WELCOME TO UNFPA KENYA

Overview
At the request of the Government of Kenya, UNFPA has provided support to population policies and programmes since 1974, with the current 7th cycle of support from 2009 to 2013.

While the 7th UNFPA Country Programme of assistance to Kenya is guided by the goals set aside for the implementation of the ICPD Plan of action, UNFPA in Kenya also responds to the Government of Kenya's priorities as identified in the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation, the National Reproductive Health Strategy, the National Population Policy for Sustainable Development, Vision 2030 and other policy documents.

Emerging from lessons learned in previous programmes, UNFPA's 7th Country Programme focuses programme interventions thematically so that resources are made available where needs are greatest. It also aims to create effective coordinating mechanisms and decentralized structures to facilitate programme implementation, forging partnerships to better reflect population issues in national development plans. Finally, it uses flexible modalities such as sector-wide approaches to leverage resources and support programme implementation.


UNFPA Mission Statement:
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.

UNFPA works in partnership with governments, as well as with other agencies and civil society broadly, to advance its mission. Two frameworks serve to focus its efforts: The Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs).

UNFPA is mandated to implement the ICPD Plan of Action whose goals are: 

• Universal access to reproductive health services by 2015
• Universal primary education and closing the gender gap in education by 2015
• Reducing maternal mortality by 75 per cent by 2015
• Reducing infant mortality
• Increasing life expectancy
• Reduction of HIV infection in persons 15 - 24 years of age

UNFPA Three Core areas of Focus:
The three core areas of UNFPA focus - reproductive health, gender equality and population and development strategies - are inextricably related. Population dynamics, including growth rates, age structure, fertility and mortality, migration and more, influence every aspect of human, social and economic development. Reproductive health and women's empowerment powerfully affect, and are affected by population trends.


The GOK / UNFPA Kenya 7th Country Programme:
UNFPA was established in Kenya in 1972 and has since implemented various four-year programmes. Currently we are implementing the 7th Country Programme (2009 - 2013). UNFPA programmes have been responding to priority needs of the government as articulated in the Medium Term Plan of the Kenya Vision 2030 and covers broad areas of reproductive health, population and development and gender equality.

UNFPA has established good donor relations and has been successful in mobilizing forecasted non regular resources for its programming. UNFPA is member of the Development Partners for Health in Kenya (DPHK), Inter-agency Coordinating Committees (Family Planning, Reproductive Health, HIV and AIDS). During the current programme period UNFPA Kenya is supporting activities in focus geographical areas namely: Nairobi West, Naivasha, Migori and Kilifi.

POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT:
UNFPA provides leadership in population and development issues by supporting development and implementation of population policies consistent with the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Programme of Action (POA).

UNFPA worked closely with the Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 and the various agencies in the coordination of population issues in the country.

UNFPA provides technical and financial support in:

• Collection, analysis and dissemination of population data
• Coordination and monitoring of the population programmes
• Capacity building in areas agreed upon with the implementing partners.

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES AND RIGHTS:
UNFPA promotes safe motherhood, adolescent reproductive health, male involvement in reproductive health, HIV prevention, and fistula treatment and prevention. UNFPA collaborates with the implementing partners to achieve:

• Increased availability of maternal and newborn health services to prevent and manage fistula, especially for young people and vulnerable groups in selected districts
• Increased gender-sensitive and culturally sensitive behavior change interventions for maternal health, including family planning, fistula management, services to prevent female genital mutilation/cutting
• Increased availability of high quality services to prevent HIV and sexually transmitted infections, especially for women, young people and other vulnerable groups

UNFPA Kenya has been instrumental in the development of various policies in the area of Reproductive health and has been instrumental in providing technical and financial support to the implementing partners.



GENDER EQUALITY, EQUITY AND THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN:
UNFPA advocates for the education of the girl child and elimination of gender based violence including harmful practices.
UNFPA gender component address issues relating to Gender Mainstreaming, Gender Based Violence and Female Genital Mutilation / Cutting.

UNFPA supports the Gender component to achieve:

• Increased access to accurate and appropriate information and services on sexual and Gender Based Violence (GBV) including emergency and post emergency situations
• Enhanced institutional mechanisms to reduce and respond to GBV and discrimination particularly among marginalized populations and during humanitarian crisis
• Improved advocacy for women & adolescent girls' reproductive rights, male participation in RH & elimination of harmful practices, particularly FGM/C.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE:
Guided by the ICPD programme of action, UNFPA carries the mandate to support sexual and reproductive health, population and development and gender concerns during emergency preparedness, humanitarian response, and transition and recovery. During emergencies, UNFPA moves quickly to protect the reproductive health of communities in crisis including safeguarding safe motherhood and adolescent health, prevention of HIV/AIDS, prevention and treatment of sexual and gender-based violence. It also provides assistance to affected communities as they move beyond the acute crisis and enter the reconstruction phase. It also supports various data collection activities, including censuses to provide detailed information for planning and rapid assessments to allow for appropriate, effective and efficient relief.

UNFPA provides funding, technical assistance and direct support including:

• Emergency reproductive health supplies and equipment;
• Rapid assessments, research and data analysis;
• Training and capacity-building;
• Advocacy and awareness-raising; Inter-agency coordination and programme planning.

UNFPA Kenya has been responding to emergencies for over five (5) years. In 2008 UNFPA started the post election violence GBV sub cluster that is now managed by the Gender Commission.

UN JOINT PROGRAMMING:
UNFPA works with other UN agencies through joint work plans in support of common national partners in line with the United Nations Development Assistance framework. The joint work plans focus on safe motherhood, promotion of reproductive health and the prevention of HIV among young people.

UNFPA is a member of the UN Joint programmes on Youth, Gender and the HIV and AIDS. The United Nations Country Team (UNCT) considers the joint programmes as a prelude to the ONE UN and "Delivering as One".