Navigating Safe Clinic Access
Facing judgment from medical staff is a key barrier to reproductive care. She First points to verified, youth-friendly doctors who respect absolute confidentiality.
Dignity, respect and privacy are your legal right
“Every person shall have the right to be treated with dignity, respect and have their privacy respected in accordance with the Constitution and this Act.”
“Every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health which shall include progressive access for provision of promotive, preventive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative services.”
This is not a courtesy a clinic chooses to extend. It is written into Kenyan law, and it applies to you whatever your age.
You have a right to reproductive health services
“Every person has a right to reproductive healthcare which includes— (a) the right of men and women of reproductive age to be informed about, and to have access to reproductive health services including to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable family planning services;”
What you tell a provider is confidential
“Information concerning a user, including information relating to his or her health status, treatment or stay in a health facility is confidential except where such information is disclosed under order of court or informed consent for health research and policy planning purposes.”
“Subject to the Constitution and this Act, no person may disclose any information contemplated in subsection (1) unless— (a) the user consents to such disclosure in writing in the prescribed form; (b) a court order or any applicable law requires such disclosure; or (c) non-disclosure of the information represents a serious threat to public health.”
You must be told what is happening, in words you understand
Section 8(1) requires every healthcare provider to inform you of your health status, the range of promotive, preventive and diagnostic procedures and treatment options generally available to you, the benefits, risks, costs and consequences generally associated with each option, and your right to refuse recommended medical options.
Kenya Health Act 2017, available at kenyalaw.org — section 8(1)
“The healthcare provider concerned must, where possible, inform the user as contemplated in subsection (1) in a language that the user understands and in a manner which takes into account the user's level of literacy.”
Nothing should be done to you without your consent
“No specified health service may be provided to a patient without the patient's informed consent”
The Act sets out narrow exceptions, including emergencies, a court order or applicable law, a serious risk to public health, and situations where delay might result in death or irreversible damage to health.
Kenya Health Act 2017, available at kenyalaw.org — section 9(1)(a)-(f)
“A healthcare provider must take all reasonable steps to obtain the user's informed consent.”
In an emergency, you cannot be turned away
“Every person has the right to emergency medical treatment.”
“Any medical institution that fails to provide emergency medical treatment while having ability to do so commits an offence and is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding three million shillings.”
If you are treated badly, you can complain
“Any person has a right to file a complaint about the manner in which he or she was treated at a health facility and have the complaint investigated appropriately.”
Complaint procedures must be displayed by all health facilities in a manner that is visible for any person entering the establishment.
Kenya Health Act 2017, available at kenyalaw.org — section 14(3)(a)
“Every complainant under subsection (1) has a right to be informed, in writing and within a period of three months from the date the complaint was lodged, of the action taken or decision made regarding the complaint.”
What a youth-friendly service should feel like
WHO publishes global standards for quality health care services for adolescents, which aim to help policy-makers and health service planners improve services so that adolescents find it easier to obtain the health services they need to promote, protect and improve their health and well-being.
Source: WHO
The standards are built on core quality themes: adolescent empowerment and participation; a non-discriminatory, rights-based approach; evidence-based, competent care; family and community engagement; welcoming environments; and data-driven quality improvement.
Source: WHO
Kenya's Ministry of Health recommends universal access to age-appropriate information and services for all adolescents and young people, and states that providers shall offer adolescent- and youth-friendly services that are equitable, accessible, acceptable, appropriate and effective.
Source: Kenya Ministry of Health
Content on this page is sourced from publicly available guidance published by the World Health Organization (who.int) and the Kenya Ministry of Health, and from legislation published by the National Council for Law Reporting (kenyalaw.org). All sources are attributed inline and in the sources section below. This content is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. SheFirst is a program of Be Well and Green Network.
Sources
- Health Act (Cap. 241), Act No. 21 of 2017 — revised edition
Kenya Law (National Council for Law Reporting) — As at 31 December 2022
https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/act/2017/21/eng@2022-12-31
- Global standards for quality health care services for adolescents
World Health Organization — 23 October 2025
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240114012
- National Family Planning Guideline for Healthcare Providers, 7th Edition
Kenya Ministry of Health — May 2025
https://www.health.go.ke/sites/default/files/2026-02/Signed%20National%20Family%20Planning%20Guidelines%207th%20Edition%202025%20(1).pdf