Health financing and family planning in the context of universal health care: Connecting the discourse in Kenya

Abstract

Financing is a major challenge and concern for the future of family planning (FP) programs. As countries commit to increasing access to and quality of FP services and to universal health care (UHC), it is crucial that UHC schemes include FP and other reproductive health services. This brief aims to: 1) document trends in UHC and health financing, drawing out implications for policymakers and programmers; and 2) identify opportunities for the FP community of practice to advocate for the inclusion of quality FP services within UHC and health financing discussions. With this brief, we aim to highlight experiences in Kenya, given that there is a body of experience with health financing reforms and UHC schemes and a relatively strong national FP program. The Kenya case study is instructive for other countries with decentralized and mixed health systems as they seek to integrate FP within their own UHC initiatives and health financing reforms.