Nairobi, Central recorded 234,125 abortions in 2023, highest in Kenya

A new report has revealed that women in Nairobi and Central regions underwent the highest number of induced abortions in the country last year, with more than 230,000 cases recorded.

The data, published by the Africa Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), indicates that these two regions together saw 234,125 abortions in 2023 alone.

In comparison, Nyanza and Western regions followed closely with 222,196 cases. Rift Valley reported 153,314, while the Eastern region had 108,910 abortions.

Coast and North Eastern regions had the lowest numbers, recording 74,150 cases. Overall, the country recorded a total of 792,694 induced abortions in 2023.

The report was the outcome of a study conducted by APHRC in partnership with the Guttmacher Institute and the Ministry of Health between April 2023 and May 2024.

It focused on understanding the scope and impact of abortion in Kenya, involving three major research components.

One part of the research included a Health Facilities Survey (HFS), which involved both public and private facilities offering post-abortion care. Out of 694 sampled health facilities, 648 took part in the study.

In another section, over 2,000 women aged 15 to 49 who had experienced an induced abortion in the past five years were surveyed.

A third segment involved collecting clinical data and interviewing women seeking treatment for abortion-related complications at health facilities over a 30-day period.

The report reveals that access to formal health care during abortions varies across the regions. In Nairobi and Central, only about one in four women (25.9%) accessed care at a formal health facility.

In contrast, more than 40% of women in Coast and North Eastern (42.3%) and Eastern (43%) regions received medical attention during their abortion.

The study also assessed how equipped health facilities are to offer care after abortions, the seriousness of complications women suffer, and their overall experiences with the process.

Researchers found that the high numbers are closely linked to cases of unplanned pregnancies.

"Induced abortions are mainly driven by unwanted pregnancies, so we have to address the problem of unintended pregnancies; the higher the number of unintended pregnancies, the higher the induced abortions," said Kenneth Juma, a senior researcher at APHRC, while speaking at the national dissertation forum.

The study estimated that there were 2.85 million pregnancies in Kenya in 2023, and nearly half — about 1.4 million — were unplanned.

According to the findings, more than half of these unintended pregnancies ended in abortion.