Kenya – Teen pregnancy: Implement dormant health policies first

A problem we'd rather ignore than confront and find solutions to.

by JEDIDAH MAINA

01 July 2020  

It is ironic that the moral police in Kenya tend to speak the loudest about
potential dangers rather than actual moral failures. This is evident in the
current conversations around teenage pregnancy and what we need to do to deal
with the problem.

One red hot coal in the debate is Comprehensive Sexuality Education, and
whether it is the solution or just another doorway to more sexual
irresponsibility.

Continued: https://www.the-star.co.ke/opinion/columnists/2020-07-01-teen-pregnancy-implement-dormant-health-policies-first/


Kenya – Cultural abortion: The unspoken cruelty destroying girls’ lives

Cultural abortion: The unspoken cruelty destroying girls' lives
She was warned that she couldn’t get pregnant before she is wed as it was a shame to her family and her taboo.

by Michelle Dibo
06 October 2019

Eddah looks much older than her actual age of 17. She is admitted at the Maralal Referral Hospital for the 17th time.

It is funny that her age and the number of times she has been admitted at the hospital due to miscarriages is the same. She does not seem to recognise this irony when I speak with her.

“I just want to have a child,” she tells me. Her voice so sad you can hear the melancholic backdrop if you listen close enough.

Continued: https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2019-10-06-cultural-abortion-the-unspoken-cruelty-destroying-girls-lives/


International Safe Abortion Day: Why Kenya needs clarity on safe abortion guidelines

International Safe Abortion Day: Why Kenya needs clarity on safe abortion guidelines

By Purity Nthiana
September 28th, 2019

This weekend, the world will be marking the International Safe Abortion Day, on 28th September. This comes in the wake of the recent High Court ruling to reinstate the 2012 Standards and Guidelines for Reducing Morbidity and Mortality from Unsafe Abortion in Kenya.

While many reproductive health advocates have lauded the court’s decision as a win for women, many Kenyans are still in the dark regarding what the document actually says.

Continued: https://nairobinews.nation.co.ke/blog/international-safe-abortion-day-why-kenya-needs-clarity-on-safe-abortion-guidelines


Kenya – Shield women from avoidable deaths

Shield women from avoidable deaths

Evelyne Opondo
24th Sep 2019

Nine years ago, the country was embroiled in an intense debate over whether to ratify the then draft constitution or not. The opposition to its passage was led by religious groups against the provision that would allow pregnant women to access abortion when a trained health professional deemed their life or health to be in danger.

The groups argued that Kenyan women would now access abortion anytime, anywhere and the procedure could be performed by any hospital worker. The Kenyan people, however, on August 4, 2010, passed the Constitution with a resounding 67 per cent in favour of the ratification.

Continued: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001343057/shield-women-from-avoidable-deaths


Kenya restores standards and guidelines for comprehensive reproductive health, including abortion

Kenya restores standards and guidelines for comprehensive reproductive health, including abortion

IPAS
News | Friday, June 21, 2019

Earlier this month, Kenya made progress toward advancing women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights: The High Court ruled to restore the standards and guidelines for comprehensive reproductive health, including abortion. The S&Gs were originally instated in 2012 but withdrawn the following year. The reinstatement will allow providers to offer safe abortion care when the health or life of a woman is in danger, in cases of emergency and for survivors of sexual violence. Ipas Africa Alliance partnered with the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) on a case in 2015 challenging the withdrawal. CRR filed the case on behalf of an adolescent who died after suffering from complications from an unsafe abortion. The Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya and human rights activists were also part of the coalition supporting the challenge.

“I am glad that Ipas was able to join other partners in Kenya to support the litigation strategy initiated by CRR,” said Judith Okal, Ipas Africa Alliance senior policy advisor. Okal was an advocate for the petitioner when CRR filed the case and joined Ipas after it was filed.

The court found that the Director of Medical Services and the Ministry of Health had violated the rights of Kenyan women and girls by arbitrarily withdrawing the guidelines, creating uncertainty about the status of legal abortion and discouraging medical providers from performing abortions for fear of criminal prosecution.

For more information, contact media@ipas.org.

Source: https://www.ipas.org/news/2019/June/kenya-restores-standards-and-guidelines-for-comprehensive-reproductive-health-including-abortion


Kenya – Standing up Against Abortion Opposition in Nairobi

Standing up Against Abortion Opposition in Nairobi
The Center for Reproductive Rights and a dozen ally organizations take a petition to the government demanding anti-abortion billboards come down

04.25.19 - Making a strong stand against heightened organized anti-abortion activities in Nairobi, the Center for Reproductive Rights joined Kenyan women’s rights organizations and activists on April 24 in delivering a petition with over 500 signatures to the Nairobi County government. We demanded that Kenyan authorities remove the inflammatory and misleading anti-abortion billboards that have recently been put up around the city.

Continued: https://www.reproductiverights.org/Standing-up-Against-Abortion-Opposition-Nairobi