The Executive Board of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has approved the 10th Country Programme for Kenya in the amount of $35.6 million. The new country programme will run from 2022-2026, and is aligned to Kenya’s Vision 2030 and related medium-term frameworks, and the  United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for Kenya. The programme was developed in close consultation with the government of Kenya and other stakeholders including  civil society organizations, the private sector, youth, and development partners. 

The new country programme will accelerate the achievement of UNFPA’s three transformative results of zero preventable maternal death, zero unmet need for family planning, and zero gender-based violence and other harmful practices against women and girls

In line with the Kenyan Government’s ‘leave no one behind’ analysis and UNSDCF priorities, the programme will focus on the utilization of equitable and inclusive social services by people at risk of being left behind. Interventions will target adolescents, young people, including girls with disabilities, women of reproductive age, as well as those living in arid and semi-arid lands and informal urban settlements, and refugees. 

UNFPA and the Government of Kenya, through the National Council for Population and Development  as the Government coordinating agency, will work together on programme implementation, including planning, monitoring, and evaluation. “The new country programme will accelerate the achievement of UNFPA’s three transformative results of zero preventable maternal death, zero unmet need for family planning, and zero gender-based violence and other harmful practices against women and girls,” said UNFPA country representative Anders Thomsen. 

The 10th Country Programme for Kenya will focus on the delivery of key results in the areas of policy and accountability, quality of care and services, gender and social norms, adolescents and youth, and evidence for programming. This will include ensuring that sexual and reproductive health and rights as well as prevention, and response to gender-based violence are integrated into national and county level policies and accountability mechanisms. 

UNFPA will also work towards enhancing health systems to provide high-quality comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services, including family planning, HIV prevention and health services related to gender-based violence and harmful practices. The capacity of key actors and institutions to address discriminatory gender and social norms will be strengthened.

Adolescents and youth capacity and opportunities to participate and lead in policies and programmes on population and development, sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence and harmful practices will also be increased. The country programme will also focus on improving availability and accessibility of timely evidence to inform population, sexual and reproductive health, humanitarian, gender-based violence and harmful practices programmes at all levels. 

“UNFPA will explore new strategies including human rights based and gender transformative approaches, blended financing mechanisms, and leveraging on innovation to create new opportunities for national development. Humanitarian preparedness and response will also be mainstreamed across all programmatic interventions,” noted Mr. Thomsen.

To learn more about the UNFPA Kenya 10th Country Programme, download the full country programme document HERE.