The Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) has released the Key Indicators Report aimed at improving the lives of citizens and providing quality services offered by health practitioners.
The document’s main objective is to implement, monitor and provide highlights of demographic indicators to strengthen primary health care in the country.
Speaking during the launch, the State Department of Economic Planning Permanent Secretary (PS) James Muhati said that the survey is a collaboration between various stakeholders in Kenya under the leadership of the Kenya Bureau of National Statistics (KBNS).
“The results of the 2022 survey provide critical baseline information to inform the government’s intervention in the health sector,” said Muhati.
He stated that the national government will work closely with the county government to ensure that level one to level five hospitals in all counties are well funded to provide quality services to the citizens.
At the same time, KBNS Chairperson Stephen Wainaina said that the Bureau launched the Kenya Household Sample Framework (KHSF) to ensure that data collected during the survey is of high quality.
Wainaina noted that the key findings of the survey showed that teenage pregnancy is at 15 per cent nationwide.
“The counties with the highest percentage of teenage pregnancies ages (15-19) were as follows: Samburu -50%, West Pokot -39%, Marsabit -29%, Narok-28% and Meru-24%,” he highlighted.
Further, Wainaina stated that the fertility level trends have been going down as compared to the survey in the previous years.
“The current use of family planning has been categorized into two ways namely; modern methods and traditional methods,” he revealed, adding that the modern methods are at 57% national wide compared to the traditional methods which are at 6%.
Some of the development partners in attendance were; Kenya Bureau of National Statistics (KBNS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programme (WFP), UN AIDS and Nutrition International.
By Phinta Amondi and Sylivia Kavisi
