Kenya has run out of two types of oral contraceptive pills, with new supplies of combined oral contraceptives (COCs) expected in December, the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) has said.
Veronica Sande, Customer Service Officer and Family Planning Team Lead at KEMSA, said the country was currently stocked out of COCs and progestin-only pills (POPs), although other contraceptive methods remain available.
“We are stocked out of COCs and POPs, that is, the oral contraceptives,” Sande said during a World Contraception Day media briefing in Nairobi on Friday.
She said the country currently has supplies of injectable contraceptives, male and female condoms, implants and intrauterine devices, among other family planning methods.
Sande said POPs are already in the pipeline, while procurement of COCs is ongoing following an allocation of Sh250 million from the Ministry of Health.
“For the COCs, we have a little bit that we're expecting from the government procurement. So that is from the 250 million we received from the Ministry of Health,” she said.
“The procurement is ongoing, and we anticipate that the commodities will be delivered in December.”
The stockout comes as Kenya seeks to reduce its reliance on donor funding for family planning commodities.
The Ministry of Health said the country received Sh500 million from the National Treasury for family planning in the last financial year, against an estimated annual requirement of about Sh3 billion.
This leaves a Sh2.5 billion gap between the stated annual requirement and the amount allocated by the Treasury.
The Ministry said it is pushing for increased domestic financing as donor funding for family planning declines, while also exploring ways of making contraceptive commodities available through both public and private-sector outlets.
Officials said Kenya is also working with community pharmacies and other private-sector providers to expand access to contraceptive services.
The country currently has a modern contraceptive use rate of about 57 per cent and is targeting 64 per cent by 2030.
Health officials said maintaining reliable supplies of different contraceptive methods will be critical to ensuring women and couples can choose methods that suit their needs.
