Ministry of Health (MoH) has introduced free hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs) in public health facilities, a move aimed at expanding contraceptive options for women and addressing heavy menstrual bleeding.
Previously, this family planning method was only available in private hospitals at a costs ranging from Shs 20,000 to Shs 35,000.
Data from the Ministry of Health’s Division of Family Planning show that healthcare providers have already dispensed 6,816 hormonal IUDs across Kenya, with the highest uptake recorded in Nairobi, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Nyeri, and Migori counties. The government had procured 62,000 devices through the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA) to support this initiative.
Dr. Albert Ndwiga, Kenya’s Head of Family Planning, said the availability of hormonal IUDs in public facilities is a significant step in providing affordable, effective family planning options for women who may have previously been unable to access them.
“There’s a population of women who would benefit more from using hormonal-based family planning, such as the hormonal IUD,” Dr. Ndwiga noted. He added that the method, beyond preventing pregnancy, can also alleviate menorrhagia, a condition marked by excessively heavy menstrual periods, and reduce the risk of iron-deficiency anaemia.
According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic Health Survey, 14percent of women who want to delay pregnancy do not use any modern contraceptive method, often due to compatibility issues with available methods. The introduction of the hormonal IUD in public hospitals is seen as a solution for women who struggle with other forms of contraception.
The rollout of hormonal IUDs in public hospitals follows years of preparation, including ensuring the safety and sustainability of the service. While the World Health Organization (WHO) added the hormonal IUD to its Essential Medicines List in 2015, it wasn’t until 2019 that Kenya added it to its own list, allowing for its use in healthcare facilities. Until now, it was only available in private hospitals, limiting access for many women due to its high cost.
The success of this initiative also hinged on preparing healthcare providers to safely offer the service. Nurse-midwife and family planning specialist Alinda Ndenga, who helped incorporate hormonal IUDs into public health services, emphasized the importance of training healthcare workers to counsel women effectively and ensure the safe insertion and removal of the devices.
“Healthcare providers needed to be trained to counsel the women appropriately, and when the women accepted, the healthcare provider inserted the hormonal IUD safely and removed it at any time upon the woman’s request,” Ms. Ndenga explained.
The Ministry of Health, in partnership with Jhpiego, an international health NGO, first trained 30 healthcare workers in 2016 on how to insert and remove hormonal IUDs. Since then, these trained professionals have gone on to train additional healthcare workers, particularly in Kisumu and Migori counties, where the program was initially piloted to assess community attitudes and perceptions towards the contraceptive.
“The Ministry continues to train healthcare workers to ensure the quality of services provided,” Dr. Ndwiga stated. In the first phase of the rollout, 5,342 healthcare workers across 1,788 public health facilities were trained to offer the service, ensuring that women across the country can now access hormonal IUDs at no cost.
