Kenya: Bush administration restricts health care

Off Our Backs, Jul/Aug 2004 by Christian, Sena, Stachowski, Roxanne, Ferden, Sara, Walter, Shoshana

Africa

NAIROBI-In June, seven clinics that offered safe abortions and post-abortion care closed down following the withdrawal of one million dollars of funding by the U.S. government. The Bush administration stopped funding to the Family Planning Association of Kenya and Marie Stopes-Kenya. Both organizations offer family planning services and support the reproductive rights of women.

Most of the clinics that were shut down were located in the poorest communities in Kenya and in rural areas where people depended on clinic services for other heavily subsidized health services, in addition to access to safe abortions. The clinics provided immunizations, vitamin supplements, malaria treatment, treatment for sexually transmitted infections and care for patients with HIV/AIDS.

The withdrawal of funding is part of the Bush administration's implementation of its "Global Gag Rule." The rule prohibits United States Aid for International Development from funding NGOs or organizations that offer abortion or post-abortion care. Organizations and health services have had to refuse to provide reproductive services in order to receive funding or have closed because of insufficient funding. According to a Nairobi newspaper, the number of unsafe abortions are said to have increased to approximately 800 a day since the rule was introduced.

-info from The Nation (Kenya)