Issues in funding reproductive health and family planning in Kenya

Understanding the flow of resources to reproductive health and family planning is essential for an effective repositioning of these key health components at the country level. This paper gives a comprehensive picture of the challenges in reproductive health (RH) and family planning funding in Kenya. Data are drawn from the RH sub-accounts for the financial years 2005/6 and 2009/10 and from The Resource Flows Project surveys. The results show a significant increase in population assistance to Kenya over a period of 10 years, but a significant decrease in the percentage of funds allocated to reproductive health. Results from the RH sub-accounts indicate that reproductive health receives little attention within the government budgets despite its contribution to the MDGs, that the public sector is the largest financier of RH services and that household spending on RH is very high. The study suggests that Kenya needs to increase spending on RH in order to achieve the MDGs. Besides, safety nets for the poor are needed to reduce the burden of RH spending on households.