Kenyan women fertility declines, report shows

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By MORTON SAULO

Fertility rate of women is declining, according to a Kenya Demographic and Health Survey preliminary report.

The study found the total fertility rate declined from 8.1 births a woman during 1977/8 to 4.7 in 1998, 4.9 in 2003 and 4.3 last year.

Planning Minister Wycliffe Oparanya (right), who released the report, said the decline could be attributed to an increase contraceptives use among married women.

Contraceptive use by women increased from seven per cent in 1978 to 46 per cent, the report shows.

Oparanya said most of the health indicators measured have improved leading to improvement in survival status of children.

"It shows improvement in levels of vaccination of children and ownership, use of mosquito nets," he said.

He added: "Though impressive gains were recorded as indicated in the survey, as a country we still far from achieving the national and international agreed goals."

The survey also indicates nine of 10 mothers visited a health professional at least once for antenatal care for the most recent births in the five year period before the study.

It also shows coverage is higher in urban centres at 96 per cent compared to 90 per cent in rural areas.

"Only 44 per cent of mothers receive assistance from health care professionals during delivery and that urban mothers are at 75 per cent likely to receive assistance than their rural counterparts who stand at 37 per cent," the report says.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and Public Health, Medical Services ministries and other stakeholders conducted the study between November last year and February.

On death of child aged below five, the report says deaths decreased to 74 deaths per 1,000 live births from 115 in 2003.

On respondents who had sex with two or more partners, the report said: "The respondents who had sex in the past 12 months with a person who was neither their husband nor wife nor cohabiting partner, 35 per cent of women and 62 per cent of men reported using a condom at last sexual intercourse with that person."