Even as Kenya’s first IVF baby turns 18, barriers to infertility treatment abound
An illustration of in vitro fertilization (IVF) of human egg cell or fertility treatment.
What you need to know:
- Kenya does not have any legal reproductive health frame work because MPs have over the last 10 years shot down two key bills.
- Some church leaders have been a major stumbling block in the country’s quest to have a reproductive health legal framework.
This year, Kenya’s first test-tube baby who was conceived at Nairobi IVF Centre and born in May 2005, will be turning 18.
However, the country is still grappling with many challenges when it comes to assisted reproductive technology (ART) — more specifically IVF and surrogacy — majorly because it lacks a solid legal reproductive health framework.
Ayieta Lumbasyo, a bioethicist, lawyer and founder of Fertility Law Centre, who specialises in fertility law, says she on many occasions has to be at the office by 5am because many Kenyan couples seeking fertility services do not want to be seen going for treatment.
“They even do not wish to register. They leave their details with security guards because they do not want any record of them ever being here.
“You see, ART is not like going to the hospital for malaria treatment, there is still a lot of stigma around fertility treatment,” she observes while noting that fertility treatment, unlike primary health care, involves a lot of third party agreements, which must be signed before treatment begins.
She adds that sexual and reproductive health is a fundamental human right as well as a human development issue that the country must strive to fulfill. This right is guaranteed in various international and regional human rights instruments and national laws and policies.
“Kenya is a state party to various international and regional human rights instruments that guarantee the right to sexual and reproductive health. Furthermore, the Constitution of Kenya 2010, for the first time, guarantees the right to health care including reproductive health,”the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights states.
Kenya does not have any legal reproductive health frame work because MPs have over the last 10 years shot down two key bills.
First, Judith Sijeny, then nominated senator, sponsored the Reproductive Health Bill 2014, which would have provided the much-needed guidance on protecting reproductive rights; but the Senate shot it down.
In 2019, Susan Kihika, then Nakuru senator, sponsored a similar bill, Reproductive Health Bill 2019, that yet again died on the floor of the House based on a ‘financing technicality’.
“The reproductive health bills were shot down specifically because of the abortion bit but in 2022, Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo sponsored two bills namely the Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill 2022 and the Family Reproductive Health Care Bill 2022. I am hopeful and confident that this time round they will sail through,” Ms Ayieta told Healthy Nation.
“We are however not operating in a complete vacuum at the moment because we have the Health Act, which covers licences and giving informed consent. But it does not recognise assisted reproduction as primary care or secondary care. It classifies fertility treatment in the same category with things like cosmetic surgery whereas fertility is a health issue.”
Ms Ayieta further pointed out that some church leaders have been a major stumbling block in the country’s quest to have a reproductive health legal framework.
“When the first IVF baby was born in May 2005, some church leaders were up in arms accusing doctors of ‘playing God’,” she said, noting that over 30 per cent of Kenyans are silently dealing with infertility issues; men at 49 per cent and women at 51 per cent, as per their survey.
On costs, the fertility law expert said IVF is very expensive.
“Fertility treatment is not cheap, the cheapest procedure is intrauterine insemination (IUI), which boosts chances of pregnancy by placing specially prepared sperm directly in the uterus. It costs between Sh50,000 to Sh 100,000 depending on where you are doing it.”
She explains that what makes fertility treatment expensive is the cost of drugs because they are not sourced locally and have to be paid in dollars and euros.
“Right now it is hard to find IVF treatment that costs less than Sh 600,000 in any IVF facility around the country. Last year we were charging between Sh 450,000-Sh 490,000 per cycle.”
