Concept Note - EuroNGOs

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EuroNGOs Task Force
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Concept Note 1
Mapping Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Civil Society
Organizations in Kenya
Background
The health situation in Kenya remains poor and has in some cases worsened or stagnated due to the wide
gender and geographical disparities, pervasive poverty, cultural and environmental differences across
regions. Under the current circumstances and despite some progress, the achievement of certain targets
for MDG 4 and 5 is unlikely. The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is significantly high and has risen from
414 to 488 deaths per 100,000 live births between the last two Kenya Demographic Health Surveys
(KDHS) in 2003 and 2008-09. Further, the contraceptive prevalence rate increased from 39% in 2003 to
46%, which is still far below the 70% MDG target. The use of skilled birth attendants remains low at 44%
against a target of 90% and only 43% of births take place in a health facility. Related to this, is the
neonatal mortality rate (NMR) which has slightly reduced from 35 to 31 per 1,000 live births.
The division of Ministry of Health into two, Ministry of Medical Services (MoMS) and Ministry of
Public Health and Sanitation (MoPHS) in 2008 led to unnecessary and impractical sub-division of tasks
and resources. Delivery of reproductive health services has particularly been affected and complicated the
work of various state and non-state actors who have a keen interest in supporting reproductive health
programmes. Although there are indications of merging the two ministries under the new devolved
system which is currently being designed, the negative effects of the division will complicate the process,
making it more costly than it would have been in the case of a single ministry.
1 This concept note was produced in the framework of the EuroNGOs pilot project “Expanding the support-base for
SRHR and the attainement of MDG 5”. The EuroNGOs Task Force members involved in this project are: Deutsche
Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung (DSW Germany, DSW Kenya), Interact Worldwide (UK), Sex &Samfund (Denmark),
AIDOS (Italy), Vaestoeliitto (Finland) and RFSU (Sweden). For more information on the EuroNGOs platform and
its members please visit www.eurongos.org .
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Objective of Mapping SRHR Civil Society Organizations in Kenya
The purpose of mapping civil society organizations working in the reproductive health sub-sector is to
provide stakeholders in the health sector including the Development Partners with an overview of
main SRHR CSOs in Kenya. This exercise will provide a deeper understanding of their operations as
well as their capacity to engage in reproductive health advocacy in an environment which is only partially
supportive of SRHR. It will also help increase knowledge on the challenges that they face, in order to
develop effective ways of supporting these organizations to undertake SRHR advocacy, monitor the
progress of implementation of SRHR policies and build the capacity of communities to demand for
adequate and quality SRHR services in health facilities. Additionally, it will enable the organizations to
identify key allies with the potential to form strategic alliances for working towards improving the
situation of SRHR in the country. It will also help them to understand the different initiatives that are
taking place in diverse regions and how to build on them, in order to expand the interventions in the RH
sub-sector without duplicating efforts in similar regions and targeting the same population.
The activity is both timely and useful because it coincides with the efforts that are being made towards
operationalizing the Constitution, 2010, development and implementation of multiple policies meant to
improve the situation of SRHR in Kenya. As these efforts unfold, it is important to identify and
consolidate the work of civil society organizations to contribute towards implementation of the new laws
and policies. In addition, the Constitution is set to introduce a new set of structures and modify existing
ones to ostensibly serve people in a more effective and transparent manner. The civil society remains a
strategic actor in all these efforts and has a significant role, to complement the government’s work of
strengthening the capacity of communities to take an active role in service delivery and monitoring the
work of government’s institutions.
Methodology, risks and assumptions and dissemination
Given the time and resource limitations, the exercise will endevour to gather and analyze primary data
from both urban and rural-based SRHR CSOs and networks using questionnaires and semi-structured
interviews. Secondary data will be gathered from existing databases that are managed by the government
and non-state actors. Some of the risks anticipated in this exercise are lack of access to relevant
information and databases, lack of response (or low response rate) by the CSOs and misrepresentation of
facts. The success of this exercise is therefore hinged on the assumption that information will easily be
accessed and availed, the government and CSOs contacted will be responsive and they will provide
accurate information.
The data collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews will cover the following areas:
name of the organization, duration of operation, target population, number of staff and annual turnover.
Limited information regarding their programmes will also be gathered. This will be grouped into two,
advocacy and other programmatic areas such as service delivery and training.
The data collected will be analyzed and used to prepare a report describing the operations of SRHR civil
society organizations, areas of focus and institutional capacities. The report will be widely disseminated
among donors and if possible officially presented to the DPHK working group. In addition, it will be
shared with CSOs within and outside the SRHR sub-sector as well as other key stakeholders including the
Ministry of Health and other government institutions.
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Expected Results
The activity serves an important purpose of documenting the number of SRHR civil society
organizations in Kenya and the nature of their activities. This will help contribute to:
‣ Increased knowledge on the number, work and capacity of SRHR CSOs in Kenya
‣ Increased opportunity for networking and collaboration, sharing of knowledge and information
among civil society organizations
Report tentatively ready between July and August 2012
Contacts:
Ms. Margaret Wamuyu Muthee, Advocacy Officer, EuroNGOs/DSW, margaret.muthee@dswkenya.org
Ms. Patrizia Pompili, Coordinator ad interim, EuroNGOs Secretairat, patrizia.pompili@eurongos.org
Ms. Jacqueline Bryld, International Program Manager, DFPA, jb@sexogsamfund.dk
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