DELIVERING CSE VIA WHATSAPP IN KENYA

Family Health Options Kenya (FHOK) began working with the Ministry of Education in 2009 to develop a national curriculum on comprehensive sexuality education. In collaboration with other civil society organizations and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), FHOK led a taskforce to support the development of technical guidelines to inform the curriculum. In 2015, the Ministry of Education approved the guidelines, which cover all areas of comprehensive sexuality education as detailed in It’s All One Curriculum. Unfortunately, opposition from political and religious leaders who object to the curriculum’s component on sexuality, which includes sexual norms and pleasure, has hampered its finalization.

To ensure that gains are not lost, FHOK and partners continue to advocate to the Ministries of Health and Education on the importance of a curriculum that adheres to the 2015 guidelines. FHOK has supported meetings between the Ministries of Health and Education to discuss the curriculum further and to highlight the importance of integrating the delivery of education and health services for young people. FHOK and partners have also met with religious leaders at local and national levels to raise awareness on the important health benefits of comprehensive sexuality education, and to garner their support for a national curriculum.

FHOK delivers comprehensive sexuality education via the WhatsApp messaging platform as many young Kenyans now own internet-enabled smartphones. The Association provided digital platform training on comprehensive sexuality education to 19 young people who were then employed as online facilitators. Each facilitator created a WhatsApp group on comprehensive sexuality education and recruited young people to their groups.

In 2016, the digital platform reached 1,821 young people with all components of comprehensive sexuality education and information on where to access sexual and reproductive health services. The facilitators supported 93 referrals, accompanying young people to FHOK static clinics and government facilities. Young people living with HIV use the platform as a safe space where they discuss sexual and reproductive health and HIV-related issues without fear of stigma or discrimination

MEETING SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH NEEDS DURING CYCLONE WINSTON

In February 2016, the worst storm recorded in the Southern Hemisphere15 struck Fiji, damaging health centres, birthing facilities and power supplies. Cyclone Winston affected more than 350,000 people, or approximately 40 per cent of the population.16 Of those, 87,500 were estimated to be women of reproductive age, with more than 13,000 needing access to contraception and 14,000 being pregnant at any given time.17 Nearly 2,000 women were estimated to be at risk of sexual violence.18 Meeting the sexual and reproductive health needs of vulnerable people in crises, especially of women and young girls, is critical and yet often under-prioritized and under-resourced in humanitarian responses. The Reproductive and Family Health Association of Fiji (RFHAF), with support from IPPF’s Sub-Regional Office for the Pacific (SROP), responded to the devastation caused by the cyclone with leadership, advocacy and expertise in implementing the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Reproductive Health in Crisis Situations. The RFHAF-SROP team met with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to offer their expertise and experience implementing MISP. They then jointly advocated for the establishment of the country’s first coordinating mechanism for reproductive health.

As a result, the Ministry of Health established the Family Health Sub-Cluster to include sexual and reproductive health as part of the country’s formal emergency response. RFHAF was appointed as the focal point, and mandated with the task of carrying out initial needs assessments for sexual and reproductive health. The RFHAF-SROP response team reached more than 11,000 people with contraception, maternal and child health services, HIV tests, and sexual and reproductive health and rights information in 37 villages and settlements. The team also supported emergency evacuations for women with antenatal and post-natal complications. To complement the Ministry of Health’s distribution of clean delivery kits for use in childbirth, the RFHAF-SROP team provided dignity kits to pregnant and breastfeeding women. The kits included a sarong, underwear, a whistle, soap and sanitary protection.

Cyclone Winston forced many people to live in temporary shelters, exposing them to a high risk of being bitten by the mosquitoes that transmit dengue fever, a painful and debilitating disease that can be fatal. In response, the RFHAF-SROP team distributed bed nets to reduce rates of transmission.