Kenya: The country has made strides in managing population growth that currently stands at 2.9 per cent per annum against the recommended 2.1 per cent.
This is according to a new report released by the National Council for Population and Development (NCPD) on the progress of the recommendations made during International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994.
The 1994 conference held in Cairo with participants from 179 countries gave each country the responsibility to implement objectives for their populations that included sustainable economic growth; education especially for the girl child; gender equity and equality; infant, child and maternal mortality reduction as well as the provision of universal access to reproductive health services.
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In a speech read on her behalf by Stephen Wainaina during the launch of the ICPD report dubbed Beyond 2014, Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru said 20 years since the conference Kenya had made great milestones in population and development. Wainaina is the Economic Planning Secretary at the Devolution ministry.
“One of the greatest achievements is the promulgation of the Constitution with a whole section devoted to rights,” she said.
Waiguru said though an estimated 5,000 women die annually during child birth according to the Kenya Demographic Survey of 2008/09, efforts from both the Government and other stakeholders would bring the number down significantly.
“Health care services have consistently been subsidised and in 2013 the President ordered a complete waiver of fees for deliveries in public facilities. The initiative by the First Lady to save women and children’s lives through outreach services is also commendable,” she said.
Strides made to manage population growth as pointed out in Waiguru’s speech also include increased contraceptive use among married women from 39 per cent in 2003 to 46 per cent in 2009.
The NCPD pointed out that they were in talks with county leaders at both the assembly and executive levels as they developed their integrated development plans.
Despite the strides made to meet the ICPD goals, both NCPD and the Devolution ministry admitted there were still challenges that needed to be looked into.
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