APRM • SECOND COUNTRY REVIEW REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA 203. Abortion continues to be linked to high maternal mortality rates. In response the government issued National Standards and Guidelines for the Reduction of Maternal Mortality from Unsafe Abortion in 2012 as well as a National Training Curriculum for the Management of Unintended, Risky and Unplanned Pregnancies but it still accounted for 6% of maternal mortality incidence, and this is for the known cases. 204. Other challenges arise from lack of adequate health professionals and equipment to cater to maternity services and other health services, leading to overcrowding in hospitals. Only 1% of women reported of having suffered from fistula in the Kenya Demography Household Survey 2014 and there is free screening of cancer in public hospitals as well. 205. Women continue to have higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS than men, with the incidence recording at 6.9 % for women and men at 4.2% in the population aged 15-24 years in 2014; the incidence is highest in urban women. Percentage use of condoms remains lower in women at 7.1% in 2012 compared to men at 27.1%. This is indicative of risky sexual behaviour that is often caused by low awareness of HIV status of partners, weak female condom use, limited access to HIV presentation care and inability of women to negotiate safe sexual practices. 3.8.2.4 Women’s economic rights 206. Government established the Women’s Economic Development fund in 2007 to improve access to credit with a view to promoting women’s enterprise as well as wealth creation, in recognition of MDG 3 on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The funds are administered to groups of 10 members and above that have registered for self-help. Members of the group offer non-complicated guarantees for the loans acquired, such as household items and business products. In addition to funding, many women groups were able to complementary training and entrepreneurship and business skills from government and civil society actors. The Youth Enterprise Fund guidelines also require that a third of the group beneficiaries and the group’s managing committees must be women. 207. However, from the outset, the demand has outstripped the available funds. During the CRM public hearings many women complained that the figure advanced of KShs 50,000 is too little to meaningfully transform their business projects; however the money is given on a graduated basis of KShs 50,000 first loan, KShs 100,000 thereafter, and KShs.200,000 as the third loan. In addition to these skills women, particularly those in rural areas, lack access to market networks. The CRT also heard complaints of corruption and partisan considerations surrounding allocations of funds. Other challenges faced include delays in financial disbursements to the groups, which limit the impact of the fund. 208. However, despite the innovation of Uwezo and WEDF, the demand for credit is still very high and women are seeking alternative sources of financial top ups using other financial institutions where they can. In these institutions they still face systemic barriers to accessing much-needed funds including technical and discriminatory gender based barriers. Women for the most part still lack access to land, which is a key factor in production and access | 114 |