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Blow for Kenya women, girls as US moves to destroy contraceptives
A consignment of contraceptives worth over $9.7 million (about Sh1.3 billion) intended for five African countries, including Kenya, is set to be incinerated in France.
A consignment of contraceptives worth over $9.7 million (about Sh1.3 billion) intended for five African countries, including Kenya, is set to be incinerated in France.
These essential supplies, which include implants, oral contraceptive pills, injectable contraceptives and intrauterine devices (IUDs), many of which have expiration dates extending through 2027 to 2029, were purchased through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) during the previous administration.
They were meant to support vulnerable communities at a time when Kenya was already experiencing significant disruption to reproductive health services due to cuts in US funding.
However, following the reinstatement of the Mexico City Policy by the Trump administration in January 2025, which restricts US aid to organisations that provide or promote abortion services—these contraceptives were withheld from distribution.
The destruction of these contraceptives will deprive over 108,000 Kenyan women of access to contraceptive implants, accounting for approximately 13.5 percent of the country’s annual requirement of implants. Regionally, the move will affect an estimated 1.4 million women and girls across Africa.
“We will not stay silent while essential care is destroyed by ideology. The destruction of these contraceptives is not only a tragic waste, but also a direct threat to the health, rights and lives of millions of women and girls across Africa. Destroying these supplies undermines the health and rights of women and girls,” said Marie-Evelyne Petrus-Barry, the regional director of International Planned Parenthood Federation Africa.
The country’s modern contraceptive prevalence rate among married women is around 60 percent. However, significant unmet needs remain, particularly among adolescents and rural populations. Almost one in five girls aged 15 to 19 has already given birth or is pregnant, highlighting the need for better access to family planning and comprehensive sex education.
Stockouts of contraceptives, caused by funding shortfalls, have forced many health facilities to ration supplies, limiting both choice of method and continuity of care.
Injectable contraceptives and implants, especially the two-rod subdermal implants like Jadelle and the single-rod implant Implanon, which constitute the majority of implant use in Kenya, remain highly preferred methods. However, shortages threaten to reverse the progress that has been made in reducing unintended pregnancies and maternal mortality.
“The freeze on US funding has caused stockouts of contraceptives, reducing supplies at facilities from the recommended 15 months to less than five months. Capacity building for health workers and digital health systems has been disrupted, and Kenya faces a 46 percent funding gap in its national family planning programme,” said Nelly Munyasia, Executive Director of the Reproductive Health Network in Kenya.
Other affected countries include Tanzania, which stands to lose over 1,031,400 injectable contraceptives and 365,100 implants. This represents more than 50 percent of USAID’s annual support for its health system, as well as 28 percent of its total annual contraceptive needs.
Mali will be denied over 1,100,880 oral contraceptives and nearly 95,800 implants, amounting to 24 percent of its annual need, while Zambia will also face significant losses of implants and injectable contraceptives.
According to the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition, the destruction of these supplies could lead to 362,000 unintended pregnancies and 110,000 unsafe abortions across the affected countries.
“It is unacceptable that France, a champion of feminist diplomacy, has remained silent while Belgium has engaged with the US government. Solidarity with those relying on these life-saving supplies is a moral imperative,” said Sarah Durocher, President of Le Planning Familial, IPPF's French member association.
