Kenyan Senate Receives Petition Seeking Disability Status for Low Libido

Parliament received a petition on 15 July 2026 seeking recognition of male low libido and female Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder as disabilities under Kenyan law. The document was submitted to the Senate the same day. Dr Benson Kibore, who holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and a Master's degree in Applied Microbiology from the University of Nairobi and is pursuing a law degree at African Nazarene University, filed the petition.

It argues that the conditions meet the legal threshold for disability under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2025, and produce long-term effects on mental health, family stability and reproductive capacity. The petition cites a 2026 study by Onyango et al. published on medRxiv that found 10.4 per cent of young men in Nairobi, with a mean age of 27.4 years, experienced erectile dysfunction.

It also references a Ministry of Health advisory issued in December 2025 that warned against misuse of sildenafil products. Among the measures proposed are an amendment to the Persons with Disabilities Act to expressly include clinically diagnosed low libido and HSDD, changes to the Social Health Insurance Act to extend SHA coverage to assessment, counselling and treatment, and development of national clinical guidelines by the Ministry of Health.

The petition further recommends that parliamentary committees examine the impact of sexual dysfunction on productivity and marriage.

AllAfrica reported that the petition has entered the parliamentary process and is expected to be referred to relevant departmental committees.