NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 27 — Kenya is recording a decline in skilled birth attendance and family planning uptake, raising concerns over persistent gaps in access to maternal and newborn healthcare.
Data presented to editors in Nairobi on Thursday showed that deliveries conducted by skilled birth attendants fell from 69.77 per cent between April and June 2025 to 65.47 per cent between January and March 2026.
The number of women using family planning services also declined over the same period, highlighting challenges in access to reproductive health services.
Polycarp Oyoo, Programs Advisor for Maternal and Newborn Health at the International Centre for Reproductive Health Kenya (ICRHK), said the figures should prompt closer scrutiny of why women are not consistently accessing antenatal and delivery services.
“Every day we lose about 15 mothers,” Oyoo said, adding that dozens of newborn deaths and stillbirths are also recorded daily.
He urged journalists and policymakers to investigate whether weaknesses within the health system are contributing to preventable maternal and newborn deaths.
The data presented during the Wanahabari Editors’ Roundtable on Strengthening Media Engagement for Maternal, Newborn, Child Health and Nutrition (MNCH+N) showed that delays remain a major contributor to maternal and newborn deaths.
According to the presentation, 30 per cent of maternal and newborn deaths are associated with delays in deciding to seek care, while 25 per cent are linked to delays in reaching a health facility.
A further 45 per cent occur after patients reach health facilities but fail to receive timely and quality care.
Ministry of Health data cited during the meeting also showed that only 37 per cent of facilities providing delivery services meet basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care standards.
The presentation further indicated shortages of critical medicines and commodities, with 48 per cent of facilities reporting a lack of magnesium sulphate, 47 per cent lacking benzyl penicillin and 40 per cent reporting shortages of oxytocin.
Postpartum haemorrhage, or excessive bleeding after childbirth, was identified as the leading reported maternal complication between 2020 and 2025.
Oyoo said maternal health challenges begin before pregnancy and childbirth, making access to family planning services an important component of reducing unintended and high-risk pregnancies.
Data presented at the meeting showed that the number of family planning users among women of reproductive age declined from 1,519,066 in January-March 2025 to 1,385,575 in January-March 2026.
The presentation showed that women aged above 25 accounted for most users, while adolescents and younger women recorded lower uptake.
Oyoo said the decline among younger women required investigation to determine whether the challenge was linked to availability of contraceptives, information, access to services or other factors.
“Why are adolescents, why is the younger population not getting this?” he asked.
The presentation further showed that Kenya recorded 480 maternal deaths, 811 neonatal deaths and 3,590 perinatal deaths during the six months preceding the meeting, based on data accessed through the Ministry of Health’s health information systems.
Oyoo said journalists could use the Ministry of Health’s EWENE dashboard to track deaths at county and facility level and investigate the circumstances surrounding individual cases.
He cautioned against focusing solely on national figures, urging newsrooms to identify facilities and counties where particular problems may be concentrated.
Nakuru, Kakamega and Nairobi were among counties recording high numbers of deaths in the six-month data reviewed.
However, Oyoo said counties reporting few or no maternal deaths should also be investigated to determine whether the figures reflect better health outcomes or possible gaps in reporting.
The data was presented as Kenya implements the Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere (EWENE) Acceleration Plan 2026-2028, launched by the government in May.
The Ministry of Health says the plan seeks to accelerate efforts to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths, particularly in counties with high mortality burdens.
The plan targets a reduction in Kenya’s maternal mortality ratio from 355 deaths per 100,000 live births to 140 or fewer by 2028.
It also targets a reduction in neonatal mortality from 21 to 12 or fewer deaths per 1,000 live births, while seeking to increase skilled birth attendance to 100 per cent and eliminate oxytocin stockouts.
The government has also introduced a six-month Maternal and Newborn Health Rapid Results Initiative under EWENE to accelerate implementation and improve outcomes.
Oyoo challenged journalists to track whether the government’s interventions are achieving their targets.
He called for scrutiny of maternal and newborn health budgets, staffing, availability of essential commodities and the quality of care provided in health facilities.
The meeting also focused on the role of the media in keeping maternal and newborn health issues on the public agenda.
Irene Choge of Wanahabari urged editors to investigate the causes of maternal and newborn deaths while highlighting both gaps and successful interventions.
She said journalists have a responsibility to tell the stories of families affected by maternal and newborn deaths and use their platforms to push institutions to address weaknesses in healthcare delivery.
Kenya Editors Guild Chief Executive Officer Linda Bach similarly called for greater attention to the experiences of families affected by maternal and newborn deaths.
Bach said health reporting should go beyond statistics to examine accountability at both national and county levels.
Participants also called for greater scrutiny of county health budgets, facility-level delays, staffing shortages and availability of essential medicines.
The discussions further highlighted concerns around adolescent girls and young women, who Oyoo said account for a significant proportion of pregnancy-related deaths despite lower uptake of family planning services.
Participants called for stronger access to information and reproductive health services for younger women to help reduce unintended and high-risk pregnancies.
As Kenya implements the EWENE plan through 2028, health experts and civil society organisations say continued monitoring of skilled birth attendance, family planning uptake, maternal deaths and newborn outcomes will be critical in determining whether current interventions are reversing the worrying trends.
