Family planning is central to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and it is a key factor in reducing poverty. When countries maximize investments in Family Planning, the benefits incurred are substantial, helping drive social and economic development. For every Kshs 115 (USD 1) the Kenyan government spends on family planning, the country will save Kshs 460 (USD 4.48) in direct healthcare costs. It is estimated that Kenya could save an additional Kshs 2.2 billion (USD 60 million) annually in direct healthcare costs associated with unintended pregnancies if county governments maximize investments in family planning.
However, despite existing evidence on the importance of Family Planning as a key driver of socio-economic development, this aspect is often overlooked and not adequately communicated to policymakers, planners, the general public and other stakeholders. Advocacy to position Family Planning as an instrument to spur growth and economic development is therefore essential in order to integrate Family Planning into other development programs beyond the health sector.
In line with ICPD25 commitments, Kenya has developed investment cases for the achievement of the three transformative results, which outline a prioritized set of investments needed to achieve the transformative results and Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The Investment Case timeframe is aligned to the development cycles of the MTPs, CIDPs, Sectoral Pans, UNSDCF, and ICPD25 Commitments. A Family Planning investment case advocacy strategy has been developed. The proposed advocacy tool guide will therefore be used to strengthen advocacy activities under the strategy by providing a pre-packaged and comprehensive list of recommended activities, messages, and advocacy measures that can strengthen advocacy action targeting policymakers and planners at the national and county levels.
A review of the existing advocacy and media toolkits on Family Planning in Kenya developed in 2018 shows gaps in the content that will need to be addressed in order to bring the toolkits up to date with recent developments in the Family Planning sector. The toolkits require significant updating in line with the new government policies such as the Population Policy, UNFPA 2022-25 strategic plan, ICPD25 and FP 2030 commitments, and the ongoing sustainable financing mechanism for commodity security. In addition, the toolkits require updating to reflect developments in the Family Planning 2030 agenda including the focus on rights-based family planning, the necessary shift from funding to financing, as well as building strong and sustainable partnerships in the promotion of Family Planning.
Further, there exists no updated FP advocacy guide and media advocacy tool kit to guide journalists on reporting on Family Planning as a key development agenda. The advocacy toolkits will be strengthened through the inclusion of a step-by-step guide on developing advocacy strategies, key messaging, best practice examples, and an M&E component to facilitate learning and impact measurement.
Once developed, the Family Planning advocacy guide and media toolkits will guide the rolling out of the Family planning investment case and also serve as key instruments to position Family Planning as an important driver of social and economic development. When implemented by the Government, UNFPA, and partners, the toolkits will help contribute to ensuring the advocacy efforts are strategic, inclusive, and participatory, thus contributing to a high impact and effective approach to policy influencing.
