Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #103422

Erin K. McGinn, MA, Field, Information, and Training Services, Family Health International, PO Box 13950, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, 919 792 2524, emcginn@fhi.org and Violet Bukusi, MBA, Institute for Family Health, Family Health International, P.O. BOX 38835-00623, Nairobi, Kenya.

In the mid 1990s, Kenya was faced with a highly skewed contraceptive method mix. By 1998, Depo-Provera accounted for almost 40 percent of modern methods, while pills, IUDs, and sterilization were all in decline. In 2001, encouraged by recent findings on the safety of IUDs, the Kenya Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Family Health International, AMKENI and six other local and international partners, launched an initiative to promote increased client choice and a balanced and sustainable family planning program reintroducing the IUD into the Kenyan method mix.

This presentation will describe the key components of the Kenya IUD reintroduction initiative. These components included national efforts on consensus-building among partners and policy makers, and advocacy towards program managers and providers, as well as focused efforts in Western and Coastal provinces on capacity development and community outreach. Partners in the IUD initiative sensitized over 400 public sector health workers, distributed nearly 600 IUD kits (essential equipment and start-up supplies) to clinics, and reached nearly 12,000 people through community outreach efforts.

The presentation will review the key factors crucial to the success of the initiative, including political commitment, the application of global evidence and its local relevance, and partnership-building with key stakeholders. Finally, the presentation will highlight the results of the evaluation and operations research activities, and ultimately the effect this four year initiative has had on political support for IUDs, provider perceptions, and client uptake.

Learning Objectives: By the end of this session, participants will be able to

(
• Recognize the current challenge faced by many developing countries, and Kenya in particular, of ensuring a balanced and sustainable method mix; (
• Identify barriers to access and use of IUDs in Kenya and other countries; (
• Discuss several components of an approach to revitalizing family planning in Kenya, and assess which activities their organizations could undertake.

Keywords: Contraception, Reproductive Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation