The Kenya Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCAH) Investment Framework  and the Kenya Health Sector Strategic Plan (KHSSP) have a strong focus on universal health coverage, which is anchored on primary health care. Both documents envision “a Kenya where there are no preventable deaths of women, newborns or children, and no preventable stillbirths; where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is celebrated and accounted for and where women, babies, children, and adolescents are free of HIV/AIDS, survive, thrive and reach their full social and economic potential.”

The RMNCAH investment framework is focused on addressing (direct quote):

1. Disparities in inequitable coverage, through investments in underserved counties and accelerated action for underserved and marginalized populations;
2. Prioritized demand-side barriers to increased utilization, coverage, and affordability of RMNCAH services; and
3. Prioritized supply-side bottlenecks in the health system to improve access to high impact interventions delivered efficiently and effectively while ensuring financial protection for the poor. (Page 9)

Implementation of the health sector strategic plan and the RMNCAH investment framework will help Kenya move towards achieving the targets set within the sustainable development goals, particularly on maternal and child health. Some of the targets set within the investment results framework include to increase; skilled deliveries, number of antenatal visits, full immunization coverage, contraceptive use by currently married women, and the percentage of pregnant women tested for HIV who receive results and post-test counseling among other indicators. It also targets reductions in stunting, teenage pregnancy and neonatal mortality.

Achievements for 2020-2025

The Kenya country collaboration continues to strengthen the generation and use of evidence for RMNCAH+N through research, analyses, dissemination, and policy engagement activities. The following key areas highlight the partnership’s contributions during 2023–2025:

• End-Term Review of the Kenya Health Sector Strategic Plan (2018–2023): The collaboration supported the MoH during the end-term review, providing technical input and statistical analysis to assess sector performance and inform the next strategy cycle. Countdown team members participated in the national dissemination workshop held in 2023.

• Quality of Care and Health Facility Assessments: In collaboration with the MoH and partners, the Kenya Countdown team supported the development and launch of the Quality of Care and Human Resources for Health Assessment (QoCHFA) Report and the Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA) Report. These assessments, launched in October 2025, provided comprehensive evidence on health facility readiness, workforce distribution, service quality, and gaps in essential medicines and equipment across Kenya’s 47 counties. The findings highlighted inequities in health system capacity and informed the design of the RMNCAH+N Investment Case 2025/26–2029/30 to address identified quality-of-care gaps.

• Policy briefs: Several policy briefs were developed to inform decision-making on key health system areas, including medical equipment,  maternal and newborn health,  human resources for health, essential medicines, cancer, tuberculosis, governance, and infrastructure optimization.

• Dissemination and engagement: Kenya participated in multiple dissemination events, workshops, and global and national meetings, including the 2022, 2023. 2024 and 2025 Countdown annual meetings, where findings from Kenya’s analyses were shared with international partners.

• The partnership is supporting a Ministry of Health team member, Rose Muthee, as a Countdown fellow for the capacity strengthening fellowship program in 2023.

• Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the health sector strategic plan: The review relied on the DHIS2 and recent surveys as the main sources of data. The review was guided by the health sector’s monitoring and evaluation plan which outlines key indicators for the sector strategy with universal health care as the anchorage. The review focused on national and county progress; it was not feasible to do sub-county-level analyses which was also needed by Counties.
• County-level PHC Performance Initiative (PHC-PI) scorecards: This leverages the work conducted in collaboration with the Primary Healthcare Performance Initiative to develop county vital signs profiles (CVSPs). A process of review and updating the PHC performance was carried out using coverage data.
• Annual reviews report to contribute to the endline review report for RMNCAH+N: These reviews relied on the DHIS2 and the Demographic and Health Survey data, and focused on national and county progress, as well as sub-county level analyses.
• Multicountry studies including:
  • the urban health study, both quantitative and qualitative phases.
  • The maternal newborn health project; access the report and policy brief.
  • The immunization study; access the report.

• More information for the period from 2020 to 2022 has been summarized in the  data uptake series brief.