The country has been rocked by massive stock-outs of some critical contraceptive methods in recent years. Health officers say because of the shortages in public facilities, many women cannot afford to purchase the birth control commodities which are expensive from private drug stores and therefore end up getting pregnant.

quot;Most clients come asking for Implanon (a contraceptive inserted under the skin of a woman’s upper arm) but they cannot get what they are asking for,quot; Mohammed Salat Dagane, a provincial nursing officer in Kenya#39;s North Eastern Province told IPS, quot;What will stop them from becoming pregnant? The pregnancy rate in this region is high.quot;


Karen Owuor, his counterpart in the western province of Nyanza had the same story. quot;Majority of our clients prefer injectable or surgical contraceptives but these are not accessible in most of our facilities. Even though they are available in the market, not many people can afford them so they either have to wait until they are supplied to the hospitals or get pregnant,quot; she said.


Kenya#39;s last Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) in 2003 found that 24 percent of women who do not want another child within the next two years are not using contraception due to unavailability. The lack of access to family planning commodities, particularly surgical and injectable contraceptives, is a major contributor to the figure, coupled with a lack of awareness on methods available.


According to Josephine Kibaru, head of the Family Health Department within the ministry of health, the stock-outs have been largely due to insufficient funds to purchase the commodities. Bureaucratic obstacles between different ministries - specifically enormous difficulties and delays in securing the release of funds to the health ministry by the treasury - have been criticised.


The government drug supply body, the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA), has also been faulted for failing to deliver promptly contraceptives to government health facilities.


quot;If a woman comes and misses contraceptives of their choice at our hospitals, even if they are brought later, it will not make a difference. The next time she comes it will be when a traditional birth attendant sends her to us dying from complications of an unplanned pregnancy,quot; Kibaru said.


The KDHS puts the maternal mortality rate (MMR) at 414 deaths per 100,000 live births, far in excess of the U.N. target of 147 deaths per every 100,000 live births by the year 2015. Two-thirds of these due to birth-related complications and the remainder to unsafe abortions.


The National Contraceptive Commodities Security Strategy 2007-2012, published by the health ministry, puts the government on the spot for its low budgetary allocation for family planning.


Even though the past three years have seen authorities allocate about 6.7 million dollars for procurement of family planning commodities, an estimated 20 million dollars needed annually to ensure adequate supply.


Family planning in Kenya was previously supported exclusively by donors - who are expected to finance the deficit this year. The donor community has also been partly blamed for the stock-outs.


quot;We need partners to deliver their pledges on time. There is no need of them giving us funds two months after the stock-outs. We need to ensure uninterrupted supply of contraceptives to all people that need them whenever and wherever they need them,quot; Kigen Bartilol, deputy head of the Division of Reproductive Health in the health ministry told IPS.


Increased funds have to go hand in hand with prompt delivery of services. Health experts at the launch of the national plan on Apr. 16 called on KEMSA to include contraceptives in its essential drug kits when delivering medicines to health facilities across the country.


quot;Family planning commodities are as important as medicines for other diseases. We want KEMSA to include in the kits contraceptives that are equivalent to the specific needs of every region. By this we will not be working on assumption but on actual requirements and figures, ensuring that everyone is catered for on time,quot; Kibaru said.


But the lack of qualified personnel to administer the commodities still remains a challenge. quot;For example surgical contraceptives must be managed by skilled health care providers, and these are lacking especially in low level institutions like dispensaries and health centres which are closer to communities,quot; Monica Agutu, head of Kisumu Medical and Education Trust, a community organisation, said in an interview with IPS from Kisumu, western Kenya.


She added, quot;A woman will think twice before travelling miles away to a provincial or district hospital where she may be able to access these services. Before she knows it, she will be pregnant. If it is unplanned, no one will stop her from procuring an abortion; if it goes sour, another death.quot;


(END/2009)

Written by Steve Mbogo

Wangari Maathai is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. She has addressed the UN on several occasions and spoke on behalf of women at special sessions of the General Assembly for the five-year review of the earth summit. She served on the commission for Global Governance and Commission on the Future. She and the Green Belt Movement have received numerous awards, most notably The 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. Others include The Sophie Prize (2004), The Petra Kelly Prize for Environment (2004), The Conservation Scientist Award (2004), J. Sterling Morton Award (2004), WANGO Environment Award (2003), Outstanding Vision and Commitment Award (2002), Excellence Award from the Kenyan Community Abroad (2001), Golden Ark Award (1994), Juliet Hollister Award (2001), Jane Adams Leadership Award (1993), Edinburgh Medal (1993), The Hunger Project's Africa Prize for Leadership (1991), Goldman Environmental Prize (1991), the Woman of the World (1989), Windstar Award for the Environment (1988), Better World Society Award (1986), Right Livelihood Award (1984) and the Woman of the Year Award (1983). Professor Maathai was also listed on UNEP's Global 500 Hall of Fame and named one of the 100 heroines of the world. In June 1997, Wangari was elected by Earth Times as one of 100 persons in the world who have made a difference in the environmental arena. Professor Maathai has also received honorary doctoral degrees from several institutions around the world: William's College, MA, USA (1990), Hobart amp; William Smith Colleges (1994), University of Norway (1997) and Yale University (2004).

The Green Belt Movement and Professor Wangari Maathai are featured in several publications including The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the Approach (by Professor Wangari Maathai, 2002), Speak Truth to Power (Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, 2000), Women Pioneers for the Environment (Mary Joy Breton, 1998), Hopes Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé, 2002), Una Sola Terra: Donna I Medi Ambient Despres de Rio (Brice Lalonde et al., 1998), Land Ist Leben (Bedrohte Volker, 1993).

Professor Maathai serves on the boards of several organizations including the UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Disarmament, The Jane Goodall Institute, Women and Environment Development Organization (WEDO), World Learning for International Development, Green Cross International, Environment Liaison Center International, the WorldWIDE Network of Women in Environmental Work and National Council of Women of Kenya.

In December 2002, Professor Maathai was elected to parliament with an overwhelming 98% of the vote. She was subsequently appointed by the president, as Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife in Kenya's ninth parliament.

Just a few days ago, it was all gloom and foreboding with indications that the talks aimed at pulling Kenya back from anarchy were on the verge of collapse.

In a nutshell, the agreement allows for a coalition and creation of an office of Prime Minister who will exercise considerable powers co-ordinating the functions of a unitary government.

The PM will not be a mere presidential appointee but will come from the party holding a majority in Parliament, suggesting ODM. The holder of the office, together with two deputies, one from each side of the coalition, will have constitutional protection.

It is also specified in the agreement that the Cabinet will be made up with recognition of parity in Parliament between the two sides, and in addition, appointment and removals from the Cabinet can only be done in consultation with all parties to the coalition.

In their speeches on Wednesday, both President Kibaki and Mr Odinga were very conciliatory, and it was indeed evident that each of them fully understood the danger Kenya faced if they remained obdurate.

Signing that deal, along with the concessions each, stands as a true mark of leadership and patriotism.

But now the deal must go beyond mere signatures to actualisation.

And this is why it remains very important that President Kibaki and Mr Odinga continue to display leadership which will be necessary in guiding Parliament to do the right thing.

It would be a real tragedy and betrayal if an agreement that holds so much hope for the restoration of peace and stability was to be sabotaged by a Parliament that might still have its share of hardliners and obstructionists on both sides.

The message must go out clearly and unequivocally from President Kibaki and Mr Odinga to all their respective MPs that absolutely nothing must be done in Parliament that would delay or obstruct passage of the relevant amendment Bills.

It must also be clear to the negotiating teams from both sides and others working on the necessary legislation, that the time for stalling, digging-in, grandstanding and making demands is over.

Partisan interests

Kenyans who have witnessed death and destruction on a scale they could not have imagined demand speedy implementation of the agreement, starting with the necessary legislation, to the actual formation of the coalition, another process that again must not be derailed by petty shoving or made hostage to selfish and partisan interests.

All must realise that the signing of the agreement on Wednesday is but the first step in what will be a long and delicate process. The formation of a coalition government is merely the minimum requirement for the more difficult work to follow.

The real return to peace and stability will be realised, not just with a coalition government, but with the next agenda item on the negotiations that includes comprehensive constitutional review, focusing very much on sensitive issues such as devolution, land reform, ethnic relations and establishment of a just and equitable society.

Many of those are issues we have preferred not to address since independence in the hope that they would solve themselves.

The post-election violence that threatened to send Kenya hurtling down the precipice indicated that we may have all along been living in a fools’ paradise.

The events of the past two months opened our eyes to the realisation that we can no longer continue to sweep under the carpet pressing national issues.

Now we have no choice but to confront them and to find solutions that are satisfactory to all groups in the country.

In another development, Kenya’s neighbours have been asked to put more pressure on President Kibaki’s government to cede ground and facilitate a lasting political settlement to the country’s crisis, Britain’s leading financial newspaper says.

The Financial Times says: “Pressure from the US and Europe has undoubtedly helped to prevent negotiations from breaking down. But it is doubtful that in itself will secure a lasting deal.

African countries

“More is needed from neighbouring African countries, whose strategic interests in Kenya’s survival are even greater, and whose involvement is harder to pass off as neo-imperialist.”

The problem, the paper says, is that while Kenya “reaps the consequences of violence stirred up by politicians, Mr Kibaki and cohorts are digging in, determined to resist the medicine long prescribed.”

Elsewhere, the European Union and its member states vowed yesterday not to conduct business as usual in the country until a solution is found.

Members of the Council of the European Union at the same time threatened to take action on leaders bent on obstructing the Annan-led mediation talks or those encouraging violence in the country.

“They will have to face the consequences.”

Additional reporting by Paul Redfern and Dave Opiyo

Don’t let the long title intimidate you. If you wade through the first seven words, you will find that they simply mean a disaster fund for those affected by the poll violence.

The fund kicks off with a Sh1 billion down payment by the Government. And, as one newspaper put it, “the fund is expected to grow after an appeal in the face of resource constraints...”

Now, that is something we can relate to. Resource constraints have become a way of life for more Kenyans than we care to count. Even people living beyond our borders can feel the effect. The question is: do the people who are driving this country to the edge of sanity care?

Money has always been a problem for us, especially when we throw politics into the mix. It is not just the fact that we pay our politicians huge salaries for causing us no end of trouble and bloodshed. We fight when we have it. We fight when we do not. And we are very creative when it comes to finding ways to spend it.

ONLY A MONTH OR SO AGO, THIS country was awash with posters, huge spending on billboards and a massive assault on our senses in both print and electronic media. The political parties spent billions trying to win us over to their side. We were inspired, and the turnout was more than even the most optimistic of pundits could have anticipated.

The result speaks for itself. And now we are being asked to pay for the sins of our leaders — literally with our lives, and also by digging deeper into our pockets to deal with the mess they created.

At the last count, more than 800 people had died and another 300,000 had been displaced. Millions others have been mentally and emotionally displaced and they no longer know what to make of the day’s developments. It is just the kind of environment that allows the devil to do his dirty work, and now it is two ODM Members of Parliament dead.

Statistics are dry at the best of times. They don’t tell the full story. These numbers represent a huge personal crisis. The people involved need food, clothing, medicine, blankets, baby formula, sanitary towels and somewhere to sleep.

There is no privacy for the people who have found themselves on the wrong side of the marauding gangs that rule the most affected parts of the country. They don’t have the comfort of knowing that, at the end of the day, they will be going home in one piece. None of us can be certain any more that we will.

A few hard questions come to mind: How do we mitigate the effects of the emotional falling out that Kenya is experiencing right now? What is the price of a human life? How do you tell an orphaned child that she will experience great hardship in life because her parents were burnt to death for belonging to a particular ethnic group?

Make donations to the fund, by all means. You will be easing the physical suffering of the afflicted. Even though we rarely use the word these days, harambee was one of the pillars of the Kenya we once dreamt of. The founders of this nation even spoke of something called African socialism and produced a sessional paper to make it official. And promptly forgot all about it, whatever it meant.

But we will have to think beyond money and other material needs if we are to deal once and for all with the violence we are seeing now. It has been coming for a long time. The link between money and the total collapse of conscience among our political leaders has been long established.

Bad politics will inevitably breed bloodshed. Throw money into the mix, and there’ll be hell to pay. So there’s tension in the teaching ranks and the election is just around the corner? Give them a juicy pay raise, but let it be known that it is only effective after the election. That way you get to keep them on a leash.

So the community next door is feeling that “one of their own” is not in a high level government position? Well, give a slew of them the shadowy title of assistant minister. That will take care of the shared national resources issue, never mind that they don’t really do any serious work and that they will not be sharing their pay with their constituents. Hell, no!

AS FOR FREE EDUCATION, AN ELECTION is hardly the right time to refer to the small print to do with class sizes and all the extra costs that come with children going to school.

Are the long suffering people up in the north complaining about “development” not reaching them? A handful of boreholes should do the trick. Better still, transfer some bulldozers to the district headquarters — and keep them there until after things have gone quiet. That way, they will not be asking how life is down there in Kenya.

You can find your own local examples of how cash has corrupted our politics.

Right now, though, all of our eyes should be focused on the two men at the centre of the crisis. Now that the Annan team has them talking, they might consider speaking directly with Kenyans, who have been reduced to collateral damage in their fight for supremacy. Let Mr Mwai Kibaki and Mr Raila Odinga go to Uhuru Park and jointly address this nation if they are truly committed to that mitigating business. There is not enough money in Kenya to pay for a human life.

Story by LUCY ORIANG' ( Daily Nation)

For the umpteenth time, we are compelled to address our leaders and the nation over the political madness that has been going on for a month now — since the December 27 election — and which shows no signs of abating.

It is important, from the outset, to make it clear that the crippling political crisis threatening to shut down the country is not the making of the Kenyan people — they rendered their verdict by casting their votes to choose their leaders in the parliamentary and presidential election.

Instead, it is the post-election events and failure of our institutions to come up with results that are auditable and verifiable — leading to an impasse over the winner of last month’s hotly contested elections — that one neighbour after neighbour is rising up against another in an atavistic gusto that belongs to the Stone Age.

Following this institutional failure, one side disputed the election results, but the other dug in and insisted it won fairly, leading to polarisation among supporters.

The spontaneous events after the announcement of the results, further compounded by mass action called to protest the results, have brought to our streets, homes and screens scenes never witnessed before here.

People are being burnt alive and not even refuge in churches and houses is insurance enough. Machetes, swords and other crude weapons have become tools of choice against people who were neighbours and friends only days ago.

But leadership is lacking in containing the mayhem. Politicians who, just a month ago, were stomping the country during the election campaigns are nowhere to be seen.

MPs-elect should be at the forefront of peace efforts. But they are not and they may not. The tribal hatred that is fuelling the violence has opened old wounds that no politician may be able to heal.

Leaders have lost control of their supporters and few can call for calm and be listened to. This is how low the country has sunk.

Add this to underlying issues of bigotry, land, resource distribution and major and petty differences and the mix is a lethal one. The genie has acquired a life of its own.

But this has to stop now.

Indeed, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and rendered homeless in their own country.

Several thousands others have been injured. And the figure of those whose lives were snuffed out has possibly exceeded 1,000.

There is colossal destruction of property, and the economy is on the verge of virtual paralysis with free movement of goods and services curtailed.

Threat to regional trade could lead to change in trading partnerships, with the attendant loss of business following disruption in the distribution system.

Yet there is also the massive impact on Government revenues and undermining of performance of the private sector, courting business failure.

Add to this the depreciation of the shilling, the high cost of fuel and the stalking inflation and you have a worrying mix.

Furthermore, the negative effects on productive land and the surging costs of farm inputs and land preparation portend an ominous threat to food security.

The time has come for us to say: Enough is enough. Kenyans cannot continue to be held hostage by marauding gangs carrying bows and arrows, machetes, pangas and stakes.

And the police must take a lead in stopping this: Why are they, for instance, sweet-talking armed gangsters torching houses, blocking roads, injuring and killing people who speak a different tongue from theirs? Where did the teargas go in Naivasha?

Nairobi cut off

Granted, the force has been on the receiving end for being trigger-happy. But that is as far as unarmed protesters are concerned. And these should be blocked rather than shot.

But armed ruffians! Because of police softness, roads are being blocked with abandon and innocent people attacked as officers watch.

The capital city has been cut off from western Kenya, courtesy of gangsters. It began with illegal roadblocks between Nakuru and Eldoret. Now, it is all the way from Naivasha.

Criminals have taken advantage of the situation to kill, rob and harass innocent people. Thuggery has taken root and lawlessness is the order of the day.

A country where major highways are no-go zones because unruly youths have taken them over teeters on the precipice of a failed State.

The efforts to clear the roads have been feeble to say the least. The gangs dump rocks, boulders and containers on the roads and do their thing without a care in the world.

It is only when they are through that we see police officers, and of late soldiers, removing them. It is as if it is the gangs’ role to lay rocks and that of the police to remove.

But the police must make it clear that blocking highways is an act of sabotage and a high price will be paid for it.

But this is the sad part of it. Kenya has been a vibrant democracy, especially in the past five years, but Kenyans have not resorted to the violent backwardness raging on now.

It is a country that has just conducted a high-octane election campaign and though there were instances of violence, it was more between supporters of parties and candidates than tribes.

It is thus possible for Kenya to politick without annihilation; to practise politics that builds rather than destroys; politics where brains, not brawn and atavism, calls the shots.

The national predicament began as a protest against claims of presidential election rigging. Politicians on both sides of the divide talked tough and threatened fire and brimstone against enemies on the other side.

Various parts of the country — Nairobi, Coast, Rift Valley, Nyanza and Western provinces — erupted. People identified as supporters of one side of the political divide were attacked. Hundreds were killed, homes were burnt and businesses destroyed.

The consequences of the mayhem are not just the funerals for the dead, but also the camps for displaced people that dot many parts of the country.

But there is even more. Some people have crossed to neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania, while others have turned to police stations and church and school compounds for refuge.

Security forces overwhelmed

The magnitude of this challenge suggests that unless our leaders deliberately make hard choices for the sake of preserving the security of our people and the Kenyan nation, we could see a vicious cycle of violence and counter-violence.

The levels of violence are overwhelming our security forces, and it is evident that we do not have enough officers to police the entire country. Only a political solution and settlement will appease our people into cultivating a sense of peace, harmony and national reconciliation.

It is evident a form of inertia and fatigue is creeping in the security forces, but they must not relent in their duty to enforce the law.

While it will be useful for posterity to carry out an in depth audit on the debacle of the tallying of results, to help in reshaping future institutional electioneering structures so that we do not end up where we are now, the urgent need now is for peace and to hold the country together.

The challenge, however, is for leaders to ensure that they are not held captive by vested interests on both sides, who may not be willing to reach a quick settlement by virtue of the fact that others stand to lose when the other side is accommodated, and others seek to gain more.

We wish to appeal to leaders — in the spirit of holding the country together — to preach peace and national reconciliation.

If they truly care, they should hold joint rallies to salvage the country from going down the precipice. They should demonstrate humility and climb down from the pedestals they are perched on.

We also wish to appeal to the people — however inflamed their passions may be — to calm down.

They should know that revenge is counter-productive as it leads to more revenge and thus an unending cycle of violence.

Only peace and togetherness will save this country.

Figure this: We have had nine General Elections since Independence, but never witnessed violence of this magnitude. Yet Kenya is considered a maturing democracy.

Now that former UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, is in the country for talks, can we expect the leaders to rise to the occasion? Is this so much to ask of our leaders? We need to see a sense of urgency on both sides of the divide; who must take maximum advantage of their presence.

They must also ponder the following: Who gains when our people continue to be killed and suffer? Will it matter much — in a situation where the country is destabilised — to hold or ascend to the presidency?

It is our considered opinion that if, after all these, it is determined that the country’s leaders have irreconcilable differences, then the logical way is to go back to the people, who are the final arbitrator in this matter.

And even if it means electing everybody, including MPs, this option will ultimately be less costly than the continued paralysis in the country.

By The Standard Editors

By Otieno Mak’onyango
The writer is former MP for Alego

A pretty woman was serving a life sentence in prison.
Angry and resentful about her situation, she had decided that she would rather die than live another year in prison.

Over the years she had become good friends with one of the prison caretakers. His job, among others, was to bury those prisoners who died in a graveyard just outside the prison walls. When a prisoner died, the caretaker rang a bell, which was heard by everyone.
The caretaker then got the body and put it in a casket. Next, he entered his office to fill out the death certificate before returning to the casket to nail the lid shut.

Finally, he put the casket on a wagon to take it to the graveyard and bury it.
Knowing this routine, the woman devised an escape plan and shared it with the caretaker. The next time the bell rang; the woman would leave her cell and sneak into the dark room where the coffins were kept. She would slip into the coffin with the dead body while the caretaker was filling out the death certificate. When the caretaker returned, he would nail the lid shut and take the coffin outside the prison with the woman in the coffin along with the dead body. He would then bury the coffin.
The woman knew there would be enough air for her to breathe until later in the evening when the caretaker would return to the graveyard under the cover of darkness, dig up the coffin, open it, and set her free.
The caretaker was reluctant to go along with this plan, but since he and the woman had become good friends over the years, he agreed to do it. The woman waited several weeks before someone in the prison died.
She was asleep in her cell when she heard the death bell ring. She got up, picked the lock of her cell and slowly walked down the hallway.
She was nearly caught a couple of times. Her heart was beating fast. She opened the door to the darkened room where the coffins were kept. Quietly in the dark, she found the coffin that contained the dead body, carefully climbed into the coffin and pulled the lid shut to wait for the caretaker to come and nail the lid shut.
Soon she heard footsteps and the pounding of the hammer and nails. Even though she was very uncomfortable in the coffin with the dead body, she knew that with each nail she was one step closer to freedom. The coffin was lifted onto the wagon and taken outside to the graveyard. She could feel the coffin being lowered into the ground. She didn't make a sound as the coffin hit the bottom of the grave with a thud.
Finally she heard the dirt dropping onto the top of the wooden coffin, and she knew that it was only a matter of time until she would be free at last. After several minutes of absolute silence, she began to laugh.
She was free! She was free! Feeling curious, she decided to light a match to find out the identity of the dead prisoner beside her. To her horror, she discovered that she was lying next to the dead caretaker.
Many people believe they have life all figured out but sometimes it just doesn't turn out the way they planned Well I wish you all the best in every plan you make, have a blessed day.
Remember the Love of GOD is like an ocean, you can see its beginning but not its end.