A Political Economy Analysis (PEA) on domestic financing for family planning commodities in Kenya

Kenya’s pioneering Family Planning (FP) programs have been trailblazing the public health scene in Sub-Saharan Africa, delivering noteworthy successes over the decades. A case in point is the modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (mCPR) that, in 19 years’ span, increased from 39% in 2003 to 57% in 2022. Despite the remarkable successes, there are still significant disparities across counties, for example, Mandera reported an mCPR of 2% which is in stark contrast to Embu with an incredible 75%. Considering the critical role of FP programs as a catalyst for social and economic development, including freedom that it accords to women, the efforts by GOK and its development partners to find the right formula for sustainably financing the FP commodities is both weighty and timely.

The objective of this Political Economy Analysis (PEA) was to examine the political, economic, and institutional factors (e.g., systemic barriers, stakeholder interests, power dynamics, and institutional bottlenecks) contributing to the under-allocation and under-utilization of Family Planning (FP) commodity budget in Kenya. Specifically, the inquiry aimed to understand the country’s FP commodity financing landscape and the phased transition from a donor-dependent model to a full domestic funding arrangement. It focused on unearthing the challenges encountered by the Government of Kenya (GOK) in funding its obligated share of the sliding funding arrangement (the MOU) as well as the root causes of under allocation and under execution of budget.