Influence of Provision of Free Maternal Health Care Program on Maternal Mortality Rates in Kisii County, Kenya

Kenya has long suffered from high maternal and infant morbidity and mortality rates. Recent estimates set the maternal mortality rate at 488 deaths per 100,000 live births, well above the MDG target of 147 per 100,000 by 2015. For every woman who dies in childbirth in Kenya, it is estimated that another 20-30 women suffer serious injury or disability due to complications during pregnancy or delivery. The problem is driven, at least in part, by lack of access to quality maternal health services, including ante-natal, delivery, and post-natal services by the year 2012l, only 44% of births in Kenya were delivered under the supervision of a skilled birth attendant. On June 1, 2013, the Government of Kenya took action to address this problem by initiating a policy of free maternity services in all public facilities. This paper seeks to evaluate the success rate of this government policy of free maternal health care and the key challenges facing free maternal health care in Kenya. It uses evidence from Kenya, as well as other countries that have implemented free maternal health care policies, in order to assess the situation and advice the government on best practices moving forward. It begins by outlining the national and international framework guiding the right to reproductive health. It then documents some of the key challenges facing the free maternal health care program and outlines several strategies for ensuring free services are implemented fully, effectively, and without compromise to other key arenas of intervention. Finally, it closes with a summary of recommendations to the Government of Kenya and other stakeholders.