Beginnings: The KNCHR and the Sexual and Reproductive Health Inquiry

Maternity unit at a provincial general hospital in Kenya

After receiving a number of complaints about sexual and reproductive health rights violations in Kenya, particularly in health facilities, the KNCHR decided to conduct a public inquiry since the complaints received demonstrated systematic violations affecting a majority of the public. Such an inquiry presents an opportunity for both providers and consumers of sexual and reproductive healthcare to give their views so that the KNCHR can come up with recommendations for all stakeholders to work towards improving the status of sexual and reproductive health in Kenya.

The public inquiry team began the public inquiry process with a comprehensive literature review including analyses of various legal and policy frameworks that are relevant to the Kenyan context. Some of these were:

1. The Constitution of Kenya
2. The Adolescent Reproductive Health & Development Policy
3. Millennium Development Goals
4. Protocol to the African Charter on Human & People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa OR The Maputo Protocol 

The team then organized a half-day stakeholders' forum in order to discuss the objectives of the public inquiry and to get additional input from others working in the field of sexual and reproductive health. This forum comprised representatives of both the private and public sectors and began the KNCHR's engagement with some members of civil society around the public inquiry. The objectives of the inquiry have been narrowed down as:

1. To establish the legal and policy framework governing the implementation of sexual and reproductive health rights in Kenya and the effectiveness thereof
2. To assess compliance by the government and non-state actors in sexual and reproductive health rights in Kenya
3. To determine the extent of sexual and reproductive health awareness and utilization in Kenya
4. To identify and document cases of discrimination in and violation of sexual and reproductive health rights in Kenya

Following the stakeholders' forum, the team then went out into the field to carry out pre-hearing visits/assessments in which they sampled 6 regions across Kenya: Nairobi region & its environs, Coast region, Nyanza & Western regions, Central & Eastern regions, North Rift Valley region and North Eastern & Lower Eastern regions. The team did assessments of various health facilities, NGOs and individuals in all these regions and is currently putting together a summary of their findings. Basically, the commission wanted to find out:

1. Are healthcare providers guided by existing laws and policies in their service provision? Do they feel that they are appropriate? 
2. Do healthcare providers ensure the highest quality of standards in the provision of sexual and reproductive health? Why/Why not? How?
3. Are Kenyans aware of their sexual and reproductive health rights? Do they make claims of them (e.g. reporting incidences of medical negligence)? 
4. What violations of sexual and reproductive health have occurred and what has been/can be done about them? 

Comments, contributions and criticisms are VERY welcome!

There has been quite a bit of media coverage over the past few months on various sexual and reproductive health issues, such as maternal mortality and unmet contraceptive needs. You can check out some of these stories in our News section.