Financiamento da saúde materna e detenções pós-parto: vontade política como determinante subjacente para cuidados de maternidade respeitosos no Quênia

Maternal health financing is a critical aspect of health financing that the Kenyan government has focused on from as early as 1965. Over the years, through several policy initiatives, the government has demonstrated its commitment to providing free access to maternal healthcare services, especially for the poor, although with limited success. Like many other government projects, the implementation of free maternity care initiatives has been full of political, technical, and financial challenges, which, as of 2024, have taken a turn for the worse, with the government’s 2024/2025 national budget slashing the budgetary allocation for free maternal healthcare by half. The current maternal healthcare financing model either prevents women from accessing maternity care services, due to the high cost of care, or places them at risk of postpartum detention and abuse in hospitals. This article, through a qualitative methodological approach, involving the analysis of secondary data collected from various sources available via desktop research, shall demonstrate that legal recognition of rights associated with maternal health without equitable health financing plans and political will does not address the challenges associated with inequitable access to respectful maternity care.