Two women left a health facility outreach in Narok carrying something they had never imagined before; the confidence to manage their own contraception. After learning how to self-inject DMPA-SC, demonstrating the technique under the guidance of a healthcare provider and receiving a refill to take home, they became among the first women in their communities to leave not just with a contraceptive, but with the knowledge and confidence to administer their next dose themselves. Their story represents far more than two individual decisions. It reflects a broader shift taking place across Kenya, where self-care is transforming how women access and manage their reproductive health.
Self-care is steadily changing how sexual and reproductive healthcare is delivered. Through interventions such as self-injectable contraception, HIV self-testing and HPV self-sampling, healthcare is moving beyond the walls of health facilities and into the hands of individuals. However, self-care is not about shifting responsibility from health systems to women. Rather, it complements facility-based care by empowering people with the information, skills and confidence to safely manage aspects of their own health, while remaining connected to healthcare providers for counselling, follow-up and referral when needed. In doing so, it allows providers to focus on clients requiring more specialized care while expanding access for those who face barriers to routine services.
For women living in remote counties such as Narok, where many communities are geographically dispersed, accessing a health facility can mean travelling long distances, spending money on transport and sacrificing a day’s work or household responsibilities. These challenges are often compounded by sociocultural norms, limited decision-making power over reproductive health and persistent myths and misconceptions surrounding contraception. For many women, these challenges determine whether they can start or continue using contraception consistently or access reproductive health services at all.
In this context, self-care offers something more than convenience. It provides greater privacy, continuity of care and the opportunity for women to take a more active role in managing their reproductive health, while remaining connected to the support of healthcare providers. But confidence does not happen overnight. The two women who eventually chose to self-inject did not arrive at the clinic intending to do so. Like many others, they came seeking routine reproductive health services. What changed was the conversation. The opportunity to learn, ask questions and discover that self-care was possible.
In March 2026, the Reproductive Health Network Kenya (RHNK), in collaboration with the Narok County Government and with support from the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), conducted integrated reproductive health outreaches across Narok Central, Narok West and Narok South to bring services closer to communities while introducing women to self-care interventions. As women waited for services, healthcare providers facilitated interactive health talks covering family planning, antenatal care, menstrual health and other sexual and reproductive health topics. Among the methods discussed was DMPA-SC self-injection. Providers explained how the method works, demonstrated the injection technique, answered questions, addressed myths and reassured women that, after appropriate training, self-injection is both safe and effective. The conversations sparked curiosity.
By the end of the outreach, two women felt ready. They successfully self-injected under provider supervision and left with refills, equipped to administer their next injection at home.
For RHNK and its partners, those two women represented far more than a number. They demonstrated that self-care is not simply about introducing a new product, it is about building confidence. When women receive accurate information, practical demonstrations and ongoing support from trusted healthcare providers, they are willing to embrace new ways of managing their health.
The outreach also showed that self-care works best when integrated into comprehensive healthcare. Alongside family planning, women accessed antenatal and postnatal care, HIV testing and linkage to care, cervical cancer screening, STI screening and treatment, pregnancy testing, child welfare services and general outpatient consultations. Adolescents and young women aged 14 to 24 also participated actively in the health education sessions, highlighting the importance of creating safe, supportive spaces where young people can seek information and services without fear or judgment. Narok’s experience offers an important lesson for Kenya.
Scaling self-care is not simply about making commodities available. It requires trusted healthcare providers who can educate, demonstrate and reassure clients, community health promoters who create awareness and health systems that ensure women have continued access to commodities, follow-up care and referral services when needed. Self-care should reduce barriers to care, not transfer the burden of navigating weak health systems onto women, particularly those already facing poverty, long travel distances and limited access to health services.
The greatest transformation witnessed in Narok was not that two women learned to self-inject. It was that two women believed they could. That belief and confidence is what turns self-care from a policy into a reality. And as Kenya continues implementing the National Guidelines for Self-Care Interventions in Reproductive Health, the future of self-care will depend on empowering one woman at a time through information, practical demonstrations and continued support. The real measure of success will not only be the number of women who choose self-care, but whether every woman has the information, support and health system backing to use it safely and confidently. That is how self-care moves from policy into practice, and how it delivers on its promise of expanding choice, equity and access for all.