Word on the Street: Kenyan Women Share Their Reproductive Health Stories
Program
Highlights
In 2023, PHI’s CAMI Health and partners launched an immersive mapping tool to elevate the sexual and reproductive health experiences, needs and solutions put forward by adolescent girls and young women, men, local influencers and technical experts in Nairobi and Kisumu, Kenya.
17 comprehensive Word on the Street videos amplifying young Kenyan women, men and community researchers
59 interviews conducted throughout the entire project
~1 in 5 adults in Kisumu are living with HIV
13% of women in Nairobi are estimated to be diagnosed with chlamydia
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Focus Areas
Global Health, Women, Youth & Children -
Issues
Reproductive & Sexual Health -
Experts
Bethany Young Holt, PhD, MPH
The burden of HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancy is disproportionately high among young women in sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya specifically, Nairobi and Kisumu are hotspot areas for HIV prevalence and total addressable market for contraceptives. Nearly 1 in 5 adults in Kisumu are living with HIV, while 13% of women in Nairobi are estimated to be diagnosed with chlamydia. On top of this, the majority of pregnancies in Kenya between 2015 and 2019 were unintended. These health concerns are inextricably linked for women in Kenya and globally.
But data alone do not tell the whole story.
In 2023, PHI’s CAMI Health, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Union Movie Works and Blackwell Films launched Word on the Street: Kenyan Women Share Their Reproductive Health Stories, an immersive mapping tool that brings epidemiological data to life through digital storytelling—elevating the sexual and reproductive health experiences, needs and solutions put forward by adolescent girls and young women, men, local influencers and technical experts in Nairobi and Kisumu, Kenya.
While a lot has been done to improve the health of young women, we still have not done enough.Dr. Elizabeth Bukusi
Senior Principal Clinical Research Scientist at KEMRI
There is no 'African culture'... every group, every community needs to be met with that in mind.Dr. Nelly Mugo
Associate Research Professor, KEMRI Center for Clinical Research
By centering the voices and lived experiences of these stakeholders on an interactive platform, the StoryMap serves as an advocacy tool to bolster the voices and needs of the most marginalized in the development of sexual and reproductive health products, particularly multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs)—products designed to simultaneously prevent HIV, other STIs, and/or unintended pregnancy.
Explore Word on the Street: Kenyan Women Share Their Reproductive Health Stories and see highlights below:
Diana, Student & Bodybuilder
"It is easy to get contraception, it's really not hard as long as you go to a trusted health expert... but there is a catch, there's a certain stigma. I remember I had an experience, I was going in for contraception and there were two older women there. I know they were looking at me and thinking in their heads, 'you're younger, you're not married, so what do you need contraception for?' I was given the service, but I felt it. You can feel it." Watch the full video →
Njoki, Nursing Student & Brand Ambassador
"A product that combines prevention for all three of them? HIV, STIs and pregnancy? That would be perfect. I mean, all these things scare the hell out of us and taking a thousand and one pills isn't so interesting... I don't love the medicines, but I have to take all of them, because I must protect myself." Watch the full video →
Mary, Gender-Based Violence Psychology Counselor & Youth Advocate
"What I want people outside of Kenya and Africa to know about young women is that giving just information when you don't have food on the table or you don't have anything that you are living for, it's very hard. Just that information is not enough. We need to economically empower our women and girls to be self-reliant." Watch the full video →
Visit Word on the Street: Kenyan Women Share Their Reproductive Health Stories to see more videos from participants, as well as additional information about the project, MPT resources and mapping tools.
Word on the Street: Kenya (2023) features stories that were collected from Kisumu and Nairobi, and documented as part of a collaboration between CAMI Health, KEMRI and UnionMovieWorks supported by a ViiV Healthcare Positive Action Programme grant.
The MPT Target Population Mapping Tool was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of Cooperative Agreement #AID-OAA-A-16-00045.
Watch: South African Women Share Their Reproductive Health Stories
Young women in sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionately impacted by HIV, other sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancy and are among the most underserved populations for sexual and reproductive health in the world. Word on the Street: South Africa features young women and key influencers in their communities—male partners, grandmothers, and technical experts in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Uganda—talking about women's sexual and reproductive health experiences.
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