A seat at the table: Bringing community insights to Kenya’s National Health Policy

Guest Post By Dr. Evah Muendo

As the Kenya Country Coordinator at Grounds for Health, I was honored to participate as a key stakeholder in the development of the Kenya National Cervical Cancer Elimination Action Plan; a landmark initiative by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with ThinkWell. This initiative comes at a time when Kenya urgently needs to bridge significant gaps in cervical cancer prevention and control.

Currently, cervical cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among Kenyan women. Approximately 10 women die each day, with only 58% of girls vaccinated, 31% of women screened, and 26% of those diagnosed receiving treatment, figures far below the WHO’s 2030 elimination targets of 90% vaccinated – 70% screened – 90% treated. The national action plan seeks to reverse this trend through a structured, costed, and sustainable approach.

To eliminate cervical cancer within the next century, countries must reach and maintain an incidence rate of below 4 per 100,000 women. Currently the incidence rate in Kenya is 33 per 100,000 women. 

I participated in two co-creation workshops in Naivasha. The first focused on a root cause analysis of barriers to cervical cancer elimination using the WHO Health System Building Blocks: from service delivery to governance. I was placed in the technical working group on cervical cancer screening and treatment of precancerous lesions, an area that strongly aligns with our work at Grounds for Health, especially our emphasis on HPV self-sampling for secondary prevention.

The second workshop was dedicated to translating discussions into action. Together with other stakeholders, including Women 4 Cancer, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), National Cervical Cancer Institute, Social Health Authority, Kenya Medical Supplies Authority, CureCervicalCancer among others; we crafted a detailed cervical cancer elimination action plan, outlining major activities, timelines, and responsibilities. I contributed to designing strategies to scale HPV DNA testing, improve health worker training and retention, and integrate self-sampling into primary health care systems.

I was particularly vocal on the importance of decentralizing screening services, strengthening sample referral networks, and improving budgetary prioritization for cervical cancer interventions at the county level. These inputs were grounded in our grassroots experiences, where we witness firsthand how barriers like stigma, stock-outs, and poor follow-up prevent women from accessing lifesaving services.

Being part of this strategic process reaffirmed the power of collaboration between government and implementing partners. As we look forward to the national launch in November 2025, I am proud that our efforts at Grounds for Health are informing policy at the highest levels.

Kenya’s path to cervical cancer elimination is ambitious but achievable. With committed stakeholders, strong leadership, and continued investment, we can make this vision a reality.