Murray SA. Family planning in rural Africa: can it work? Family Practice 1990; 7: 5–8. High fertility is the major demographic problem presently affecting rural Kenya. Chogoria Hospital has attempted to provide a community based family planning service to address this issue. This papar describes the intervention used and analyses the current contraceptive practice in the area. It is concluded that community based distribution of family planning commodities may be associated with a marked decrease in fertility rate and family size within a relatively short period. Family planning initiatives in Africa may be remarkably cost-effective interventions in the development of a nation and be associated with well spaced and healthy children.