Poor planning threatens to push Kenyan families into poverty

Margaret Atieno, a 38-year-old mother of six, says she wanted to avoid her last pregnancy.

But consistent stock-outs of contraceptive devices at her health care centre in rural Siaya, western Kenya, gave her no choice but to fall pregnant once again, albeit the fact that she did not want another child.

“My husband, who is polygamous and has two other wives, does not want any of his spouses using contraceptives. So a community health worker told me that if I had the intra-uterine contraceptive device (IUCD) inserted, my husband would never suspect anything. But when I visited the health centre on three occasions, I was told IUCDs were out of stock,” said Atieno.

On her fourth visit, IUCDs were finally in stock, there were no gloves – as a result, health workers could not insert the device.

Atieno conceived before her next visit to the health centre.

Living in a traditional, rural community, she is not privy to how much money her husband earns, and although they hardly manage to make ends meet, Atieno and the other wives are not allowed to work to contribute to the household income.

“My two eldest children, who are aged 17 and 15 years, would have been in secondary school, but they had to dropout due to lack of funds. It is a daily struggle finding money to feed and clothe my children, let alone send them to school,” she complained.

Social experts have recognized that lack of family planning is one of the key reasons for an increase in poverty throughout Kenya.

A November 2009 report by United States Agency International Development (USAid) warns that Kenya will not be able to foster national development at the current rate of population growth.

If the country wants to achieve universal primary education, food security, primary health-care for all and reduction in maternal and infant deaths, couples have to plan their families, USAid researchers noted.

The country’s government has also taken notice of the tight link between poverty and population growth.

Dr Boniface K’Oyugi, chief executive officer of the National Co-ordinating Agency for Population and Development (NCAPD), cautioned that Kenya’s rapid population growth of three percent per year, needed to be reduced.

He called for improved health care provision that includes family planning services, to help couples to better manage their reproductive health and pregnancies.

“The decision of the number of children is a personal one. But smaller families will lead to benefits at the individual, household and national levels,” he explained. K’Oyugi believes the Kenyan government can learn from Asian countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, which managed to strengthen their economies by controlling population growth rates.

Numerous factors