Establish Girls' Empowerment Centre in Rural Kenya

In keeping with the last quarter’s activity on sexual reproductive health and rights, this quarter we channelled our learnings and lessons learnt on meaningful involvement of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in their sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and supported the Girl-Led Projects’ Coordinator to draft and submit an abstract titled ‘An AGYW-centred approach to service provider capacity strengthening for enhanced uptake of sexual and reproductive health services among AGYW in Kisumu County’, to the 7th Reproductive Health Network Kenya (RHNK) annual Scientific Conference on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. The abstract was accepted and orally presented at the conference that was held from 18th to 21st JUNE 2024.

The abstract summarised how the dialogue circles and focus group discussions held with about 250 AGYW between November 2022 to October 2023 provided crucial information, from the girls’ perspective, on what girl-and-youth friendly services constitute and mean to them, as well as the challenges they face in accessing quality and affordable SRHR services. This information was collated and incorporated in a tool to assess the youth-friendliness of select health facilities in Homabay, Migori, Kisumu and Siaya counties. Additionally, the information was included in the tailor-made training to 80 health care workers from the identified health facilities on offering of accessible, affordable, available and quality SRHR services.

Post healthcare workers’ training, we are monitoring how SRHR services are offered to gauge the effectiveness of both the AGYW’s involvement and the healthcare worker’s training. We are also holding outreaches where AGYW are offered on-site SRHR services and/or referred to health facilities for further assistance, with the Sub Count Ministries of Health providing the necessary commodities.

Our case study is yet another proof that involving AGYW as key agents in provision of services that target and benefit them increases services’ acceptance and uptake. This model is easily replicable even in policy formulations

As always and on behalf of our beneficiaries, we are truly grateful to the GlobalGiving platform and our donors for always supporting us.

• GlobalGiving_June.pdf (PDF)
  

Sexual reproductive rights are human rights

In our day to day activities’ implementation and interaction with adolescent girls and young women more so those from the rural and peri-urban areas, we have identified a real need for age-appropriate information on sexual reproductive health and rights. Girls enter into puberty and transit to young adult hood without clear and correct information on girl-boy relationship, menstruation, teen pregnancy, gender based violence, sexually transmitted infections include HIV/AIDS, mental health among others.

To address this, NIGEE has made a conscious decision this year to conduct health outreaches where our field officers and counsellors have heart-to heart talk with young girls, adolescents and young women on issues affecting them and partnering with nurses offer sexual reproductive health services as well as commodities such as contraceptives. We started this by holding and outreaching Kisumu East Sub County in March 2023.

As always, we are truly grateful to the GlobalGiving platform and our donors for always supporting us. We do not take it for granted that you chose to donate to us.

• GlobalGiving_March_2024.pdf (PDF)