking countries — Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden — have closed
between 80 and 85 percent of their gender gaps (ILO, 2012). Table 13.10 shows the GGGI ranking
among sub-Saharan African countries for 2011. The best performing country is Lesotho ranked 9th
globally. Kenya’s performance is much poorer than most of her neighbours, with Uganda, Tanzania and
Zimbabwe ranked 29, 59 and 88 respectively, compared to Kenya’s position 99.
Table 13.10 GGGI Performance Among sub-Saharan Africa Countries, 2011
Country Score Rank Country Score Rank
Lesotho 0.7666 9 Zimbabwe 0.6607 88
South Africa 0.7478 14 Senegal 0.6573 92
Burundi 0.7270 24 Mauritius 0.6529 95
Mozambique 0.7251 26 Kenya 0.6493 99
Uganda 0.7220 29 Zambia 0.6300 106
Namibia 0.7177 32 Burkina Faso 0.6153 115
Tanzania 0.6904 59 Ethiopia 0.6136 116
Malawi 0.6850 65 Cameroon 0.6073 119
Botswana 0.6832 66 Nigeria 0.6011 120
Ghana 0.6811 70 Benin 0.5832 128
Madagascar 0.6797 71 Côte d’Ivoire 0.5773 130
Gambia, The 0.6763 77 Mali 0.5752 132
Angola 0.6624 87 Chad 0.5334 134
Table 13.11 shows the trends for Kenya’s GGGI sub-indices. Although the best ranking is in economic
participation, the actual score has declined since 2006. Meanwhile, the best scores have been in health
followed by education, but ranking in these items has been declining; and the worst score is political
empowerment.

Table 13.11 Trends in Kenya’s gender gap by sub-indices, 2006-2011
Overall Economic
participation
Educational
attainment
Health and
survival
Political
empowerment
GGGI year/ (no of
countries)
Rank score Rank score Rank score Rank score Rank score
2011 ( 135 countries) 99 0.649 83 0.616 101 0.936 102 0.968 100 0.077
2010 (134 countries) 96 0.650 82 0.615 102 0.940 101 0.968 98 0.077
2009 (134 countries) 97 0.651 50 0.683 106 0.909 110 0.968 122 0.045
2008 (130 countries) 88 0.655 41 0.693 102 0.926 105 0.968 121 0.032
2007 (128 countries) 83 0.651 59 0.649 97 0.934 104 0.968 104 0.053
2006 (115 countries) 73 0.649 40 0.657 88 0.918 96 0.966 93 0.053
The spider chart (Figure 13.12) shows the trends since 2006 for the country’s score for each of the
four sub-indices. There is near equality in health and education but complete inequality in political
empowerment. Economic participation is, however, average. The implication here is that initiatives
directed at improving gender equality have focused more successfully on education and health but not
political empowerment.Vision 2030 acknowledges that Kenya has the lowest representation of women
in Parliament compared to countries such as South Africa and Malaysia (Republic of Kenya, 2012b).
Figure 13.12 Trends in Gender Gap by sub-Indices.
Table 13.12 section gives an overview of Kenya’s GGGI rankings and the scores on the four sub-indices
for 2011. For each of the GGGI sub-indicators, column one in this section displays ranks for the overall
rank, column two displays the country scores, column three displays the population-weighted sample
average (135 countries), columns four and five display the female and male values of individual sub-
indicators respectively, and, the final column (six) displays the female-to-male ratio. The best rank for
Kenya is in primary school enrolment where it is ranked first worldwide.The worst rank is for legislators,
senior officials and managers under the economic participation and opportunity indicator.

Table 13.12 GGGI Rankings and the Scores on the Four sub-Indices, Kenya, 2011
Rank score sample
average
female Male Female- to-
male ratio
Economic participation and opportunity 83 0.616 0.588
Labour force participation 30 0.88 0.68 78 89 0.88
Wage equality for similar work(surveys) 52 0.69 0.65 — — 0.69
Estimated earned income(PPP US$) 40 0.66 0.52 1,249 1,897 0.66
Legislators, senior officials and managers 121 0.05 0.26 5 95 0.05
Professional and technical workers — — — 0.64 — —
Educational Attainment 101 0.936 0.928
Literacy rate 96 0.92 0.86 84 91 0.92
Enrolment in primary education 1 1.00 0.98 0.83 0.83 1.01
Enrolment in secondary education 105 0.94 0.9 48 51 0.94
Enrolment in tertiary education 108 0.70 0.86 3 5 0.7
Health and survival 102 0.968 0.956
Sex ratio at birth 1 0.94 0.92 — — 0.98
Healthy life expectancy 107 1.02 1.04 48 47 1.02
Political Empowerment 100 0.077 0.185
Women in parliament 105 0.11 0.22 10 90 0.11
Women in ministerial positions 68 0.18 0.18 15 85 0.18
Years with female head of state (last 50 years) 52 0 0.16 0 50 0
Kenya’s scores are comparable to the GGGI 2011 report’s global average in education, health and
economic empowerment, (as illustrated in Figure 13.13) but below average in terms of political
empowerment. However, Kenya’s performance with respect to political empowerment across the
gender divide is below the report’s global average.
Figure 13.13 Comparing Kenya’s Gender Gap sub-Indices with the GGGI Sample Averages
In terms of labour force participation, most Kenyan women who are employed work as family workers
whose interest is dependent on family generosity (KNBS, 2008:35). This is similar to the position of
women in labour force in sub-Saharan Africa, for which ILO (2011) reports the share in vulnerable

employment to have been 84 percent, as compared with 69.5 percent of male workers in 2009.
13.6.2 Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
Female circumcision, commonly known as female genital mutilation (FGM), is now widely recognized
as a violation of human rights91
, added to the fact that the procedure has no medical benefits and is not
mandated by any religion. The practice is deeply rooted in the socio-economic and political structures
of certain Kenyan communities and targets young women as a rite of passage into adulthood. In such
communities, the procedure is perceived as a way of curtailing premarital sex and of preserving virginity
among girls, with parents believing their daughters will not be marriageable if they are not cut. FGM
is some form of gender violence and also an aspect of private discrimination (Human Rights Watch,
2013). FGM poses a major challenge to young women’s long term SRH because the cutting destroys
parts of the female reproductive organs, and often leads to complicated pregnancies, difficult births
and lifelong emotional pain, among other complications.
FGM is still prevalent in Kenya, with Figure 13.14 showing the trends by age since the 1998 collection of
the first FGM data in the country. Among the youth, and indeed across all age categories, the share of
circumcised girls has been declining. While this suggests that efforts to eradicate the practice may be
yielding some fruits, the incidence remains unacceptably high.
Samburu Girls celebrate after an alternative rite of passage seminar where they declared
they will not be circumcised
Photo: www.UNFPA
91 The UN Declaration on Human Rights condemned FGM/C as a violation of human rights as early as 1952, while the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child
identified the practice as both a violent and a harmful traditional practice.

Figure 13.14 Trends in the Proportion of Women Circumcised by Age (1998-2008)
26
32
40 41
49
47 47
20
25
33
38
40
48 48
15
21
25
30
35
40
49
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49
Percent
1998 2003 2008
Source: KDHS 1998, 2003 and 2008/2009
13.7 Vulnerable Population
Kenya Vision 2030 defines vulnerable groups to include widows and widowers, orphans and children
at risk, persons with disabilities, under-age mothers, the poor of the poorest, internally and externally
displaced persons and the elderly.
All these groups are faced with multiple challenges in their daily life, such as high levels of poverty
and various forms of deprivation. The commitment to provide for these vulnerable — or marginalized
— populations is contained specifically in Article 204 of the Constitution; but the document has
numerous instances where it recognizes the inherent inequalities in Kenya to date, which is why it
champions equity, affirmative action, and positive discrimination. Kenya Vision 2030 affirms that no
society can gain social cohesion if significant sections of the population live in abject poverty: thus,
reducing vulnerability and poverty is a key element of many social policies that have recently been
enacted (Republic of Kenya, 2012a).
13.7.1 Persons with Disability
According to the World Health
Organisation(WHO), a disability is “any
restriction or lack (resulting from any
impairment) of ability to perform an
activity in the manner or within the
range considered normal for a human
being”(WHO, 1980; 2001). A disability
may be physical, cognitive, mental,
sensory, emotional, and developmental
or some combination of these. A
disability may be present from birth,
or occur during a person’s lifetime.
Persons with D isabilities (PwDs) are at
greater risk of experiencing restrictions
in performing tasks, or participating
in community activities. There is need
for the promotion of human rights,
participation and inclusiveness to A woman living with disability with her family.
Photo: UNFPA

ensure that those with any form of disability are not excluded from enjoying health and development
interventions, thus calling for advocacy for greater awareness of the issues faced by young women and
men with mental, physical or other impairments.
The Plan of Action for the African Decade of Persons with Disabilities (1999-2009) explicitly recognizes
that disability may severely affect one’s chances of getting an education, an issue that is particularly
pertinent to young people. Furthermore, the number of people living with disabilities is growing
as a result of factors such as population increase, aging, and medical advances that preserve and
prolong life, thus increasing their demand for health care and rehabilitation services. According to
WHO, disability affects ten percent of every population. However, according to the Disability Statistics
Compendium, prevalence rates vary from 0.2 percent to 21 percent globally, and from country to
country. In Kenya, almost five percent of the population has some form of disability, and while there are
no major differences in prevalence in rural or urban areas, or by sex, prevalence does increase with age
as depicted in Figure 13.15 (NCAPD, 2008).
Figure 13.15 Percent Distribution of Persons With any Form of Disability by Age (2008)
0
5
10
15
20
25
0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70+
Percent
Source: KNSPWD, 2008
According to the Kenya National Survey for PwDs (KNSPWD) of 2008, 97 percent of PwDs had some
problem accessing their natural environment, with more females than males reporting such difficulty.
The survey report also noted that most PwDs in Kenya were unlikely to have active or viable socio-
economic livelihoods92
. Consequently, they require some assistance in the form of social security and
disability grants or any other forms of financial assistance compared to their able-bodied counterparts.
Table 13.13 shows the distribution of women aged 12 to 49 who have some form of disability by age
at first pregnancy and background characteristics. About 17 percent had their first pregnancy during
their teenage years. Very early teenage pregnancy among persons with disability is highest in Nyanza
and Eastern provinces. However, pregnancy before age 19 is highest in Rift Valley Province and lowest
in North Eastern and Western provinces. Teenage pregnancy among women with disability is slightly
higher in urban compared to rural areas.
92 Additionally, some cultures consider disability a curse, and consequently hide its victims from public view. In one northern Kenya County, a mentally disturbed
young man in his mid-teens had been chained to a post in hut all his life.

Table 13.13 Percent Distribution of Women age 12-49 with Some Form of Disability by Age at
First Pregnancy and by Background Characteristics
Age group at First Pregnancy
Characteristic 12-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30+
Rural 4.6 11.7 13.1 10.8 59.9
urban 2.4 16.2 15.4 16.8 49.2
Nairobi 2.9 11.8 23.6 19.2 42.6
Central 2.9 18.8 5.2 12.6 60.6
Coast 2.9 8.7 6.8 17.9 63.8
Eastern 7.8 8.0 15.9 10.1 58.2
North Eastern 0.0 0.0 0 0 100
Nyanza 7.0 12.3 16.2 12.7 51.8
Rift Valley 0.0 22.0 9.3 7.3 61.3
Western 0.0 4.2 18.6 12.1 65
Kenya 3.9 13.1 13.8 12.7 56.5
Source: KNSPWD (2008)
While contraceptive prevalence among all sexually active women in Kenya is 51 percent, and that of
currently married women is 46 percent, only about 17 percent of women with disabilities reported
using some form of family planning. In all instances, use of any type of contraceptive is lower among
women with disabilities than among the other categories of women in the same age range. Factors
contributing to the low uptake of contraception and other sexual and reproductive health services
by Kenyan women with disabilities included: ignorance/lack of information; inaccessible facilities and
equipment; lack of privacy and confidentiality (e.g. presence of a third party during service provision
for deaf and blind); providers’ insensitivity to such women’s RH needs; and providers’ inadequate
knowledge/experience and capacity to deal with RH needs of women with disabilities. While it is
recognized that the SRH needs and rights of PwDs are similar to those of the rest of the population,
almost 40 percent of youth with disabilities reported experiencing problems accessing health care.
The KNSPwDs also found a disproportionately high 19 percent use of female sterilization as a method
of contraception among the disabled, compared to the same method’s 4.8 percent rate among both
currently married women and sexually active women of reproductive age (15-49) (Figure 13.16).
Figure 13.16 Percentage of Females (15-49) with Disabilities Using Contraception by Method (2008)
5
8
14
15
17
19
28
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Traditional
Periodic abstinence
Pill
Condom
Any method
Sterilization
Injection
Percent
Source: KNSPWD (2008)

13.8 Youth and Social Exclusion
The Chapter on Youth in Part 3 provided a specific focus on youth as an emerging group that requires
special attention. While it is not intended to replicate the issues raised in that chapter, this section pays
particular attention to the extent to which some aspects of inequality exist between this group and
older persons.
13.8.1 Youth Reproductive Health
One of the critical reproductive health concerns is the prevalence of unintended pregnancies. Births to
unmarried teenagers are often unintended, and most such young mothers face precarious economic
circumstances (Magadi et al., 2007) which often increase the chance of poor reproductive health
outcomes both in the short and long-term (Singh, 1998). It is often teenagers who are more likely to
experience premarital and unintended births compared to older women, with such births receiving
poorer maternal health care (Gage, 1998; Magadi et al., 2000; Marston & Cleland, 2003). Using bivariate
analysis on DHS data for several sub-Saharan Africa countries, Magadi et al (2007) find little variation
in maternal health care by age. However, after controlling for the effect of background factors such as
parity, premarital births, educational attainment and urban/rural residence in a multivariate analysis,
teenagers do have poorer maternal health care outcomes compared to older women with similar
background characteristics. However, there is a marked improvement in reproductive health outcomes
between the current youth and those of the same age group a decade ago in Kenya.
13.8.2 Youth Employment
Worldwide, the youth are faced with multiple social, political and cultural exclusion issues among which
unemployment and underemployment are likely to have the highest profile (ILO, 2011). Poverty among
youth is closely tied to their unemployment and underemployment, as well as to poor reproductive
health outcomes (UNFPA, 2010).
Youth aged 15-24 in Kenya accounted for less than 20 percent of total employment in 2011, but
made up 37 percent of the working population (ILO, forthcoming). The gap between youth and adult
employment was about 43 percentage points in 2011, making Kenya among the countries in sub-
Saharan Africa with the highest age-based employment disparities. Kenya is said to be seventh among
the sub-Saharan Africa countries with the greatest fall in the youth labour force participation rate,
largely attributed to a slow-down in job creation (ILO, forthcoming).There are other marked differentials
in youth employment: large gender gaps exist as do rural/urban differentials. In 2011, the proportion
of young women (age 15-24) in employment declined to about 29 percent compared to 36 percent
among men of similar age. Kenya is the country with largest the gender gap in youth employment in
Sub Saharan Africa ((ILO, forthcoming). Unemployment among the youth is much higher in the urban
areas compared to the rural areas, mainly fueled by high rural–urban migration in Kenya (World Bank,
2012).
Although the youth presently have more education compared to a decade ago( KNBS, 2010), they are
faced with labour markets that are increasingly unable to absorb low-skill workers and to guarantee
coverage of social benefits traditionally tied to the performance of stable jobs (see ILO, 2011; World
Bank, 2012).There are families that are unable to invest in their children’s education, and labour market
constraints tend to exclude such young people from the best-paying jobs, leading to the vicious cycle of
poverty (UNFPA, 2010).Young people with relatively low levels of education demonstrate higher fertility
rates (see Chapter on Fertility in Part 3) than their peers with higher education levels, contributing to
concentration of poverty in the first stages of the family life cycle.

Policies to address youth poverty must, therefore, focus as a matter of priority, on eliminating barriers
to youth employment. That employment — specifically, access to decent work — is central to poverty
reductionwasfirmlyacknowledgedbytheMillenniumDevelopmentGoals(MDG)throughtheinclusion
of an employment-based target in halving the share of the world’s population living in extreme poverty.
13.9 Elderly Population
The elderly population is defined as persons aged 60 years and above. The proportion of these
considerably vulnerable people in Kenya is still low because of, amongst other things, the country’s low
life expectancy; but their absolute size has increased tremendously since 1969 (see Figure 13.14). For
example, between 1969 and 1979 the growth rate of the elderly population was about 1.8 percent per
annum, rising to 3.7 percent between 1999 and 2009 (KNBS , 2011).
Figure 13.17 Trends in Population Aged 60 and Above in Kenya, 1969-2009
589952
705605
1028855
1332817
1929767
0
500000
1000000
1500000
2000000
2500000
1969 1979 1989 1999 2009
Source: Kenya 2009 Population and Housing Census. Analytical Report on Population Dynamics. Vol.III
The age distribution of the population by gender shows that older women are more than their male
counterparts in all age groups (Table 13.15). Census data show that most of households headed by
aged persons are headed by women, mostly widowed. Welfare surveys (KIHBS 2005/2006; 2008/2009
KDHS) indicate that women-headed households (particularly the elderly) are more likely to be poor and
more vulnerable to shocks.
Table 13.15 Distribution of the Elderly by Age Group and Gender, 2009
Age group Males Females Sex ratio
60-64 295,197 298,581 98.9
65-69 183,151 207,612 88.2
70-74 160,301 179,000 89.6
75-79 99,833 118,675 84.1
80+ 159,125 224,576 70.9
Total 897,607 1,028,444 87.3
Source: Population and Housing Census, 2009 Vol. 1C.

According to HelpAge International (2012a), a number of issues face the elderly in Kenya.These include
poverty, poor health and nutrition, HIV and AIDS, poor housing, insecurity over incomes and social
services, weak community and family support systems and weak legal frameworks to protect their
rights. Although the absolute number of people age 60 and above has been increasing, less than 10
percent receive any kind of pension (Help Age International, 2012b). With the waning of family support
and the prevailing economic systems, older people lack alternative sources of income93
, and therefore
face hardship in a number of areas. This has caused them to slide deeper into vulnerability on the
margins of society. In Kenya, current older person statistics show that over 47 percent of them living
in urban areas seek shelter in informal settlements, which are poorly constructed in neighbourhoods
of high unemployment, crime and increasing cases of HIV and AIDS (HelpAge International, 2012).
Although health needs increase in old age, the vast majority of older adults in Africa have no healthcare
coverage (Help Age International, 2004). However, information concerning the living conditions of the
older people in Kenya is lacking, undermining any initiatives to develop interventions to improve the
circumstances of the elderly.
13.10 Exercise of Rights
13.10.1 Policies and Programmes
For the first time since independence, 2010 saw Kenya fully articulate the principles of human rights
in her Constitution. The relevant articles dealing with population related issues include Sections 26,
42, 43, 45 and specific applications delineated Sections 53 to 57 (Republic of Kenya, 2010). Article
21 recognizes the fundamental duty of the state and every state organ to observe, respect, protect,
promote and fulfill the rights and fundamental freedoms outlined in the Bill of Rights (Chapter 4). The
Bill of Rights forms the basis upon which the Government provides key basic social services to the
public.
Health holds a special place in human rights: everyone has the right to enjoy the highest attainable
standard of health in their society (WHO, 1946)94
. In addition, health is a unique resource for achieving
otherobjectivesinlife,suchasbettereducationandemployment.Healthis,therefore,awayofpromoting
the freedom of individuals and societies (Sen., 2000). Article 43 of the Kenyan constitution recognizes
the right of every person to the highest attainable standard of health, including reproductive health.
Kenya Health Policy of 2012-2030 aims at not only employing human rights based approach in health
care delivery, but also integrating human rights norms and principles in the design, implementation,
monitoring, and evaluation of health interventions. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights noted that the right to health depends on different factors, which do not derive directly from
medical services but from the realization of other rights such as food, housing and clean environment,
among others.
Articles 53 to 59 of the Constitution have specific provisions relating to the management of vulnerable
groups. Article 53 provides for children’s right to free and compulsory basic education, including quality
services, while Article 54 seeks to ensure access to educational institutions and facilities for persons with
disabilities.The measures taken to reduce inequalities in education have been informed by a number of
policy initiatives that focused on the attainment of education for all, in particular, the Universal Primary
Education (UPE) policy. The implementation of the Free Primary Education and Free Day Secondary
93 This is because of low levels of pension coverage in Kenya, (only public sector and employees of large private companies are covered), and pension recipients
represent only a small fraction of the total elder population. For this reason, men and women in often carry on working until an advanced age, generally as
long as their health permits.
94 The right to health appears in several paragraphs of the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action and the Program of Action of the United Nations
International Conference on Population and Development. The Declaration and Program of Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women contains
definitions concerning, respectively, reproductive health and women’s health rights.

Tuition programmes enabled the country to make significant progress towards attaining Education
for All (EFA) and the education MDG, basically number 2. More recently, there has been a re-alignment
of education sector policies to the Constitution and to Vision 2030 (Ministry of Education, 2012). In all,
Kenya ranks highly with regard to gender parity in primary education as reported in the recent Global
Gender Gap Report of 2011 (Hausmann et al, 2011).
Whilst the Bill of Rights has detailed various rights to services, including health and education, it is
expected that the people will increasingly demand their rights through a more empowered civil society.
The provisions of Article 46 (1)( a) and (b) are important as they grant consumers the right to goods and
services of reasonable quality and to information necessary for them to gain full benefit from goods
and services.
One of the key strategies aimed at addressing inequalities is improved management of public spending.
Article 201 of the Constitution states that:‘Expenditure shall promote the equitable development of the
country’. Further, Article 203 (1)(a) to (k)95
of the same chapter elaborates the criteria for determination
of the equitable sharing of resources. Articles 174 and 201 and Vision 2030’s goals emphasize bringing
equity to the centre of development, and reducing disparities across socio-economic groups, with
emphasis on human rights for all (Republic of Kenya, 2012b).
According to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights96
, the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights97
, and other international conventions on human rights to which Kenya is a
signatory, poverty is a violation of human rights. In acknowledgement of these fundamental human
rights, the Kenya Government signed the 1974 Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and
Malnutrition whose Article 1 states that: every man or woman has the inalienable right to be free from
hunger and malnutrition in order to develop fully and maintain their physical and mental faculties. In
recognition of the persistence poverty and inequality, however, Kenya Vision 2030 also states that the
Government shall adhere to the rule of law as applicable to a modern, market based economy, while at
the same time respecting human rights (Republic of Kenya, 2012b: vii). Specifically, Vision 2030 seeks
to align national policies and legal frameworks within the needs of a market based economy, national
human rights and gender equity commitments.
With respect to gender, youth and vulnerability, Kenya Vision 2030 seeks to: increase the participation
of women in all economic, social and political decision-making processes, and in particular through
higher representation in Parliament; (ii) improve access to services for all the disadvantaged; and (iii)
minimize vulnerabilities through the prohibition of retrogressive practices, such as FGM and child
labour, and by scaling up training for people with disabilities and special needs (Republic of Kenya,
2012b:vii).
By launching several schemes98
through which to provide social protection99
for the vulnerable
population in the last decade, the Kenya Government has now recognized that social protection is
essential for achieving poverty reduction and inclusive growth. In 2010, a commitment to social
protection was enshrined in Kenya’s Constitution, which now asserts the “right for every person … to
social security”and“binds the State to provide appropriate social security to persons who are unable to
95 Article 203 parts 1(a) to 1(k) states that in the allocation there is need to: (i)ensure that the county Governments are able to perform their functions (ii) take
into account the fiscal capacity and efficiency (iii) take into account developmental and other needs and (iv) take into account economic disparities
96 See Articles 25 and 26 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
97 See articles 10,12 and 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
98 The social protection schemes include; Orphans and Vulnerable Children Cash Transfer (OVC-CT), the Older Person’s Cash Transfer (OPCT), the Urban Food
Subsidy Programme (UFSP-CT) and the Cash Transfer Programme to Persons with Severe Disabilities (CT-PWD).
99 Social protection schemes are policies and actions, including legislative measures, that enhance the capacity of and opportunities for the poor and vulnerable
to improve and sustain their lives, livelihoods, and welfare.

support themselves and their dependants”. This was followed by a new policy on social protection, the
National Social Protection Policy (NSPP), backed by parliamentary legislation in May 2012.
The NSPP recognizes many of the existing social protection initiatives that have been established
over time (Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development, 2011). The policy imperative seeks
to expand social protection by establishing a minimum package as defined in the African Union Social
Policy Framework of 2008. For old age, the policy seeks to provide a benefit, grant, or pension payable
to the older persons on either a targeted or universal basis (often referred to as social pension).100
For
the social security, the focus is a compulsory contributory scheme, while occupational retirement
schemes and voluntary social insurance will also provide pension benefits to their beneficiaries.
The Constitution champions access to social and economic rights and provides for equality of, and
representation for, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups. Through the Constitution,
implementation ofVision 2030, and the fact that Government has established various legal frameworks
—suchasSexualOffencesAct,2006andtheConventionontheEliminationofallFormsofDiscrimination
against Women — the Government provides evidence of its commitment to the obligation to respect,
protect and fulfill rights, as required in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights of May 2000101
.
13.10.2 Measurement of the extent of exercise of rights
The Kenya Government’s commitment to the 1994 ICPD) principles shifted the focus of development
from the basic needs approach to the rights approach. Thus, population as well as other social and
economic needs must be pursued based on the human rights-based framework. Vision 2030 seeks
to mainstream gender equity in all aspects of society, embrace rights approach in programming,
and thereby reduce observed inequalities. Specifically, Vision 2030 addresses four key areas namely;
opportunity; empowerment; capabilities; and vulnerabilities — all of which are inextricably linked to
population related inequalities.
According to ICPD, population and reproductive health implies two rights: a) the right of men and
women to be informed and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of FP of
their choice, as well as other methods of their choice for the regulation of fertility which are not against
the law; and b) the right of access to appropriate health-care services that will enable women to go
safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy
infant (ICPD PoA, 1994, para 7.2). The extent to which couples are able to exercise their reproductive
rights largely determines the reproductive health status of the population. Kenya is not likely to achieve
the desired goals with respect to maternal mortality and infant mortality (see Part 2 and Chapter on
Mortality in Part 3). There exists a wide regional and socio-economic inequality in maternal and early
mortality. The skewed ill health of the poor as well as their high propensity to early mortality indicates
that they have not yet fully enjoyed the rights associated with reproductive health. Computations from
the 2008/2009 KDHS and 2009 KPHC show that every year:
• nearly 7,500 women die as result pregnancy related conditions;
• approximately 1.1 million currently married women have unmet need for contraception;
• nearly 1.8 million currently married women have an unplanned birth; and
• slightly over 7 out of every 10 women have risky birth.
100 A social pension is defined as a Government-provided regular non-contributory cash transfer to older people.
101 Art. 12.1, of the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_cescr.htm. Also see Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 14 (2000), par. 1. Full text
in Annex 1http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(symbol)/E.C.12.2000.4. .

These results show that many women of reproductive age are unable to exercise their reproductive
rights as envisaged by ICPD.
Kenya’s health conditions as measured by infant and child mortality, and fertility rates, demonstrate
the association between high levels of poverty and poor health outcomes. Analysis of trend data
from various KDHS since 1993 reveal that poor health conditions are disproportionately concentrated
among the least wealthy segments of society. The least wealthy are also unlikely to utilize the available
interventions as measured by the various indicators of inequality discussed in this chapter. Poverty,
lack of education and information as well as inadequate access to health and related social services
compromisetoalargeextentthereproductivehealthofmen,womenandtheirchildrenTheimplication
here is two-fold: - the need to not only increase access to all, but also to effectively target the poor.
13.11 Gaps/Limitations
For the design, implementation, follow-up and evaluation of policies, statistical information is an
indispensable tool. During the past decade, there have been efforts globally to use population
information in the field of social public policies. The information should also be used in inequality and
poverty analyses, in order to improve the design of the interventions with which to improve the living
conditions of the middle and low segments of society. However, targets and indicators employed have
not been designed based on the monitoring of inequalities and entrenched discrimination, or on the
realization on the extent to which the social and economic rights are exercised. Many indicators are
based on averages which ignore the disaggregated picture of how the disadvantaged fare relative to
the most advantaged in society102
.
Another gap is the use of quintiles to assess the extent of poverty and inequalities. Although quintile
scores are now commonly used, there is no necessary correspondence between them and poverty
lines based on income or expenditures (Foreit et al, 2010); which is to emphasize the possibility that
some households classified as quintile 5 may fall below a country’s income-based poverty line. For the
2008/2009 KDHS, national wealth quintiles obscure the differences in urban and rural wealth gaps,
pointing to the need to re-estimate quintile scores for urban areas.
Another aspect not included on this chapter is the service coverage gap. This would explore both
provision and use of services and interventions, and for example, estimate the proportion of people
receiving a specified service or intervention among those requiring that service. Analysis could then
determine the additional investment necessary for universal coverage for that service.
Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides for the
development of the appropriate right to health indicators103
. The Covenant states that: “State parties
are invited to set appropriate national benchmarks in relation to each indicator of the right to health
by identifying appropriate right to health indicators and benchmarks to monitor the extent of the
framework law.”This is a critical gap in the health policy framework even though it aims at using the
rights to health approach in developing health interventions.That is, all the Kenyan policy and strategy
documents lack right to health benchmarks. A human rights-based approach to programming must
ensure that all processes, including data collection and use, are in line with human rights principles.
It requires taking into account the extent to which existing services are available, accessible and
acceptable to, and of high quality for, the population (UNFPA, 2010).
102 See also http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/01/11/discrimination-inequality-and-poverty-human-rights-perspective.
103 Art. 12.1, of the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_cescr.htm. Also see Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 14 (2000), par. 1. Full text
in Annex 1http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(symbol)/E.C.12.2000.4

Although coverage and investments in safety nets have increased overtime, coverage of safety net
programmes remains low in comparison to the population in need, part of the problem lying in the
weak monitoring and evaluation (M&E)(Republic of Kenya 2012a). Additionally, the weak alignment
of existing programmes with the changing social, political, and economic context threatens their
sustainability. The Government notes that previous assessments have indicated insufficient capacity
in the ministries and other agencies to implement a coordinated and harmonized social protection
system. NSPP recognizes two core challenges, namely: the huge gaps in policy coverage; and the
fragmentation in existing systems (Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development, 2011; Help
Age International, 2012b).
13.12 Conclusions
Although Kenya has diverse inequalities, this chapter has concentrated only on population related
inequalities.Trend data shows that population-based inequalities have been declining, especially in the
cases of early mortality and final fertility intensity. Inequality in the utilization of services delivered at the
community level (e.g. family planning and immunizations) is slightly lower than to services delivered
in health facilities, e.g. antenatal care visits and skilled birth attendance (see also Ahmad et al, 2011).
Studies show that the level of inequality in service use is partly due to the fact that the Government and
its partners have disproportionately devoted resources to relatively wealthier populations rather than
to those who are poor or hard to reach (HPI, 2010; World Bank, 2008). However, some of the sources
of inequality may not be just weak accountability mechanisms, but also the lack of knowledge among
excluded and vulnerable groups, on how to make their voices heard.
The Government is now committed to the decentralization of services through devolution of political
power, equitable distribution of national revenue and commitment to equity laws and regulations.
Equitable or fair resource allocation can only be accomplished by considering variation in needs across
geographic and economic groups (Brain et al., 2010). The implication here is two-fold, pointing to the
need to not only increase access to all, but to also effectively target the poor.
Many of the existing policies have indicated that interventions will take into account the human
rights approach. However, targets and indicators have not been designed to actualize a human rights
approach to programming. There is a need to identify existing approaches that link human rights and
social and economic concerns, and then to determine the best ways to assess their impacts on the
effectiveness and outcomes of policies and programmes.

Appendix 13.1 Technical Note on Estimation of Concentration Index (summary measure for
inequality)
Concentration curves can be used to identify whether socio-economic inequality in some variable exists
and whether it is more pronounced at one point than at another. Figure 1 shows the concentration
curve defined by the line marked L(p). The resulting concentration index (CI) is a summary measure
of the extent of inequality across the whole distribution, and is defined as twice the area between the
concentration curve and the line of equality (the 45-degree line) divided by the sum of the areas A
(under the curve) and B (above the curve) (Kakwani, Wagstaff and van Doorslaer 1997). In case there is
no inequality, the curve coincides with the diagonal, meaning CI equals zero.
Area A
Area B
.Formally, the concentration index is defined as
Where hi is the health sector variable, μ is its mean, and ri =i /N is the fractional rank of individual i in the
living standards distribution, with i = 1 for the poorest and i = N for the richest. The index is bounded
between –1 and 1. The sign of the concentration index indicates the direction of any relationship
between the health variable and position in the living standards distribution, and its magnitude
reflects both the strength of the relationship and the degree of variability in the health variable. The
index takes a negative value when the curve lies above the line of equality, indicating disproportionate
concentration of the health variable among the poor, and a positive value when it lies below the line
of equality. A negative value of the concentration index means ill health is higher among the poor.
That is outcomes that decline as conditions improve (e.g. mortality, or total fertility rates,) the index
ranges from -1 to 0. -1 for perfect inequality and 0 for perfect equality. With outcomes that increase as
conditions improve, 1 indicates perfect inequality and 0 means perfect equality.
The concentration index for t=1,…,T groups is easily computed in a spreadsheet program using the
formula by Fuller and Lury (1977).
C= (p1L2 - p2L1) + (p2L3 -p3L2) +...+ (pT -1LT - pT LT -1 )) where pt is the cumulative percentage of the
sample ranked by economic status in group t, and Lt is the corresponding concentration curve ordinate.
Multiplying the concentration index by 75 gives the percentage of the health variable that would need
to be redistributed from the richer half to the poorer half of the population to arrive at a distribution
with an index value of zero (Koolman and van Doorslaer, 2004).

Appendix 13.2 Indicators of inequality for child health interventions
Low/High Low-High Concentration
index
Low 2nd 3rd 4th High Average Ratio Diff. Value
2008 A: Childhood Immunization
BCG coverage 70 88.7 92.9 96.4 96 87.3 0.73 25.93 0.0648
Measles coverage 54 67.9 80 80.6 87.6 72.3 0.62 33.61 0.1025
DPT coverage 56.3 71 85.7 81.3 72.7 72.2 0.77 16.36 0.0753
Full basic coverage 37.8 50.2 62.3 56.6 59.5 52.1 0.64 21.68 0.1114
No basic coverage 19.7 5.3 4.1 1.1 3.1 7.6 6.45 16.67 -0.5321
B: Antenatal and care delivery
Antenatal visits
medically trained 75.1 87.4 92.4 93 94 88.1 0.8 18.81 0.0583
Doctor 15.6 16.4 17.3 14.8 24.9 17.9 0.63 9.33 0.1193
Nurse or trained midwife 59.5 71 75.1 78.2 69 70.2 0.86 9.48 0.0428
Multiple visits to a
medically trained
64 75.5 75.9 78.4 84.3 75.5 0.76 20.28 0.0713
Antenatal care content
Tetanus toxoid 71.5 87.6 88.9 90.2 90.4 85.4 0.79 18.98 0.0512
Prophylactic anti malarial
treatment
20.2 18.7 21 17.9 19.5 19.5 1.03 0.68 0.0111
Iron supplementation 46.3 47 46.9 42 45.8 45.7 1.01 0.48 0.0175
C: Delivery attendance
medically trained 17 32.8 38.1 55 75.4 41.6 0.23 58.38 0.2989
doctor 4 7.8 7.4 13.4 27.5 11.4 0.15 23.45 0.4228
Nurse or trained midwife 13 25 30.8 41.5 47.9 30.2 0.27 34.93 0.2521
public facility 9.2 19.1 27.8 38.5 43.5 26.1 0.21 34.33 0.2644
private facility 6.8 12.3 8.7 14.7 30.3 14 0.22 23.52 0.3806
home 82.9 66.7 62.3 45.8 25.8 58.7 3.22 57.12 -0.206
2003 A: Childhood Immunization
BCG coverage 92.8 97.4 95.5 96.1 96.5 95.6 1.04 3.7 0.023
Measles coverage 75.6 80.8 85.5 89.8 93.9 85.0 1.24 18.3 0.061
DPT coverage 77.3 86.7 91.2 88.8 89.6 86.4 1.16 12.3 0.045
No basic coverage 6.1 2.2 3.6 1.9 2.0 3.2 0.33 -4.1 -0.193
B: Antenatal and care delivery
Antenatal visits
medically trained 83.6 92.7 3.2 2.7 95.6 91.5 1.14 12
Doctor 19.9 23.3 8.6 3.2 39.2 28.9 1.97 19.3 0.038
Nurse or trained midwife 63.7 69.5 4.6 9.5 56.4 62.6 0.89 -7.3 0.144
medically trained
65.8 74.4 3.2 5.3 74.1 72.5 1.13 8.3
Antenatal care content
Tetanus toxoid 49.3 54.4 6.7 58.3 56.9 55.0 1.15 7.6
C: Delivery attendance
medically trained 20.3 31.3 1.9 2.9 81.4 43.8 4.01 61.1 0.316
doctor 5.6 11.8 4.5 19.1 32.9 16.0 5.88 27.3 0.374

Nurse or trained midwife 14.7 19.6 7.4 3.7 48.5 27.8 3.30 33.8 0.287
public facility 16.0 23.1 6.2 9.9 52.9 32.3 3.31 36.9 0.282
private facility 2.1 7.3 5.4 11.6 28.0 10.3 13.33 25.9 0.507
home 80.9 68.3 56.7 7.2 18.4 56.2 0.23 -62.5 -0.155
1998
BCG coverage 93.5 92.7 8.3 7.4 99.0 95.9 0.94 5.50 0.0129
DPT coverage 67.4 78.2 5.9 4.0 84.1 79.2 0.80 16.70 0.0418
To a medically-trained
person
88.5 90.0 93.2 5.3 96.2 92.3 0.92 7.70 0.0168
To a doctor 23.7 23.2 5.8 2.7 38.8 28.3 0.61 15.10 0.1307
To a nurse or trained
midwife
64.7 66.8 7.3 2.5 57.5 64.0 1.13 7.20 -0.0330
medically-trained person
77.4 78.5 2.4 4.3 86.5 81.4 0.89 9.10 0.0188
medically-trained person 23.2 33.3 1.9 6.1 79.6 44.4 0.29 56.40 0.2419
doctor 5.1 8.0 1.6 3.5 28.0 12.3 0.18 22.90 0.3403
nurse or trained midwife 18.1 25.3 30.3 42.7 51.6 32.0 0.35 33.50 0.2042
public facility 15.9 24.9 3.3 40.2 48.2 30.9 0.33 32.30 0.2076
private facility 4.4 5.5 7.7 3.2 30.1 11.2 0.15 25.70 0.4028
At home 78.2 68.0 58.1 45.1 21.3 56.6 3.67 56.90 -0.1878
1993 BCG coverage 93.3 94.6 95.7 99.1 99.1 96.2 0.94 5.77 0.0120
DPT coverage 76.7 86.2 86.4 92.8 93.6 86.8 0.82 16.86 0.0302
To a medically-trained
person
89.0 96.1 96.1 95.9 97.6 94.8 0.91 8.64 0.0141
To a doctor 21.1 22.5 23.1 19.1 31.8 23.4 0.66 10.67 0.0723
To a nurse or trained
midwife
67.9 73.6 73.0 76.8 65.8 71.4 1.03 2.03 -0.0050
medically-trained person
76.3 85.1 83.9 84.9 87.7 83.4 0.87 11.36 0.0247
By a medically-trained
person
23.1 33.1 45.7 56.7 76.5 45.1 0.30 53.40 0.2270
By a doctor 5.7 9.4 11.8 13.6 23.6 12.2 0.24 17.87 0.2891
By a nurse or trained
midwife
17.3 23.7 33.9 43.1 52.8 32.9 0.33 35.53 0.2040
In a public facility 17.7 26.8 34.7 44.0 51.9 33.8 0.34 34.23 0.2021
In a private facility 4.8 5.1 9.6 11.3 22.5 10.0 0.21 17.66 0.3198
At home 75.8 66.1 54.4 43.8 24.3 54.7 3.12 51.51 -0.1795
Source: Gwatkin et al 2007; data for 2008 computed from 2008/9 KDHS

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CHAPTER 14: RELATIONSHIPS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO PUBLIC POLICIES
14.1 Introduction
Kenya’s development agenda as stipulated in a number of policies and programs have pointed out
the need to reduce poverty and inequalities and guarantee human rights (Republic of Kenya, 2012a;
2012b). Population and reproductive health issues are also inextricably linked to issues on poverty and
inequality reduction (UNFPA, 2007). The country population policy framework since 1984 recognizes
these inter-linkages and explicitly states that population processes influence development and vice
versa. The Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2012 as well as the Sessional Paper No. of 2000 called for multi-
sectoral approach to addressing population issues including the integration of demographic factors
into the activities of; health, education, women’s development, urbanization, housing, environment,
poverty alleviation, elimination of social and economic disparities (Republic of Kenya, 2012). The
interconnections between population dynamics, a reproductive health and development can operate
at the individual, household (micro) level and also the societal (macro) level. For example, it has been
argued that faster reduction of gender inequality would increase economic growth as was observed in
South Asia (UNFPA, 2012), while participation of women in the labour force of low-income countries is
often undermined by the vital roles they play at home (UNFPA, 2012).
This chapter reviews some of the important connections between the various components of
populationdynamics,reproductionandgenderaswellastheiractualorpotentialimplicationsforpublic
policies. The Sessional Paper No. 1 of 2012 on population policy envisages these interrelationships as
shown in the conceptual framework presented in Figure 15.1 below. Nevertheless attributing causal
effect relationships to deduce the impacts is still difficult to entangle given the data availability and
measurement issues (see UNFPA, 2007).
The key assumption in the inter-linkages is that poverty is multidimensional and denotes people’s
exclusion from socially adequate living standards and encompasses a range of deprivations (UNDP,
2013). Further, dimensions of poverty cover distinct aspects of human capabilities: economic (income,
livelihoods, decent work), human (health, education), political (empowerment, rights, voice), socio-
cultural (status, dignity) and protective (insecurity, risk, vulnerability). However, causes of poverty
vary widely but it is acknowledged that factors that shape development patterns can mitigate or
perpetuate poverty. Sustainable development aims at improving human well-being, particularly by
alleviating poverty, lowering inequality, and improving health, human resources, and stewardship of
the natural environment is closely linked to population factors (Global Science Panel on Population and
the Environment; 2002).

Figure 14.1 Conceptual Framework on Population and Development Linkages
Sustainable Socio Economic Development
E.g. Constitution principles, Policies and interventions, Governance structures
Wealth creation, poverty
reduction strategies, e.g.
Employment creation
Inequality reduction programmes e.g.
Empowerment of women, Social
protection of vulnerable groups
Community; Household
/family living conditions
and characteristics
• Quality of housing
• Nutrition
• Income
• Education of members
• Health seeking behaviours
Individual reproductive
perceptions and attitudes
Sexual and reproductive behaviuor and
practices, use of FP, birth spacing
practices, utilization of services,
migratory behaviour, consumption
behaviour
Population
dynamics: fertility
rates, death rates
migration
behaviours
Population characteristics: size,
growth and structure, spatial
distribution
Physical
Environment
Source: Adapted from Republic of Kenya, 2012b
The ICPD and ICPD+5 placed population, reproductive health, and gender equality in a rights-based
framework that is linked to and plays a key role in human development, sustained economic growth
and sustainable development. The Millennium Declaration which generated a series of quantified
targets for ending extreme poverty by 2015 constitute a summary of key commitments from different
United Nations conferences from the 1990s (WHO, 2003). This chapter discusses the linkages between
population dynamics, reproductive health (RH) and gender and their actual or potential implications
within the MDG framework. It essentially draws on the analyses presented in part II and III of this
document.
14.2 Population Dynamics and Development: Linkages
14.2.1 Population Dynamics
As reported in Chapter 3, Kenya’s population has been growing rapidly over the last 30 years and is
projected to double in about 23 years. Currently, the population is 40 million people and has a sex
ratio of 110. Its growth rate is estimated at 2.9 per cent per annum. Annually the population increas-
es by slightly over a million people and it will double after 21 years i.e. by 2034. The high population

growth is due to relatively high fertility and declining mortality. Currently, fertility is estimated at 4.6
children per woman, but with substantial regional and socio-economic differentials observed across
the country. Fertility is high in Western, Nyanza, Eastern, Rift Valley and North Eastern provinces, but is
below the national average in Central, Coast and Nairobi provinces.
Similarly, the analysis shows that Kenya has recorded a remarked improvement in reducing mortality;
currently, infant and child mortality are estimated at 52 and 74 deaths respectively per 1,000 live births.
In 1969 the comparative mortality rates were 119 for infants and 190 for children under age five. As
in the case of fertility, there are wide regional and socio-economic differentials in infant and child
mortality. Generally, mortality is high in the Nyanza, Western and Coast provinces, and low in Nairobi,
Central, Rift Valley and Eastern provinces. Furthermore, the analysis shows that maternal mortality is
relatively high in the country, estimated at 488 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2008-2009.
Further, Chapters 2 and 3 show that international migration is not a significant factor in influencing
overallpopulationchangeinthecountry.However,migrationisanimportantdeterminantofpopulation
change at sub-national level. Internal migration is influenced by socio economic and social disparities.
Migrants also move in search for training and employment opportunities as well as land to settle on. In
this regard, rural-urban migration is a major factor in the rapid urban growth in Kenya.
Age structure
With regard to the age-structure of the population, the analysis clearly shows that Kenya has a youthful
population with 63 percent of the total population being below the age of 25, the majority of whom
are dependents. Only five percent of the population is aged 60 and above. About 48 percent of women
are in the reproductive age. The analysis also shows that early marriages are common in Kenya, where
marriage is an almost universal institution. The youthful age structure, combined with early marriage,
creates a great momentum for further population growth.
Economic Progress
Chapter 2 also indicated that Kenya has on average recorded impressive economic development since
independence in 1963. Kenya’s policy initiatives and development programmes have been concerned
with the improvement of average standards of living of its people. For example, the Economic
Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment creation 2003-2007 (ERS) aimed at reducing poverty
and narrowing inequalities through employment and empowerment, and improving access to social
services, including education, for all people (UNICEF and GOK, 2010). From a 2002 economic growth
rate of less than one percent, ERS was able to revive the economy, which grew year on year from two
percent in 2003 to seven percent during in 2007, the final year of the strategy. While the 2007-2008
post-election violence interrupted progress, 2009 witnessed a resumption which has allowed a growth
rate of 4.5 percent in 2012.
The Government has been committed to attending to the factors that fuel morbidity and mortality in
the country. Consequently, an extensive public health infrastructure to provide both preventive ser-
vices — including family planning (FP) services — and curative services has been established. Efforts
have also been made to improve food security and provision of clean drinking water and adequate
sanitation.
However, the welfare of the Kenyan people is still characterized by wide socio-economic inequalities,
including unemployment, poverty, malnutrition, and a huge burden of preventable diseases (KNBS,
2007; KIPPRA, 2004; and Kimani and Kombo, 2010). For example, despite Government efforts since
independence to eradicate poverty, nearly half of the country’s 2009 population lives in poverty, with

children, women and rural population bearing the brunt of it (UNICEF and GOK, 2010). According
world global monitoring report of 2013 Kenya is the world’s third most unequal society after South
Africa and Brazil104
, and the gap between the country’s rich and poor is widening (World Bank, 2013).
These outcomes suggest that growth has not been broad-based, that certain areas and sectors of the
economy have been able to flourish through socio-economic transformations that have not touched
other parts of the country.
Interrelationships
The interactions between population and development have long been recognised in the literature105
(UNFPA, 2007; 2010). On the one hand, development can affect population dynamics while on the
other hand population dynamics can either enhance or hinder development. As earlier indicated, the
development recorded in Kenya since independence has contributed to the reduction in morbidity,
mortality and fertility and population growth. A consequence of declining infant and child mortality
alongside the high but declining fertility, development has contributed to the emergence of a youthful
age structure (‘demographic dividend’) — a resource which can spur further development if it can
be harnessed and gainfully employed (see Chapter 3 and Chapter on Youth in Part 3). However, in
the Kenyan context, the rapid population growth makes it difficult to adequately invest in the human
capital that is the youth and to create adequate employment opportunities for them. Furthermore,
improvementsincommunicationshavefacilitatedtheeaseofbothinternalandinternationalmigration,
which have development consequences in both the areas of origin and of destination.
Kenya’s persisting rapid population growth has had negative effects on its development. Rapid popu-
lation growth increases its density and reduces the amount of land available for agricultural use. This
exerts pressure on arable land leading to encroachment of forest land which are water catchments and
cultivation of hillsides, and/or to out-migration. Whichever option people choose — to stay or migrate
— rapid population growth increases demand for the resources with which to provide basic social ser-
vices, such as health and education. For example, high birth rates, childbearing at early and advanced
ages, and short birth intervals increase maternal and child morbidity and mortality (Cleland et al, 2006).
In turn, these demands reduce the country’s ability to invest in the expansion of the economy, thereby
undermining the challenge of achieving the MDGs and Vision 2030 (NCPD, 2001; 2011).
The Government’s efforts to improve the quality of social services are made and continue to be made
moredifficultbytherapidlygrowingnumberofpeoplethatneedtobeserved(Birdsalletal,2001,NCPD,
2001). Some studies conclude that a rapidly growing population often leads to reduced economic
growth because of the high dependency ratio (i.e. a high ratio of young to working age people), which
reduces income per head and contributing to low savings (see for example Birdsall et al, 2001).
Rapid population is just one among the many factors that have led to rural-urban labour migration. As
a way of escaping poverty, many young Kenyans migrate to urban areas in search of employment and
training opportunities. The rapid rural–urban migration fuels rapid urbanization, and in the absence
of equally rapid economic growth and investments, it has increased urban unemployment, under-
employment and poverty. It has also spawned economic vulnerability adversely affecting access to
social services (notably health care, education and housing), undermined infrastructure development,
and has led to overcrowding as well as unplanned and informal settlements (slums) (NCPD, 2001; UN-
HABITAT, 2006).
Rapid population growth’s adverse impact on health care access leads to poor health since the available
health-care facilities are often unable to adequately serve the ever increasing needs of the population.
104 Gini Coefficient for South Africa is estimated at 0.65, Brazil at 0.54 and Kenya at 0.50.
105 A detailed summary of studies and debates is provided in UNFPA 2007.

Currently, facility congestion amidst shortages of medical personal are common features of urban
Kenya’s health delivery systems (NCPD, 2001). An additional negative effect of rapid population growth
is the resulting stress on the environment, leading to degradation (NCPD, 2001).
14.3 Women Empowerment
This sub-section examines how women’s empowerment — Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 3,
and MDG 5 on maternal health (choices) — are linked to the achievement of the other MDGs. In this
analysis, women empowerment is defined more broadly to encompass efforts to improve the welfare
of women as individuals.
14.3.1 Women Empowerment and Poverty
Both at the micro and macro levels, gender issues are relevant to poverty reduction in several ways.
In Kenya as in many developing countries, poverty has a gender dimension since women and men
experience and react differently to its impact (Kimani and Kombo, 2010). Generally, women are more
likely to be affected by poverty than men especially because of their unequal access to economic,
social and educational opportunities. As earlier indicated, about half of Kenyans are poor, the majority
of these being women who along with children bear the brunt of poverty (Ministry of Planning and
National Development, 2000, Kimani and Kombo, 2010, UNICEF and GOK, 2010). This state of affairs is
a violation of women’s right to the determinants of improved human welfare, including food, clothing
and shelter.
Traditional beliefs and practices across many Kenyan communities have meant that women have had
little or no ownership and control of, or access to family assets, including resources such as land, as
compared to their male counterparts. Further, education is among the multiple basic rights secured
in Chapter 4 of the Kenyan constitution, and an important vehicle for accessing employment and
other economic opportunities. Yet, until recently, disproportionately fewer women in Kenya accessed
educational opportunities due to the low value placed by traditions and cultures on the girl child, as
compared to the boy child. Education empowers both girls and boys as they acquire a wide range
of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values critical for obtaining gainful formal employment and for
negotiating an equal place in society (UNICEF and GOK, 2010).
In Kenya, the participation of women in the labour force is relatively low and is often undermined by
the traditional domestic roles which tend to confine them to the household and informal economic
activities, and to prevent their participation in the formal labour market where they could earn a wage.
TheGenderStatusIndex(GSI)byeconomicactivityasreportedduringthe2009PopulationandHousing
Census is shown in Table 14.1106
. For the two categories, ‘working’and ‘working for pay’, the respective
GSI scores of 0.8 and 0.6 mean that men have advantage over women. As expected, however, women
dominate own/family business and own/agricultural business, reflected in GSI scores of 1.2 and 1.4
respectively.
Table 14.1 Gender Status Index by Economic Activity
Activity Women Men GSI
Working 49 57 0.8
Worked for pay 27 44 0.6
Own/Family business 21 18 1.2
Own/Agriculture business 50 36 1.4
Source: KNBS, 2012: Gender Dimensions Monograph
106 GSI is a measure of relative gender equalities, interpreted as the ratio of women to men’s participation in a particular activity.

Increasing women’s participation in economic activities, particularly in the formal labour market, would
enable more women to earn incomes and therefore increase total household incomes which enable
escape from extreme poverty107
.
14.3.2 Decision-making and Achievement of MDGs
Participation in decision-making at the household and society levels is a key element of women’s
empowerment which is closely linked to the achievement of MDG-1 to MDG-7108
and indeed Article
10 (2) of the Constitution. It is important for women to be involved in household decisions and this
is a direct measure of gender relations and of women’s autonomy within their families. A number of
studies have shown that households where women have a larger say in redistribution of resources
tend to allocate a larger share of the resources to health and education to support the most vulnerable
household members, such as children (Caldwell, 1979; Basu, 1994). Female education, which is often
used as the proxy for women’s influence on the distribution of resources, has been shown to enhance
survival probability of infant and children under age five. The same association between female
education and early childhood mortality is observed in Kenya (Table14.2).
Table 14.2 Mother’s Education, Wealth Index and Childhood Mortality in Kenya
Characteristic Infant mortality Child mortality Under five mortality
Mother’s education
No education 64 23 86
Primary incomplete 73 42 112
Primary complete 51 18 68
Secondary+ 45 14 59
Wealth Quintile
Lowest 66 34 98
Second 64 40 102
Middle 67 26 92
Fourth 39 12 51
Highest 57 13 68
Source: KNBS and ICF Macro (2010)
14.3.3 Women Empowerment and Fertility Reduction
Women empowerment is critical for lowering fertility in the country. Poverty is closely associated with
high fertility; poor women and those with little or no education often have higher fertility than well off
and educated women. In many communities in Kenya, poor women tend to start childbearing early
(see Chapter 4 in Part 3), and often resort to having many children as a means of gaining recognition
(status) and having a say in the household.This, coupled with the strong desire for sons over daughters,
props high fertility and contributes to increasing poverty at the household and national levels. High
fertility leads to high population growth, other factors being constant, such as is experienced in Kenya.
The analysis of Chapter 13 on household composition, wealth and total fertility clearly showed that
poverty drives both fertility and average household sizes (see Tables 14.3 and 14.4). This is unlikely
to happen where the women are empowered through increased education (KIPPRA, 2004), labour
participation and power to make decisions about fertility (UN, 1995; Jejeebhoy, 1995; Riley, 1997;
Mason et al, 1999).
107 For poverty reduction, it is actually even better to improve returns to all employment, including informal jobs, such as by raising the quality of the products
of the informal sector and finding them stable markets.
108 There is some evidence that both women’s education and labour force participation are directly related to increased women’s participation in decision-
making (domestic power at the household and community level) (Malhotra and Mather, 1997; Balk, 1997).

Table 14.3 Percent Distribution of Households by size and Wealth Index
Single person 2-4 members 5-8 members 9+ members Number
Poorest 0.9 21.7 58.0 19.3 9373
Poorer 1.8 24.2 56.5 17.5 6694
Middle 2.2 30.2 51.4 16.1 6862
Richer 3.1 35.5 49.5 11.9 7103
Richest 8.4 49.5 37.3 4.9 8483
Total 3.4 32.3 50.4 13.9 38515
Table14.4 Trends in Total Fertility Rates by Wealth Index
Year Low/1st 2nd
3rd 4th
High/5th
Average Low/High ratio Low-High
Difference
1993 7.2 6.2 5.6 5.3 3.3 5.4 2.17 3.91
1998 6.5 5.6 4.7 4.2 3.0 4.7 2.17 3.50
2003 7.6 5.8 5.1 4.0 3.1 4.9 2.44 4.50
2008 7.0 5.6 5.0 3.7 2.9 4.6 2.41 4.1
Sources: Gwatkin et al 2007; calculations from KNBS and ICF 2010
14.3.3 Women Empowerment and Environment
Women empowerment also contributes to the achievement of MDG 7 on the environment. Women
empowerment has been considered to contribute to saving the environment and overcoming the
dangers of overcrowding and other adverse consequences of population pressure. Sen and Chen
(1994) have argued that:
“Advancing gender equality, through reversing the various social and economic handicaps that
makewomenvoicelessandpowerless,mayalsobeoneofthebestwaysofsavingtheenvironment
and countering the dangers of overcrowding and other adversities associated with population
pressure. The voice of women is critically important for the world’s future — not just for women’s
future”(Sen and Chen (1994).
14.3.4 Policy Measures to Address Empowerment
In Kenya, a number of measures have been put in place to realize progress towards gender parity in
various sectors, thereby empowering women. For instance, the Women Enterprise Fund has been
created to enable women access to credit. The Government has also placed the university entrance
cut-off score for girls at two points lower than that for boys, and ring-fenced that at least 30 percent
of all public appointments are for women as part of the affirmative action to address the gender gap.
The new constitution states that women and men have the right to equal treatment, including the
right to equal opportunities in politics, economic, cultural and social spheres (National Council for Law
Reporting (NCLR), 2010). However, these measures have not yet had substantial impacts, which is why
there remain wide gender disparities in the country.
With regard to MDGs 2 and 3, the Government has put in place a raft of measures to improve access to
education in the country for both boys and girls. These include free primary education and subsidized
secondary education.There is also a bursary scheme for bright students from poor households (Ministry
of State for Planning and National Development and Vision 2030, 2007). As a result of these measures,
the country is likely to achieve full net primary school enrolment by 2015, given its gross primary
enrolment for 2009 stands at 110 percent, up from 107.6 percent in 2007/2008 and 73.7 percent in
2002. The net primary enrolment rates rose from 77.3 percent in 2002 to 92.9 percent over the same

period, while the primary school completion rates improved from 62.8 percent in 2002 to 83.2 percent
in 2009. The enrolment figures for boys and girls in primary school enrolment also point to a near
gender parity of 0.958 in 2009 (UNICEF and GOK, 2010).
14.4 Family Planning: Linkages
Family Planning and Fertility
The sustained increase in the use of family planning (FP) during 1990s has been mentioned as the
main driving forces behind rapid fertility decline in Kenya (Ajayi and Kekovole, 1998). During late
1990s, the national FP programme was substantially reduced due to declining Government and donor
funding and the shifting of priorities to HIV and AIDS. As a result, the large-scale community-based
distribution (CBD) programmes that allowed low-cost contraceptive information and services together
with information education and communication (IEC) campaigns advocating for small families and the
use of contraception were severely undermined (Aloo-Obunga 2003, Crichton, 2008).The decline in the
institutional support to FP was reflected in the stall in CPR during 1998-2003, and the corresponding
stagnation in fertility rate.
The high unmet FP need and incidence of unintended births have largely been attributed to inadequate
service provision, and poor commodity access due to erratic supplies. As response to this problem,
the Government prepared the Contraceptive Security Strategy 2007-2012 with the aim of ensuring
uninterrupted and affordable supply of contraceptives. However, little progress seems to have been
made against the supply problem as Kenyan women continue to experience high levels of unmet FP
need and unintended childbirths.
Family Planning and Women’s Productivity
Reproductive illnesses and unintended pregnancies weaken or kill women in their most economically
productive years, besides exacting a financial toll on individuals and families as well as undermining
the country’s economic development. In the late 1990s, ill-health conditions related to sex and
reproduction accounted for 25 percent of the global disease burden in adult women but in sub-Saharan
Africa, they accounted for over 40 percent (Lopez and Murray, 1998). In the early periods of this decade,
sexual and reproductive health conditions account for nearly one fifth of the global burden of disease
and 32 percent of the burden among women of reproductive age worldwide (WHO, 2001). One of the
outcomes of unplanned pregnancies is abortion, which is fairly common, mostly unsafe and accounts
for a significant percentage of all gynaecological emergency hospital admissions in Kenya (Guttmacher
Institute, 2012), with Gebreselassie et al., (2005) specifically placing the share at 60 percent. In Kenya,
abortions are reported to contribute to about 25 percent of the maternal deaths (Ipas, 2004). Preventing
unwanted pregnancy through meeting the unmet FP need would substantially reduce the need for
procuring abortion and the related maternal deaths. As in other developing countries, women in Kenya
make significant contributions to household incomes and wealth, a potential which is lost in the event
of death.
Smaller family sizes have potential to contribute to economic opportunities, as they have implied lower
dependency ratios; and they have also made it easier for household members, especially mothers, to
seek formal employment or engage in income generating activities outside the home. Increased access
to desired RH services, including voluntary FP programmes, and their impacts on fertility have led to
higher ratios of workers to dependent children. This allowed families and Governments to invest more
in children by ensuring access to education and health care, and over time, increase the ability to save
and invest more productively, stimulating economic growth. Further, analysis of longitudinal data in
Matlab showed that increased FP access and use leads to substantial improvement in women’s health

and earnings as well as /children’s health and schooling (Schultz, 2009b). Similarly, a recent study in the
slums of Nairobi found that families with fewer children had a higher socio-economic upward mobility
than the families with many children (Faye, 2009). Another study in Nicaragua found that households
with fewer children had higher intra-generational mobility rates than those with many children, and
that households with fewer children living in extreme poverty also had a higher chance of escaping
from extreme poverty than those with more children (Andersen, 2004 cited in UNFPA, 2010).
At the macro level, reduced fertility enhances women’s health and that of their children, opportunities
for their participation in education (and consequently) formal employment — reducing gender
inequalities, and economic growth as a result of the re-investment of surpluses released by reduced
youth dependency. The reduction in fertility will have long term effects on economic development
when the next generation of healthier and better educated children enter the labour force (Canning
and Schultz, 2012; Shultz, 2009a, 2009b; Joshi and Schultz, 2012).
Family Planning and the Reduction of Maternal Mortality
FP use is indispensable to the achievement of MDG 5 that seeks to improve maternal heath. There is
evidence that FP averts over 52.2 percent maternal deaths in Kenya every year, meaning that without
it, the number of maternal deaths would double. Ahmed et al. (2012) estimates that worldwide, 11,831
maternal deaths would occur without contraceptive use compared with 5,659 with contraceptive use.
FP methods, such as condoms, are also used to prevent the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted
infections. Regulation of pregnancies also enable women of child bearing age to be healthier and better
able to ward off or fight diseases and, therefore, avert untimely deaths. Improving FP access enhances
the achievement of the MDG 5 and 6.
Family Planning and Child Survival
FP use has been found to potentially improve perinatal outcomes and child survival. The analysis done
in the mortality Chapter 6 in Part 3 showed that early childhood mortality has been declining in Kenya
over the last three decades. It also points to wide socio-economic and regional differentials in early
childhood mortality. For instance, in 2008-2009, the infant mortality rate was 52 deaths per 1,000 live
births, down from 77 in 2003. In turn, under-five mortality rate was 74 deaths in 2008/2009 down from
115 in 2003. The data mortality chapter also showed that children born within short birth intervals
(< 2 years) have higher mortality risks. The use of FP lengthens birth intervals and, thereby, averting
childhood deaths (Cleland et al, 2012). According to Cleland et al., FP use to space children’s births by
at least two years can reduce the infant mortality rate by 10 percent and child mortality by 21 percent
in a developing country, such as Kenya. Recent analyses of the economic consequences of RH carried
out on data from Matlab, Bangladesh and Navirongo, Ghana, showed that at household level, FP use
reduces fertility and improves birth spacing (Schultz, 2009; Ahmed et al, 2012).
14.5 HIV and AIDS and Other MDGS
As with other parts of the world, Kenya has been affected by the HIV and AIDS epidemic since it was
first reported 1984 (NACC, 2005; NASCOP, 2005). An estimated 1.6 million people are living with HIV,
around 1.1 million children have been orphaned by AIDS, and in 2011, nearly 62,000 people died from
AIDS-related illnesses (UNGASS, 2011). HIV and AIDS prevalence peaked during the late 1990s and has
dramatically reduced to around 6.2 percent (KNBS and IC Macro, 2010).
A common theme emerging from the few studies on adult mortality suggest that that HIV and AIDS
has been a major factor in the rise in mortality in sub-Saharan Africa (Lopez et al, 2006). HIV and AIDS
in sub-Saharan Africa is, therefore, an essential reproductive health issue and three-quarters of the
burden of disease attributable to unsafe sex is in sub-Saharan Africa (Lopez et al, 2006).

HIV and AIDS has affected the Kenyan population in various ways.Women have been and are still being
disproportionally infected by HIV, and affected by it and AIDS. In 2008/2009, HIV prevalence among
women was twice as high as among men at 8 percent and 4.3 percent respectively (UNGASS, 2010).
This disparity was even greater among young women aged 15-24 who were four times more likely to
be infected with HIV compared to men of the same age. These realities adversely affect the drive to
achieve MDGs109
on promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.The most obvious
effect of HIV and AIDS has been its impact on morbidity and mortality; but the impact has certainly not
been confined to the health sector: households, schools, workplaces and the economy have also been
affected adversely.
As in many countries of sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS is erasing decades of progress in extending life
expectancy in Kenya. Life expectancy had been reduced from around 64 to 43.7 due to HIV and AIDS
(Fourie and Schonteich, 2001).The impact that AIDS has had on average life expectancy is partly
attributed to child mortality, as increasing numbers of babies are born with HIV infections acquired from
their mothers and consequently die early. UNAIDS (2006) reports that under-five mortality in Kenya
was 118 per 1,000 live births when HIV and AIDS is factored in, but that it drops to 98 if HIV and AIDS
is excluded. However, the increase in mortality occasioned by AIDS has been among the economically
productive population of adults aged between 20 and 49 (see also Bell, Bruhns, and Gersbach 2006 on
the impact on youth). Additionally, it has been estimated that about 20 percent of maternal deaths in
Kenya could be attributed to HIV and AIDS (WHO, UNICEF and World Bank, 2012).
The impact of HIV and AIDS on households can be very severe, especially if mitigation measures are
not employed. Although no segment of the Kenyan population has been spared by the pandemic, it
is often the poor and consequently most economically vulnerable for whom the consequences are
most severe. In many cases, the presence of AIDS causes the household to break up, as parents die
and children are sent to relatives for care and upbringing. A study in rural South Africa suggested that
households in which an adult had died from AIDS were four times more likely to break up than those in
which no deaths had occurred (Hosegood et al., 2004). Much happens before this break up takes place:
AIDS strips families of their assets and income earners, further impoverishing the poor. Taking care of
a person with HIV and AIDS is not only stressful and emotionally draining on household members, but
is also a major strain on household resources. Loss of income, additional care-related expenses, the
reduced ability of caregivers to work, and mounting medical fees push affected households deeper into
poverty. It is estimated that, on average, HIV and AIDS related care can absorb one-third of a household’s
monthly income (Steinberg et al., 2002). These realities make it difficult to achieve the overriding MDG
1 objective of reducing extreme poverty and hunger, which relates to all the other MDGs.
The HIV and AIDS also adversely affects food production in households in which key members are either
infected and/or consequently die. A study by Yamano and Jayne (2004) involving 1,500 farms in Kenya
found that food production in households in which the head of the family died of AIDS were affected
in different ways, depending on the sex of the deceased. As in other sub-Saharan African countries,
the death of a male head reduced the production of ‘cash crops’ (such as coffee, tea and sugar), while
the death of a female head reduced the production of grains and other crops necessary for household
survival (UNAIDS, 2006).
109 HIV and AIDS affects women through MDG 1 because they bear the burden of household (food) poverty, MDG 2 because they have to prepare children for
school, MDG 4, 5 and 6, because each mother is also a house‘doctor’and nurse, and MDG 7 because they are the ones to fetch water, firewood.

14.6 Gaps and Limitations
A number of analysts have tried to identify strengths and limitations of the MDG approach in
development process. For example, Aryeetey et al. (2012, 5-6) argued that MDG conceptualization
distilled the broad challenges of extreme poverty and sustainable development into a suite of simple,
compelling, and understandable goals. While Manning (2009) and Nayyar (2011, 21) concluded that
MDGS were ambitious and framed around the highly motivating concept of tackling global poverty.
However, some analysts have argued that the MDGs have been misinterpreted (Fukuda-Parr, 2012),
16) and that they were less successful at framing the development agenda at the country level (Klasen
2012, 1).
• MDGs were set in terms of aggregates and therefore masked tracking of progress in reducing
inequalities and provided no incentives to focus on the poorest and hardest to reach (Melamed
2012a, 2; Nayyar 2011, 21).
• MDG approach been criticized for missing key issues at national levels that are critical for
development such as; equity, human rights, sustainability and empowerment (Fukuda-Parr 2012,
21) and other some important policy areas such as such as climate change, growth, job creation,
security, and demographic change (Karver, Kenny, and Sumner 2012, 3).
• Evaluations of effect of relationships between the interventions, poverty and inequality as well
as parameters of population processes have not been done. Therefore, there are no clear policy
directions that can be determined. In particular, interrelationships between migration and poverty,
migration and health and migration and development.
14.7 Conclusion and Recommendations
Conclusion
In summary, the analyses reports in the preceding chapters and this chapter show that; population
dynamics, women empowerment, reproductive health and population age structure are each closely
linked to poverty reduction, reduced fertility, reduced population growth as well as to the attainment of
the MDGS andVision 2030.Therefore, concerted efforts should be made to empower women across the
board, improve educational attainment of both boys and girls, improve access to reproductive health
services, including FP and post-abortion care services, particularly among adolescents and youth.
Recommendations
Although a number of relationships have been envisioned in this document, the studies are still at
associational level and do not take into account cause-effect relationships. Most notable is the fact
at the present stage of development and demographic transition, there is need for studies that
interrogate the past literature and research results alongside contemporary national and devolved
governance structure in the country. Areas that lack requisite data and information include; migration
and its determinants and consequences, maternal mortality at sub-national levels, cause of death data
to determine burden of disease and data and information that link poverty, inequality and population
as well as reproductive health indicators.The DHS data lack information on poverty but has information
on demography and health while household budget surveys that have poverty data lack relevant
population and reproductive health indicators.
As in the framework in this chapter, there is need to include issues of equality and equity as one of
the guiding principles underpinning the whole framework or one or more goals that specifically focus
on inequality by type of inequality (social, economic or political equality). Inequalities can also be
integrated as a concern into goals and targets on different sectoral issues (politics, security, justice,
health,educationandpoverty)inordertouphold;inclusion,fairness,responsivenessandaccountability
to all social groups throughout the framework.

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CHAPTER 15: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
15.1 Introduction
Chapter Two of this report provides a comprehensive overview of Kenya’s situation, both with regard
to the main aggregate characteristics of its demographic trends and the progress of Kenya’s economy,
their social, political and institutional dimensions, as well as all issues pertaining to the analysis of social
expenditure. The intention was to provide a background against which to assess the effectiveness of
investments carried out in social policy areas, especially in education and health. In addition, it also
documented Kenya status in terms of its compliance with its international commitments, with emphasis
on the MDGs. The purpose was to give the reader a broad view of national realities against which to
consider the status of the population, progress made towards improvements, and the possibilities or
constraints imposed by the economic, social and political context.
In turn, Chapter Three outlines all components of population dynamics (including internal and
international migration) and the main components of sexual and reproductive health (SRH). It has
also detailed how the national population size, its composition and distribution have been changing
over time. It has also considered the national management of various factors affecting the national
population positively or negatively. The various changes have been and will continue occurring at
different rates, presenting a variety of challenges and opportunities.
15.2 Justification
Thisfinalchapterisexpectedtofulfillathreefoldfunction.Firstly,itservesasasummaryoftheforegoing
chapters, with an emphasis on the relevance of the key findings in the various areas covered in the
analysis, and the identification of the main challenges and priorities that confront Kenya, as well as
the contribution that can be made from the viewpoint of population analysis. That means putting the
main messages of the analysis into place and relating them creatively to the political and institutional
context existing and with the way the United Nations works in Kenya. Based on the analysis in Chapters
Two and Three, the second function of this chapter is to highlight the opportunities available with
which to attend to the challenges identified in the various chapters. The Constitution’s imperatives
of equity and participation underscore the need for nurturing the political will with which to invest
in rights-based public policies for reducing inequalities. The foregoing considerations focus on the
Government of Kenya and its development of its Medium Term Plan II, providing the issues that
could be considered at this stage of Vision 2030’s long development journey to transforming Kenya
into a middle income country by 2030. The third purpose of this chapter is to define in the context of
population and development, what the strategic interventions are that UNFPA can undertake as part of
a joint effort of the United Nations under its Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) to support
the development of Kenya.
15.3 Main Population Challenges Confronting Kenya
In 2007, Kenya imploded into a morass of intense localized violence that threatened the very fabric
of its society. However, the existence of national goodwill enabled by the encouragement of the
international community — notably the Panel of Eminent African Personalities of the African Union
(AU) was able to midwife a process that not only restored public order, but also developed a road map
to greater heights for the country, encapsulated in the National Accord which gave birth to the Grand
Coalition Government. The National Accord incorporated the Agenda Four reforms of long-standing
issues and solutions’ among whose components of immediate interest to the current report is the
finalization of the constitutional review process commenced in 2000. The other Agenda Four areas

of interest to the current report are attention to poverty, inequality and regional imbalances as well
as youth unemployment. The constitutional review process was finalized by August 2010, and the
General Election held under the new Constitution in March 2013. However, much remains to be done
with respect to poverty, inequality, regional imbalances and youth unemployment. The overriding
challenge into Kenya’s future — and certainly with respect to the issues mentioned here — lies in the
full implementation of the Constitution. Besides its emphasis on good governance, the Constitution
provides a substantive framework with which to address poverty, individual and regional inequalities
and youth unemployment. In that sense, the Constitution presents a challenge, inherent in its successful
implementation. However, the Constitution and the policy, legislative and institutional frameworks
arising from it also provide great opportunities for addressing population issues that are raised in this
report.
The evidence from the analysis carried out in the previous chapters confirms that population
behaviours are not neutral. The patterns and situation of SRH, survival conditions, population mobility
and settlement facilitate or hamper efforts to overcome poverty and social exclusion, according to the
prevailing living conditions, the structure of opportunities available and the public policies applied in
Kenya. This, therefore, emphasizes the need to highlight the main challenges facing population issues
in Kenya and the main opportunities provided by the circumstances discussed in the previous chapters.
15.3.1 Poverty
Among the most important challenges for Kenya 50 years after independence is breaking the grip of
poverty. In this respect, nearly 18 million (out of approximately 40 million) people in Kenya are living
in poverty. Further, there is a major problem of inequality with about 10 percent of the population
accounting for over 43 percent of the income, making Kenya one of the most unequal countries in the
world. Consequently, Kenya’s seven million poorest people need to be pulled out of extreme poverty,
as a critical pre-condition to reducing national inequality and ensuring well-being of all people. Since
most of these poor people are in the self-provisioning or informal sectors, it becomes necessary to
devise socio-economic reforms that raise their entitlements disproportionately in comparison to the
rise in the entitlements of the non-poor. This would enhance their welfare in multiple ways, such as
through increased per capita consumption — hopefully in ways that do not enhance health risks,
allowing improved nutritional status while also improving access to necessary health care.The evidence
from the literature shows that such changes coincide in the medium to long term, with a lowering of
fertility that also reduces family size. In turn, such achievements improve population management in
its many facets.
Significantly, the strategic goal for the KenyaVision 2030 is to achieveasocially-justandequitablesociety
by:
 Raising average annual incomes per person from an estimated US$650 in 2006 to above US$3,000
(at 2006 prices);
 Avoiding gross disparities while rewarding talent and investment risks in a manner that is deemed
socially just and not politically destabilising;
 Reducing poverty from 46 percent of total population by between three and nine percent;
 Implementing policies that minimise the differences in income opportunities and access to social
services across Kenya’s geographical regions; and
 Increasing community empowerment through “devolved” public funds, weighted in favour of the
most disadvantaged communities, to be allocated in accordance with locally-determined priorities
through transparent and participatory procedures.

15.3.2 Unemployment
The current demographic transition Kenya finds itself in is both a challenge and an opportunity. The
challenge is that while an increasing share of the population is of the working age, an equally increasing
proportion of young Kenyans is facing formidable hardships in landing a‘decent’job.With so many job-
seekers competing for scare opportunities, a disempowering environment has been created whereby
employment often goes to those with the right and timely social capital (connections; the‘right’tribal
affiliations), or the ability to bribe. The Kenya Economic Update (2012) has noted the disproportionate
growth in decent work: employment in the modern wage sector has been growing by just 50,000 jobs
a year, compared to expansion in the working age of roughly 800,000 a year.Thus, the Kenyan economy
needs to create decent jobs at a much more rapid pace; otherwise employment will continue to be
rationed in large part through exploitative practices.
The Constitution (2010) outlaws discrimination and promotes equal opportunity for all Kenyans.
However, the resulting legislative and institutional frameworks will remain unequal to the task of
managing the distribution of scarce employment opportunities which are perpetually threatened by
parochialism, meaning that abuse of office and other forms of corruption will remain in the job market.
The Kenya Economic Update notes that although high youth unemployment and inactivity rates are
in part transitional, focus group interviews with young Kenyans indicate that they have legitimate
concerns about their limited job opportunities. Many find that nepotism, tribalism, demands for bribes,
and sexual harassment are major barriers to obtaining a job. Young people coming from wealthier
and connected families are seen as having large advantages in finding work, regardless of skills and
qualifications.
The private sector contributes about 90 percent of new jobs in Kenya. Consequently, boosting national
employment creation is chiefly about removing key obstacles that inhibit dynamic Kenyan and foreign
investment firms from flourishing. Some such obstacles include:
 Poor infrastructure — transport costs in Kenya are prohibitive and power supplies unreliable,
putting Kenya at a clear disadvantage compared to its competitors such as South Africa; and
 Corruption — Kenyan firms devote an average four percent of their sales incomes to bribes. This
proportion could be used to hire a quarter of a million people — roughly the number of young
unemployed Kenyans in urban areas. Corruption related losses are bound to be higher given that
many firms shun coming to Kenya in the first place (World Bank, 2012).
The state of unemployment in Kenya was captured in a report prepared by the National Economic and
Social Council (2011). Besides underscoring the persisting unemployment challenge, the report offered
the following key highlights:
 Lack of employment appears to be the main constraint that prevents people from escaping from
poverty;
 Public offices are under funded and understaffed. On the other hand, private employment services
are fragmented and not accessible to the disadvantaged groups. Allocation of more resources to
the public schemes and offering incentives for private services may make job search programmes
more effective;
 Kenyaoffersadiverserangeofskillsandtrainingprogrammesinbothpublicandprivateinstitutions.
Further, there have been several interventions to improve labour market laws and regulations;
 There are a few programmes for overseas employment of young people, such as the Youth
Employment Scheme Abroad (YESA) under the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF);
 On average, the livestock sub-sector has the highest potential for increasing employment in
general, as well as employment of women; and

 The horticulture sector, especially vegetables, generates the highest labour demand in response
to a stimulus.
In its report on the employment situation in Kenya, the Ministry of Labour has singled out employment
creation as one of the most effective routes to poverty reduction and economic growth. Some of the
key challenges in employment creation include: ineffective coordination of available opportunities;
mismatch between college training curricula and employers’ requirements; lack of an enabling
investment environment; high population growth; and low productivity.
Other challenges for job creation include weak targeting mechanisms of job creation programmes,
and lack of clear exit plans.The public employment offices which assist job-seekers were under funded,
understaffed, had weak job search infrastructure, and concentrated on youth who are looking for jobs
in urban areas. Further, employment offices were largely located in urban areas, whereas the majority
of initial job seekers were in rural areas without the resources with which to frequent employment
agencies.
15.3.3 Inadequate Access to Health Care Information and Services
The health status of the people in Kenya has improved only marginally in the last two decades. For
example, expectation of life at birth increased from 59 years to 60 years; maternal deaths have remained
at an average of 500 for every 100,000 live births; skilled attendance during delivery dropped from
50 percent to 44 percent; fertility rate decreased from 6.7 to 4.6 live births per woman. Some of the
manifestations of the persisting unsatisfactory state of affairs include:
 Wide differentials persist in mortality based on age, sex, and geographical location;
 New health challenges that are a product of economic transition, such as diabetes, heart
diseases, high blood pressure, and cancer;
 Households remain the largest contributors of health financing at about 36 percent, followed
by the Government and donors, who contribute approximately 30 percent each;
 The ratio of health personnel to the population is still inequitable: for example, there are only
14 physicians for every 100,000 people, against a WHO recommended ratio of 120 to 100,000
people;
 Medical products and technologies are poorly regulated due to competing interests in the field
and to institutional weaknesses in the sector. Furthermore, the financing of medical products
andtechnologiesremainslowdespitethecriticalroletheyplayinoverallhealthservicedelivery;
 Weak information capacity of the sector as a result of low funding for the development of health
information systems, leading to the use of parallel information generation systems resulting in
duplication of efforts; and
 Poor linkages across service delivery levels, partly due to a weak referral system.
15.3.4 High Population Growth Rate
Population is an important component of a complex nexus of processes that determine the economic
and social development of a country, such as Kenya. Population dynamics and trends (including
changesinsize,structure,compositionandspatialdistribution)arekeydeterminantsofsocio-economic
development and environmental sustainability.The current high population growth rate of 2.9 percent
per year for Kenya is an obstacle to improving the standards of living of Kenyans, eliminating poverty,
and reducing gender inequality.
High population growth rates contribute to movements of people, for example, from rural to
urban areas. By 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas with

significant challenges for urban planning and logistics. While urbanization and migration may
present opportunities for economic and social development, and for resource efficiencies, if the two
phenomena are unexpected and unplanned, they can be economically and politically disruptive.
They can also result in adverse environmental impacts. The common view is that a rapidly increasing
population (that undermines savings and capital formation) has a negative effect on economic growth
and consequently on employment, if natural resource opportunities stagnate or do not expand at the
same rate as the population, undermining per head shares.
A Ministry of Local Government report on urbanisation and national development shows that at
independence in 1963, Kenya’s urban population share was eight percent. The share increased to 19
percent in 1999, 31 percent in 2009, and about 34 percent in 2011. By 2030, the urban population
is projected to rise to 63 percent. This rapid urban transition Kenya is undergoing presents both an
opportunity as well as a development challenge. Urbanization can be associated with economic
prosperity; but if rapid, it can also present enormous challenges unless the economy transforms fast
enough to generate jobs for the growing labour force. Additionally, good governance and planning are
required to develop the urban infrastructure and social services that meet the needs of the growing
population, including decent housing and amenities for low income people.
15.3.5 Environmental Unsustainability
Preserving and properly managing the environment is an essential foundation for sustainable
development and poverty reduction. However, a number of challenges exist in Kenya, including global
warming and climate change in general; lack of coordination among authorities, stemming from an
unclear definition of roles and responsibilities, coupled with lack of harmonization of laws and policies
related to environmental management.
15.3.6 Inadequate Information Base
Hitherto, Government and UNFPA programmes for monitoring of the millennium development and
ICPD indicators have been reported as weak. In addition, the Health ministry’s Health Management
Information System (HMIS) does not provide timely and comprehensive data. The increased demand
for data indicates the inherent weaknesses of the national systems for data generation and storage,
meaning that the many agencies involved in monitoring of Millennium Development Goals and
ICPD indicators continue to rely on (cross-sectional) national surveys. While the implementation of
development programmes is being devolved to the county level, the planning departments at this level
will not immediately have the capacity to generate and utilize data for monitoring and evaluation of
such programmes. There is need to build and/or strengthen the capacities of the relevant departments
to put in place appropriate monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems, and to utilize the information
generatedbythesesystemsforprogrammeimprovement,advocacyandpolicyreview/formulationatall
levels. Secondly, social, bio-demographic and biomedical research is needed to enable programmes to
provide appropriate quality services to beneficiaries, especially vulnerable groups. Research outcomes
must also be translated and utilized appropriately for the welfare of the people. This makes imperative,
the need for improvements in the knowledge value chain across the different organizations providing
services to the people. Requisite data and information, both from routine and non-routine sources, for
various population and health interventions at different levels remain inadequate. Inadequacy of such
data and information seriously hamper effective planning (e.g. when setting programme targets) and
monitoring and evaluation.

15.4 Main Opportunities Available for Kenya
In response to the challenges identified in the previous analysis, this sub-section identifies some
strategic areas for action, which will go beyond developing relevant policies, to preparing for their
implementation towards improvements in people’s quality of life; reducing poverty and social
inequality; and promoting greater gender equality. The following are the key opportunities available
for Kenya.
15.4.1 Kenya Vision 2030
The adoption of Sessional Paper No. 10 of 2012 transformed Kenya Vision 2030 into a national policy,
rather than it just being a strategy paper. That action by the National Assembly in December 2012
will play a key role in providing a legitimate anchor for Vision 2030 as Kenya’s framework for sustained
economic, social and political transformation up to 2030. The key import of that transformation is that
Vision 2030 now transcends a mere Government of the day and becomes the property of Kenyans
of all cultures, races and religious affiliations. Most importantly for its duration to 2030, Vision 2030
becomes an integrated development reference point from which sector stakeholders can generate
broad guidelines to specific policy-making.
15.4.2 The Constitution of Kenya 2010
The Constitution (2010) in and of itself, is a great opportunity for the transformation of Kenyan society.
In terms of attention to the issues raised in this PSA, two chapters of the Constitution are critical in very
general ways, Chapter 5 on Land and Chapter 6 on National Leadership and Integrity. Provisions of
Chapter 6 are noble; yet, persisting bad governance means the country is yet to derive as much benefit
as it should have from the provisions of the chapter. Such weak governance is, for example, manifest
in the management of the provisions of the chapter on land, where the President only sanctioned the
National Land Commission (NLC) into existence because the High Court ordered it. Ultimately, land
was the driving force behind the 2007/2008 violence whose causes are an impending agenda. While
Treasury only allowed NLC five percent of its financial year 2013/2014 budget request, it is imperative
that the body be facilitated to deliver on its mandate. Undermining NLC’s mandate merely postpones
a problem whose roots precede Kenya’s independence, but was played out with unprecedented
ferocity in the 2007/2008 violence. Streamlining the requirements of these two chapters will provide
an enabling environment in which to pursue the areas of the Constitution with specific opportunities
for population issues.
Articles 26, 43 and 53 explicitly recognize and address the right to health as a specific individual right.
This right is enforceable in a court of law in the same way that Kenyans have hitherto been used to
seeking to enforce their civil and political rights. Article 43 provides that every person has the right:
to the highest standard of health, which includes the right to health care services, including reproductive
health care; to accessible and adequate housing, and to reasonable standards of sanitation; to be free
from hunger, and to have adequate food of acceptable quality; to clean and safe water in adequate
quantities; and to education. While the immediate interest here is in the right to health in general and
to reproductive health in particular, the article significantly appreciates the roles of non-health factors
in promoting the individual’s health, by emphasizing the rights to housing, food, water and sanitation.
Article 69 requires the State to: ensure sustainable exploitation, utilization, management and
conservation of the environment and natural resources, and ensure the equitable sharing of the
accruing benefits; eliminate processes and activities that are likely to endanger the environment; and
utilize the environment and natural resources for the benefit of the people of Kenya. Amongst other

reasons, this provision is important in the wake of the recent discovery of various minerals across
the country. Additionally, while the traditional inclination of the Government has been to extract
such resources for the benefit of the more developed parts of the country, this articles concern with
“sustainable exploitation”and the“equitable sharing of the accruing benefits”obliges the Government
to conduct itself differently from what it has been doing in the last 50 years.
Article 174 articulates the objects of the devolution of Government to be: to give powers of self-
governance to the people and enhance participation of the people in the exercise of the powers of
State and in making decisions affecting them; to recognize the right of communities to manage their
own affairs and to further their development; to promote social and economic development and the
provision of proximate, easily accessible services throughout Kenya; and to ensure equitable sharing
of national and local resources throughout Kenya. In this respect, the Constitution appreciates the fact
that 50 years of centralized Government has not achieved the development promise during which, as
provided by Sessional Paper No. 10 of 1965, development resources have been concentrated only in
the parts of the country with“high absorptive capacity”, at the expense of the rest.
Article 201 (b) – The public finance system shall promote an equitable society, and in particular,
expenditure shall promote equitable development of the country, including by making special
provision for marginalized groups and areas. The management of public finance — whether it is
revenue generation or its spending — is at the heart of the long-standing suspicions that Kenyans
have harboured since independence and which led to the conflagration in the wake of the disputed
2007 presidential elections. The provisions of all the articles cited above depend, for their effective
implementation, on the sound, equitable and transparent management of public finances at the
national and county Government levels.
Article 204 provides for the Equalisation Fund which shall be used: “only to provide basic services
including water, roads, health facilities and electricity to marginalized areas to the extent necessary
to bring the quality of services in those areas to the level generally enjoyed by the rest of the nation,
so far as possible.”Set at one-half percent of national revenues, the Equalisation Fund is deemed small
to redress the extents of inequality and marginalisation that have been illustrated in the foregoing
chapters. Eventually, the Commission of Revenue Allocation has proposed some 17 (out of 47) counties
as the exclusive beneficiaries of the Equalisation Fund, meaning its outreach will be limited. This reality
illustrates the need to exploit the opportunities offered by the Constitution in a synergistic manner, as
it is likely that their eclectic or even partial exploitation might generate benefits that are lesser than the
sum of the parts.
15.4.3 Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2012 on Population Policy for National Development
This Sessional Paper has outlined various policy measures which present opportunities for various
actors to take advantage of (NCPD, 2012). A summary of such key policy measures are presented below:
Population Size and Growth: Support for programmes that will intensify nationwide advocacy and
public awareness campaigns on implications of rapidly growing population on individual family welfare
and national socio-economic development. Rather than focusing on FP alone, programmes should
always emphasise the evidence that associates socio-economic ascendancy with reduced or improved
population indicators — lower fertility, FP use, smaller family size, etc.
Population Structure: Advocate for and support the implementation of the Youth Policy, including
expanding and strengthening of Youth Empowerment Centres to implement region specific youth

development initiatives. Support the implementation of policies and programmes aimed at increasing
investment in education and technology, new innovations, health care, and infrastructure to cater for
this productive segment (active age) of the population. There is need to integrate population issues
in all these interventions so that the youth espouse ‘the positive population’ message long before
they become family people, and indeed make it part of the agenda in deciding on marriage partners.
Support the implementation of the National Policy on Ageing, in the context of the provisions of Article
47 of the Constitution.
Persons with disabilities: Advocate for and support the implementation of a database on the
magnitude, characteristics, and RH/FP needs of persons with disabilities (PwDs). Arising from
Constitution’s recognition for PwDs — expressed in Articles 21, 27 and 54 — there is a need to
mainstream PwDs’issues sector frameworks.
Information, Education and Communication (IEC) and Advocacy:
There is an urgent need to improve the knowledge and information base on population issues, such as
by balancing attention to cross-sectional survey data with the longitudinal data from service delivery
points. This will provide a sounder basis against which to prepare IEC and advocacy materials which
are critical for delivering appropriate messages to disaggregated audiences. Such intentions call for
intensified advocacy for increased budget allocations for population, RH and FP services. Mobilise
adequate resources to increase availability and use of population data for integration of population
variables into development planning in all spheres and at all levels, as suggested above regarding
PwDs. Finally, it is necessary to enhance the capacities of institutions responsible for population data
collection, analysis and dissemination to generate accurate, timely and user-friendly population data
for integration of population issues into development planning at all levels.
Population and environmental sustainability: Intensify the use of population variables in
environmental planning and resource management, using tangible issues that grow out of everyday
contexts within which different target audiences operate.
Population, Technology, Research and Development: Intensify efforts in the collection,
documentation and timely dissemination of population information. Update the national population
research agenda on a regular basis. Mobilise funds for population and development research. Enhance
the capacities of counties to generate and use county level data.
15.4.4 Global and regional initiatives
Kenya should endeavour to take advantage of some of the international and regional initiatives
that have provided frameworks for heightening political commitment to addressing various health
concerns, or have actually manifested such commitment. These include the Global Fund for AIDS,
Malaria and TB, Abuja Declaration, Stop TB, African Leaders’ Malaria Alliance, WHO’s basic primary
health spending package (US$34 pp/year), and Roll Back Malaria Partnership. The Rio+20 Conference
on Sustainable Development, the UN General Assembly’s intention to revisit the International
Conference on Population and Development (ICPD+20) scheduled for 2014/2015, and the review of the
Millennium Development Goals in 2015 present opportunities to reframe the relationships between
populations and environments. If successfully reframed, these relationships will open up a prosperous
and flourishing future for present and coming generations.

15.4.5 Low global competitiveness index
Kenya’s ease-of doing-business score has been worsening in conjunction with its declining rank in
Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), undermining attraction of foreign investments. In 2010/2011,
Kenya’s GCI rank was 106 out of 139 countries, and stood at 98 out of 183 in the World Bank Ease
of Doing Business Index (EDBI). These declines were mainly due to the country’s poor showing with
respect to five pillars of competitiveness among low income countries, including: (i) macroeconomic
environment; (ii) health and primary education; (iii) infrastructure; (iv) technological readiness; and (v)
higher education and training. In view of the importance of Kenya’s improved performance in relation
to these global indices, the following measures might be useful:
a) Strengthening and mainstreaming the activities of the Productivity Centre of Kenya should be
undertaken, while the agenda of Kenya’s competitiveness needs to be mainstreamed fully into
legislative and institutional frameworks that represent the five pillars cited above, so that activities
within the pillars are constantly guided by a consideration of their proposed activities’ impacts on
EDBI and GCI.; and b) There already exist several institutions that can monitor Kenya’s EDBI and/or GCI,
which include KAM, Productivity Centre, etc. Correct institutional framework to progress the agenda on
competitiveness either in one central institution or in a centralised manner through the performance
contracting framework and ministerial and parastatals strategic planning as well as monitoring and
evaluation in electronic form should be identified. In addressing the creation of a globally competitive
country, ongoing reforms such as the implementation of the constitution, the police reforms, Judiciary
reforms, Companies Act and Insolvency Law, are important in addressing issues of competitiveness and
productivity.
15.5 The Strategic Role of UNFPA in Kenya
UNFPA’s strong presence in over 140 countries provides on-the-ground infrastructure for working
with Governments on population-informed development strategies. As demonstrated by its previous
support to Kenya, the Population Fund has a strategic operational niche based on the experience
acquired in the generation and analysis of data on socio-demographic issues, population, SRH, and
gender. Besides the agency’s participation in strategic political dialogue, UNFPA’s mandate encourages
it to employ its capacity to bring population issues, SRH and gender into development policy-making
at local, national, regional and global levels. UNFPA brings these comparative advantages to the
negotiations on related evidence-based policy making and development planning.
The end-term evaluation of the GOK/UNFPA 7th
Country Programme reckons that the Country
Programme is aligned to the UNFPA Strategic Plan (2008-2012) with its focus on meeting the
millennium development goals by addressing Reproductive Health and Rights, population and gender
equality. This Programme focuses on areas that are considered most strategic for UNFPA in the context
of national priorities, the UNDAF results framework and UNFPA comparative advantage. However, key
elements of the ICPD agenda remain incomplete. Of particular concern is the fact that the MDG 5 - that
UNFPA most directly contributes to — has recently been found to be the furthest from attainment110
. Partly as a result, maternal health, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) more broadly, has been
the focus of renewed attention in recent years, both at the United Nations as well as at the regional and
national levels, creating an opportunity for UNFPA in Kenya to act accordingly.
The mid-term evaluation (MTR) report of the Government of Kenya and UNFPA 7th
Country
Programme (2009-2013) notes that despite a number of successes by UNFPA, the overall
progress has clearly been insufficient. The MTR has documented four key lessons that have
been learnt:
110 World Bank and International Monetary Fund, Global Monitoring Report 2011.

 Strategic focus: As a result of a siloed approach with three focus areas that were insufficiently
integrated, UNFPA appeared not to have a clear strategic focus, reducing cohesion internally and
weakening the organization’s brand externally. Although resources were not split equally across
the three focus areas — RH and rights receives by far the largest share of programme resources;
approximately 60 percent per year — the fact that the focus areas are officially coequal makes it
more difficult to clearly identify the organization’s focus;
 Fragmentation: UNFPA resources continue being spread too thinly, reducing the organization’s
ability to show impact. Trying to reach everywhere means that insufficient resources are available
for the regions facing the largest problems. The impact of these resources is further diluted when
the country office tries to work in numerous outcome areas despite having a relatively very small
budget; and
 Measurement: Several challenges associated with the measurement system have made it
more difficult to assess progress over the initial years of the UNFPA Strategic Plan. For example,
the outcome indicators included in the development results framework (DRF) were often not
measurable on a regular basis. Additionally, UNFPA contributions to higher-level results were often
difficult to capture accurately, since the DRF indicators were primarily the joint responsibility of
countries and UNFPA, and were not complemented by other metrics that enabled assessment of
the Fund’s direct contributions.
Resource Mobilization
The MTR report of 2010 notes that the UNFPA Kenya Country Office (KCO) developed a comprehensive
strategy for resource mobilization. This strategy had been regularly refined and updated in line with
the UNFPA Strategic Plan and in response to programme needs. The main objectives of resource
mobilization were to: a) identify UNFPA KCO and implementing partners (IPs) needs for funding
and prioritize for the same; b) identify corresponding needs with regard to above donor priorities
and funding opportunities; c) develop quality concept notes and funding proposals; d) enhance
communications and partnerships; e) increase visibility of UNFPA KCO and its programme of assistance;
f) enhance advocacy; g) use aid effectively and leverage resources; h) demonstrate transparency and
accountability in the utilization of mobilized and/or leveraged resources; and i) ensure and strengthen
office resource mobilization capacities.
Programme Coordination
As provided for in the Country Programme Action Plan (CPAP) of 2009-2013, the Ministry of Finance
had the overall responsibility for coordinating not only the UNFPA-sponsored programme, but also
all programmes supported by the UN System in Kenya. In the context of the Country Programme
(CP) implementation, the Ministry of Finance, through the External Resources Department, had the
responsibility for budgeting, monitoring of expenditures and facilitating issues such as delayed
disbursement of funds.
Attheoperationallevel,theCPwascoordinatedbytheMinistryofStatePlanning,NationalDevelopment
and Vision 2030. The Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation coordinated the RH component while
the Ministry of State for Planning and Vision 2030 coordinated the PD component through the
National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development. The Ministry of Gender, Children and
Social Development, in collaboration with the National Commission on Gender and Development,
coordinated the Gender Equality component.
Failure by the UN agencies to synchronize their funding cycle (January to December) with that of the
Government of Kenya (July to June) continued to affect fund absorption, financial reporting and the
timely implementation of the annual work plan activities. Any financial transaction not processed

by the end of April gets stuck until August or even September when the Government fiscal year is
implemented.
Partnerships
UNFPA has worked along with the rest of the UN system in Kenya, to support Government’s efforts
to deliver on the goals and targets embodied in the Kenya Vision 2030 and the first Medium Term
Plan (2008-2012). To this end, the UNFPA KCO teamed up with other UN agencies within UNDAF and
through the UNCT, UN PCG, HACT and Joint Programmes to render a more coherent and more effective
assistance.
Apart from Joint Programmes, the UNFPA KCO joined hands with other agencies for specific activities.
Forexample,UNFPAworkedwithWHOandUNICEFtoassisttheGovernmentofKenyatodevelopaRoad
Map on maternal and new born health. In the context of Aid Effectiveness, UNFPA is an active member
of the Aid Effectiveness Group and related sector working groups relevant for CO programming. There
is a high degree of coordination between UNFPA and other UN Agencies particularly in programme
areas where there is potential overlap. For example although both UNFPA and UNICEF work on FGM/C;
each agency is in charge of a defined geographical area to avoid overlap and this reflects a high level
of complementarity.
In the 2010 assessment on organizational effectiveness by the Multilateral Organization Performance
Assessment Network (MOPAN), a partnership 16 donor countries with a common interest in assessing
the organizational effectiveness of major multilateral organizations, UNFPA Kenya received ratings of
adequate or better on its performance and was seen as strong in performance-oriented programming,
financial accountability and supporting national plans among other areas.
National Ownership
TheParisDeclarationandtheAccraPlanofAction(AAA)putaparticularemphasisonnationalownership
and leadership in development assistance. The MTR found ample evidence of such ownership and
leadership in relation to the CP under review. The Government’s commitment is shown through both
fundingandthekeyroleitplaysinspearheadingtheAidEffectivenessGroupandrelatedsectorworking
groups. For example, the Government of Kenya: chairs meetings of Development Partners for Health
and many other such groups; contributed 90 percent of the cost of the 2009 Population and Housing
Census; is contributing 70 percent of funding for reproductive health commodities; and contributed
100 percent towards the cost of condoms. The one area where the majority of funding comes from
external assistance is HIV and AIDS and the Government has been asked to increase its contribution.
It is worth noting that the GOK/UNFPA 7th
CP is completely aligned with Kenya’s own National
Development Strategies as spelled out in Vision 2030 and the first Medium Term Plan (MTP I) and with
the Strategic Priorities outlined in the second Kenya Health Sector Strategic Plan (KHSSP II). Programme
implementation has involved participation of the Civil Society. Furthermore, in order to enable the
Government lead its own programming, UNFPA has enhanced different types of capacities within the
public sector. These include the capacity of key ministries to lobby parliament, cabinet and media to
pay close attention to the high population growth rate (2.9%) and the unacceptably high maternal and
child mortality through the launch of the campaign for accelerating reduction in maternal mortality
in Africa (CARMMA), Road Map on maternal and new born health, the establishment of health centres
of excellence, and integration of obstetric fistula management in public hospitals. Additional capacities
contributing to promoting ownership included result-based management (RBM), M&E and the
country’s demographic expertise that made it possible to process, analyse, publish and disseminate
in record time the 2009 Population and Housing Census data. If exploited fully, the resultant data sets
can provide the requisite baseline for evidence-based planning for the next decade. This will, however,

require additional efforts in the data analysis phase for which most developing countries (including
Kenya) often allocate insufficient funds.
Monitoring and Evaluation
The MTR found that the UNFPA KCO is fully compliant with UNFPA guidelines on Monitoring and
Evaluation. It has put in place an elaborate system of planning, regular and periodic reviews so as to
ensure that programme implementation remain on track. The process involves at the planning level
the joint development of UNDAF by UN agencies, Government and civil society; development of the
Country Programme Document (CPD); development of the Office Management Plan (OMP) at the
beginning of the year; and the Annual Work Plan (AWP) with IPs and other partners as appropriate.
Arising from the key challenges and opportunities identified, the following recommendations are
offered:
15.6.1 Job Creation
The Kenyan education system will have to quickly and significantly ratchet up skills of those who go
through it. This entails building on Kenya’s progress with Free Primary Education, improving school
quality, and ensuring that more Kenyans complete secondary school. More importantly, it is imperative
that the Kenyan education system is better aligned with the job market.
This calls for labour-intensive initiatives, entrepreneurship development, elimination of skills mismatch,
policies on labour migration and productivity improvement. This requires an integrated National
Employment Policy which should integrate all employment opportunities in a time-bound national
action plan with clear targets for different agencies. It is suggested that a National Employment
Council with membership, drawn from workers, employers, private sector and academia, be created to
coordinate the implementation of a National Action Plan on Job Creation.
It is, therefore, recommended that the Government targets programmes to nurture, incubate and
encourage talents exhibited by youths at an early age. It is further noted that some sectors — such as
livestock, horticulture production, irrigation, hotels and restaurants — have the potential to yield more
job creation opportunities than others, and should therefore be targeted first. To tackle the challenge
of unemployment in Kenya, the following measures are necessary:
 Simplify business registration processes, improve governance and physical infrastructure and
reduce crime rates. Financial assistance programmes are a popular intervention to promote
entrepreneurs. International experience indicates that such programmes have been successful in
stemming unemployment;
 The new labour laws should be implemented in a consultative manner to take into account the
concerns of social partners. This will safeguard Kenya’s competitiveness in international markets;
 Given that the sectors with the largest potential for job creation are agriculture based, there is need
for increased investment in agriculture, such as in livestock management and irrigation (to reduce
seasonal vulnerability);
 The Government should commission a School-to-Work Transition Survey (SWTS) to improve the
design of employment policies and programmes for the youth.This will help assess the relative ease
or difficulty of the youths’transition from school to work life. It will also help identify levels of skills,
perceptions and aspirations in terms of employment, job search process, barriers to entry into the
labour market, and the preference for wage employment versus self-employment; and
 The analysis of some aspects of unemployment is hampered by lack of sufficient data. The labour

force survey instrument should be modified to capture unemployment spells and transitions
into and exit from unemployment. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics should deepen the
employment data collection instruments and ensure quarterly data collection and release to show
the number and types of jobs created across Kenya and sectors more frequently.
The World Bank (2012) contends that the policies for job creation are very closely linked to the factors
that would make Kenya’s business climate more attractive and the economy as a whole more successful.
The report highlights four key elements to a wage job creation strategy for Kenya: (i) achieving political
and macroeconomic stability; (ii) continuing to invest in transport and electricity; (iii) eliminating job-
smothering corruption; and (iv) up-grading skills and making schools work for all Kenyans, not just
the well off. The private sector has indicated that the Government needs to act on the above elements
for the private sector to make substantial new investments in manufacturing and industry, and in the
process, generate new high wage jobs. While the Government has had a mixed track record to date,
there are signs that it is taking most of these elements seriously. New investments in transport and
electricity will spur manufacturing and industrial growth, creating more jobs.
The Government needs to get serious about eliminating corruption, which acts as a chokehold on the
private sector. Most transactions involving Government officials, from obtaining contracts to paying
taxes, seem to have a corrupt element.TheWorld Bank estimates that if the private sector could redirect
the money it now spends on corruption to creating jobs, it could create 250,000 jobs, sufficient to hire
most unemployed urban Kenyans between the age of 15 and 34. In addition young people seeking
jobs often have to pay bribes to get them, a practice that can discourage would-be entrants into the
labour force. It will be easier to stop petty corruption once Government takes corruption seriously, and
individuals not only lose their jobs, but also go to jail for corrupt behaviour.
Kenya needs to continue to make quality education a priority and not just its quantity. Kenya has made
good progress in providing universal primary education and has greatly increased the availability of
secondary education. Kenya will need to continue to make significant investments in education, not
just in expanding access, but also in upgrading quality. It will be imperative for the Government to
make special effort to ensure that education outcomes match the skills the private sector needs, as it
also expands to meet new opportunities.
15.6.2 Kenya Vision 2030
Successful implementation of the KenyaVision 2030 that will ensure sustainable development in Kenya
will be achieved through good governance founded on integrity, transparency and accountability. All
these, while ensuring non-discrimination and protection of the marginalized, inclusiveness and the
respect and upholding of human rights and dignity for all citizens for the attainment of equality, equity
and social justice.
15.6.3 Population growth
The Government should focus on facilitating and enhancing education for all.With greater accessibility
to education, young people will spend more years studying, hence become more productive, delay
marriage, and consequently end up having fewer children.
Policies to address population growth and to promote social protection are vital for reducing poverty,
as are national employment strategies that are formulated and implemented with full involvement of
key stakeholders. Actions to expand jobs and labour productivity should focus on widening access to
complementary inputs such as machinery and equipment, strengthening the business environment

in which private firms can thrive, boosting the quantity and quality of physical and institutional
infrastructure, and improving working conditions.
Policy and decision makers need to recognize that continuing population growth will contribute to
increased urbanization, and to develop and implement urban planning policies that take into account
consumption needs and demographic trends while capitalizing on the potential economic, social and
environmental benefits of urban living.
15.6.4 Accesses to Health Care Information and Services
 Form a National Health Services Commission that will be responsible for regulating matters in
health, quality assurance and standards, monitoring and evaluation, strategic planning and
management, inter-sectoral collaboration, enforcing the Bill of Rights and ensuring universal
access to health care;
 Strengthen county health structures and ensure that each county has a referral hospital, centre
of excellence, paediatric and adolescent centre, medical supplies store and a health emergency
fund;
 Establish county-based affirmative action programmes to provide access to and use of services
by vulnerable populations, particularly those without access to or who do not use health care
due to sex, age, poverty, culture, disability, geography, language, pregnancy, social origin, etc;
 Ensure appropriate funding for the health sector in line with the needs of different counties;
 More investment should be made towards preventive and promotive health services, including
lifestyle changes and effective primary level management of chronic diseases while cementing
gains made in the control of communicable diseases;
 Ensure adequate human resource capacity through review of the remuneration for different
cadres, and introduce additional training and incentives for personnel to work in marginalizes
arears;
 Ensure that legislators are fully conversant with and engaged in the budgeting cycle from the
planning, implementation and review stages as part of their guidance and oversight roles; and
 Enhance and support the role of the public, civil society and non-state actors in budget tracking
and monitoring including participation in public budget hearings.
Empowering women, removing financial and social barriers to accessing local accountability of health
systems are all policy interventions that will enhance equal access to health services and reduce
mortality.
The inadequate access to and use of skilled birth attendants and inequity by location and income are
serious impediments to reducing maternal mortality. The use of contraception to space or limit births
is an important factor in Kenya’s high MMR. Further reducing income poverty, improving education,
boosting employment and empowering women, as well as fighting HIV and AIDS, TB and malaria will
all have positive effects on maternal mortality. Better maternal health will have residual effects on child
health and economic well-being of individuals, families and communities.
15.6.5 Environmental Sustainability
Kenya should strive to tap into new global resources to strengthen Kenya’s sustainable development.
Natural resource management strategies, including reforestation that have until now often been
ignored, should be given priority. Similarly, well-thought-out public-private partnerships for addressing
climate change should be brought into play.

Policy and decision makers need to use existing knowledge more effectively and to prioritise research in
the natural and social sciences that will provide innovative solutions to the challenges of sustainability.
15.6.6 Support Collection, Analysis, Dissemination and Use of Population and Health
data
In order to gain better understanding of the policy and programme environment, there is need to
contribute to undertaking of socio-demographic surveys in order to continue building the knowledge
base on population dynamics, reproductive health, HIV and AIDS as well as gender equality. It will be
necessary to support further analysis of modules of selected socio-demographic surveys such as the
KDHS, among others. In addition, undertaking of socio-cultural, demographic and health research to
support programme planning and implementation as well as policy dialogues will be added advantage.
15.7 Recommendations for UNFPA
On the basis of the challenges identified and the strategic direction for UNFPA, it is recommended that
UNFPA focuses on the following three areas:
a. Universal Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Reproductive Rights
In line with the ICPD Programme of Action, Kenya has two policy instruments that address the issue of
universal access to sexual and reproductive health:
The National Reproductive Health Policy of 2007 which aims at enhancing the reproductive health
status of all Kenyans, and Article 43 of The Constitution of Kenya 2010 which provides that every
person has the right to the highest standard of health, which includes the right to health care services,
including reproductive health care. However, universal access to sexual and reproductive health is still
being constrained by a number of factors, some economic, social and cultural. UNFPA is expected to
be at the forefront in supporting the implementation of the RH Policy as well as other policies that
promote attainment of reproductive health and rights within the framework of the new constitutional
dispensation.
b. Improve Maternal, New Born and Child Health
In line with MDG 5, relevant policies and programmes in Kenya aim at reducing maternal deaths.
However, trends in maternal mortality ratio provide clear evidence that this is one of the goals at
highest risk of not being met. Uptake of maternal health care and voluntary family planning services
are vital to reducing maternal deaths. This makes family planning critical in its own right. In this regard,
UNFPA should support the relevant interventions that promote increased uptake of maternal health
care services including family planning.
c. Support Efforts Towards a Strong Information Base
Sustainable development requires Kenya to be in a position to proactively address, rather than only
react to, the population trends that will unfold over the next decades. Requisite data must inform
forward-looking development policies, strategies and programmes.To measure progress in population
and reproductive health and rights outcomes, and to hold associated actors accountable, a set of robust
indicators must be clearly defined. The Kenyan community has not only a need, but also a right to
monitortheimpactofthedevelopmentagenda.Developmentresultsdatamustbepositionedtoreveal
the actual impacts on people, environment, economy, security, etc. in all instances, indicators must
allow for impacts to be disaggregated by various characteristics including age, sex, socio-economic
status and related variables, so as to track how the most vulnerable groups progress. UNFPA’s role will
be to enhance capacity of institutions responsible for population related data collection, analysis,
dissemination and use to generate accurate and user-friendly data for integration of population issues
into development planning at all levels.

References
National Council for Population and Development, 2012. Ministry of State for Planning, National
Development and Vision 2030. Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2012 on Population Policy for
National Development
Government of Kenya. 2007. Kenya Vision 2030.
Government of Kenya. 2011. The Constitution of Kenya 2010
National Economic and Social Council. 2011. Annual Report July 2010 - June 2011
The World Bank, 2012. Kenya Economic Update: Kenya at work, Energizing the economy and creating
jobs. Edition No. 7
UNFPA, 2011. Report for the Mid-Term Review of the Government of Kenya/UNFPA Seventh Country
Programme (2009 - 2013)
UNFPA, 2013. Report for the End-Term Review of the Government of Kenya/UNFPA Seventh Country
Programme (2009 - 2013)
UNFPA, 2011. Midterm review of the UNFPA Strategic Plan, 2008-2013
(Footnotes)
1 This is based on UN’s definition of Eastern Africa, which encompasses 19 countries: all the Horn of Africa countries, excluding Sudan and
South Sudan; and all the countries up to Zimbabwe including all the Indian Ocean islands. State parties to the UN Convention and Protocol
[include Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea (Convention only), Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania,
Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
2 Excludes Comoros, Eritrea, Mauritius and Somalia.
3 The states are Rwanda, Seychelles and Uganda.
4 Excludes Burundi, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Zimbabwe.
5 Poverty analyses construct regional baskets of goods and services. If the household cannot afford the standard food and shelter package,
then it is overall poor; if it can’t afford the food package, then it is food poor, and if its total spending cannot afford the food package, then
it is severely poor.

ANNEX 1: LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
List of Authors by Chapter
Author & Affiliation Chapter Title
Population Studies and Research Institute, University of
Nairobi
Introduction
Dr. Kimani Murungaru
Nairobi
Overview of Population Dynamics
and Development
Mr. Andrew Mutuku
Nairobi
Population Size, Growth and
Structure
Mr. George Odwe
Nairobi
Dr. Richard Ayah
School of Public Health, University of Nairobi
Health Systems and Service Delivery
for Sexual and Reproductive Health
Dr. Anne Khasakhala
Nairobi
Overall Infant, Child and Maternal
Mortality
Dr. Anne Khasakhala
Nairobi
HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections,
Malaria and Tuberculosis
Ms Colette Ajwan’g Aloo-Obunga
Independent Population and Health Consultant
Prof. Elias Ayiemba
Department of Geography & Environmental Studies,
University of Nairobi
Marriage and Family
Dr. Martin Marani
Emergency Situations and
Humanitarian Response
Dr. Samuel Owuor
Prof. John Oucho
Nairobi
International Migration and
Development
Prof. Alfred Agwanda
Nairobi
Inequalities and the Exercise of Rights
Prof. Lawrence Ikamari
Nairobi
Relationships and their Relevance to
Public Policies
Mr. Ben Jarabi
Nairobi
Challenges and Opportunities
List of Reviewers by Chapter

Reviewer & Affiliation Chapter Title
Dr. Eliya Msiyaphazi Zulu
Executive Director, African Institute for Development
Policy
Overview of Population Dynamics and
Development
Dr. Eliya Msiyaphazi Zulu
Executive Director, African Institute for Development
Policy
Population Size, Growth and Structure
Mrs. Rosemarie Muganda-Onyando
Deputy Country Director, PATH, Kenya
Nairobi
Health Systems and Service Delivery for
Sexual and Reproductive Health
Dr. Richard Ayah
Overall, Infant, Child and Maternal
Mortality
Dr. Richard Ayah
HIV, Sexually Transmitted Infections,
Malaria and Tuberculosis
Mrs. Rosemarie Muganda-Onyando
Deputy Country Director, PATH, Kenya
Dr. Francis Obare Onyango
Population Council, Nairobi
Marriage and Family
Nairobi
Emergency Situations and Humanitarian
Response
International Migration and Development
Overall Reviewers
1. Dr. RichmondTiemoko, Adviser, Population and Development, UNFPA East and Southern Africa
Regional Office
2. Dr. Ralph Hakker, Adviser, Research and Data, UNFPA Headquarters
3. Ms. Sabrina Juran, Technical Specialist, UNFPA Headquarters
Technical Editor
Dr. Eric Othieno Nyanjom, International Consultant on Development Issues
List of Task force Members

Name Designation Affiliation
Mr. George Kichamu Acting Director General
National Council for Population and
Development
Dr. Boniface K’Oyugi Former Director General
Development
Dr. Paul Kizito (Late)
Former Director, Technical
Services
Development
Mr. Karugu Ngatia Deputy Director
Development
Ms Vane Lumumba Deputy Director
Development
Prof. Lawrence Ikamari Director Population Studies and Research Institute
Mr. Ben Jarabi Lecturer Population Studies and Research Institute
Prof. Alfred Agwanda Senior Lecturer Population Studies and Research Institute
Ms Jane Serwanga Deputy Executive Director FIDA-Kenya
Ms Betty Achieng Lawyer/Council Member FIDA-Kenya
Dr. Eliya Zulu Executive Director African Institute for Development Policy
Dr. James Kisia Deputy Secretary General Kenya Red Cross Society
Ms Eldah Onsomu Policy Analyst
Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and
Analysis
Mr. Samson Mbuthia Programme Officer National AIDS Control Council
Mr. Welime Mabuto Economist Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate
Ms Grace Kimitei Economist Ministry of Devolution and Planning
Dr. Richard Ayah Lecturer School of Public Health, University of Nairobi
Dr. Francis Obare Associate Population Council
Dr. Othieno Nyanjom Technical Editor Independent Consultant
Mr. Julius Chokerah Programme Officer UNDP
Ms Cecilia Kimemia Assistant Representative UNFPA
Mr. Ezekiel Ngure Programme Analyst UNFPA
Ms Joanne Bosworth Social Policy Specialist UNICEF

Kenya population situation analysis

because everyone countsNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR POPULATION
AND DEVELOPMENT (NCPD)
The production and printing of this document was supported by the United Nations Population Fund through the 7th Country Programme of Assistance to Kenya

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