This brief provides an overview of the Independant Evaluation of the Reduction of Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in Kenya Programme.
Kenya has one of the highest rates of maternal deaths in the world, at 362 per 100,000 live births (Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 2014). Fifty-six percent of infant deaths in Kenya occur during the first month of life.Challenges include poor access to quality delivery and emergency care, low use of available services, shortages of skilled health workers, equipment andsupplies, and weak referral systems. Financial, cultural and geographical barriers also prevent women from using maternal health care services. The Reduction of Maternal and Neonatal Mortality in Kenya Programme is a five-year UK Department for International Development (DFID) funded programme implementedby UNICEF, Options, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), and otherpartners. The Programme is expected to contribute to preventing 1,092 maternaland 3,836 neonatal deaths by 2018. The expected outcome is increased access toand utilisation of quality maternal and newborn health services. The programmehas been designed in close collaboration with national authorities and otherdevelopment partners and is aligned with sector priorities