Official Launch of 2008/2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey Preliminary Report

Written by Administrator
Thursday, 05 November 2009 09:57 - Last Updated Thursday, 05 November 2009 10:11

Nairobi, 4th November, 2009 – The Minister of State for Planning, National Development and
Vision 2030, Hon. Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya, MP, today launched the preliminary report of the
2008/9 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) conducted from November 2008 to
February, 2009 by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with Ministries of Public
Health and Sanitation and Medical Services and other stakeholders.

The 2008/9 KDHS is the fifth survey of its kind to be conducted in Kenya, following four others
that were carried out in 1989, 1993, 1998 and 2003. This survey was designed to collect
information on fertility levels, nuptiality, sexual activity, fertility preferences, awareness and use
of family planning methods, breastfeeding practices, nutritional status of women and young
children, childhood and maternal mortality, maternal and child health, awareness and behaviour
regarding HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. The other aspects covered by the
survey were childhood illness, ownership and use of mosquito nets, domestic violence and HIV
testing. This is the second time HIV was tested in the KDHS after the first one in 2003 to give an
indication of the trend.
    
The 2008 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) was undertaken to provide
information to address the planning, programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation
needs of health, family planning and HIV/AIDS programmes. It will also provide program
managers and policy makers involved in these programmes with the information that they need
to effectively plan and implement future interventions.

The results of 2008/9 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey  

Total fertility rate (TFR) declined from 8.1 births per woman during 1977/8 to 4.7 in 1998, 4.9 in
2003 and 4.6 in 2008. This shows a reversal after an increase. This could be attributed to an
increase in contraceptive use among currently married women using any method which rose
from 7 percent in 1978 to 39 in 1998. This remained at the same level in 2003 and rose to 46
percent in 2008/9.
 
The survey report indicates that 9 in 10 mothers visited a health professional at least once for
antenatal care for the most recent birth in the five – year period before the survey. It also shows
that coverage is higher in urban areas at 96 percent as compared to 90 percent in rural areas.
The report further reveals that only 44 percent of mothers receive assistance from a health
professional during delivery and that urban mothers are more than twice (75 percent) as likely
as their rural counterparts (37 percent) to receive assistance from a heath professional.

A child is considered fully vaccinated if he or she has received: a BCG vaccination against
tuberculosis; three doses of DPT vaccine to prevent diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (or three
doses of pentavalent which includes 2 additional vaccines); at least three doses of polio
vaccine; and one dose of measles vaccine. These vaccinations should be received during the
first year of life. Overall, 77 percent of children aged 12-23 months are fully vaccinated and only
3 percent of children have not received any vaccines.

Use of mosquito nets is considered to be one of the strongest strategies in the fight against

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Official Launch of 2008/2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey Preliminary Report

Written by Administrator
Thursday, 05 November 2009 09:57 - Last Updated Thursday, 05 November 2009 10:11

malaria. The survey found out that 61 percent of households in Kenya report owning at least
one mosquito net (treated or untreated), while 54 percent report owning at least one ITN.
Fifty-one percent of children under five years and 53 percent of pregnant women were reported
to have slept under a mosquito net the night prior to the interview.

Childhood mortality rates are basic indicators of a country’s socio – economic level and quality
of life. The level of under-five mortality was 74 deaths per 1,000 births during the five-year
period before the survey, implying that at least 1 in every 14 children born in Kenya during the
period died before reaching their fifth birthday. The infant mortality rate recorded in the survey
was 52 deaths per 1,000 live births.

The under-five-mortality rate decreased to 74 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2008-09 from 115
in 2003. The trend implies that the continuing deterioration in the quality of life amongst the
Kenyan population that had been witnessed in the earlier surveys has started a reversal. The
improvement in child survival is corroborated by increases in child vaccination coverage and in
ownership and use of mosquito bednets both of which have been shown to reduce child
mortality.

The survey revealed that 39 percent of the married, divorced or separated women aged 15 – 49
years reported to have ever been physically or sexually violated by their husbands or partners
during their lifetime compared to 44 percent in 2003. About 32 percent reported having been
violated in the last one year before the survey compared to 29 percent in 2003. Rural women
are more likely to be victims of physical and sexual violence. The survey further revealed that
15 percent of married women are sexually violated compared to about 13 percent in 2003.

Just over one-quarter (27 percent) of women report that they were circumcised. The prevalence
of female genital cutting varies widely by background characteristics. The practice appears to
be diminishing among younger women, declining from 49 percent among women 45-49 to only
15 percent of those age 15-19. The 1998 KDHS documented 38 percent of women had been
circumcised. This declined to 32 percent in 2003 and to 27 percent in 2008-9.

The results indicate that among those who had sex in the last 12 months, men are twice as
likely as women to engage in higher–risk sex (35 percent vs. 18 percent). (Higher–risk sexual
encounters are defined as sex with non-marital, non-cohabiting partners).  Likewise, 9 percent
of all men had sex with two or more partners in the past 12 months, compared with only 1
percent of all women.

The results further show that among respondents who had sex with two or more partners in the
past 12 months, only 32 percent of women and 37 percent  of men reported using a condom
during last sexual intercourse. The results indicate that men are more likely to use condoms
than women. The results show that among respondents who had sexual intercourse in the past
12 months with a person who was neither their husband nor wife nor a cohabiting partner, 35
percent of women and 62 percent of men reported using a condom at last sexual intercourse
with that person.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics

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Official Launch of 2008/2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey Preliminary Report

Written by Administrator
Thursday, 05 November 2009 09:57 - Last Updated Thursday, 05 November 2009 10:11

P.O. BOX 30266

00100 Nairobi GPO, Kenya
Telephone: Nairobi 317586/8, 317612/22
317623, 317651
Fax: 254- 20 - 315977
Email: director@knbs.go.ke
Website: www. knbs. go. ke

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