SRHR=PED (Privacy, Equality and Dignity)

The key issue our solution seeks to address is the problem of shame, stigmatization and inclusive decision making on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Our focus group discussions with young parents and youths in communities revealed that 8 out of every 10 young people are ignorant of sexual and reproductive health issues and are not included in decision making concerns that affect them. Equally, a majority of parents turn to shy away from talking about issues of sexuality with their children and the few that do deliberately choose to avoid the sensitive aspects like the use of contraceptives. In addition, our intervention in the hospitals also revealed that lack of professional ethics by health workers has led to an increase in shame and stigmatization as noted by young persons during the focus group discussions in some communities. Furthermore, feedback gotten from outreach, awareness raising, and sensitization campaigns on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in schools and communities highlighted shame and stigmatization as a problem reiterating the causative factors such as Ignorance, culture /religion and lack of professional ethics.

In working on the promotion and protection of sexual and reproductive health rights, we built community Gate Keepers to handle issues of sexual and reproductive health that arise in their various communities. These Community Gate Keepers identified and hand-picked from different works of life gained experience on how to handle issues of sexual and reproductive health that arise in their communities through the capacity building workshops organized by CHRDA (Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa). During the capacity building workshops they acquired knowledge on counseling, information management, referral and reporting, including the importance of making use of the power within and power to, to ensure privacy, equality and dignity. These community leaders were trained and commissioned to act as Community Gate Keepers, attending to issues such as receiving cases or complaints, carrying out awareness raising and sensitization campaigns to educate the young people, parents and the entire community on the do’s and don’ts of sexual and reproductive health. In light of this, the community gate keepers act as intermediaries between CHRDA and the communities. Through this medium CHRDA was able to identify and receive accurate information on the complaints made by young people as well as develop strategies to handle these complaints. Aside from making use of the community gate keepers, CHRDA also uses its community reporter app which acts as a hotline to reporting violations on sexual and reporting health and other GBV related concerns. Thus with this project CHRDA shall strengthen its activities in the different communities and focus on the sexuality education and parent child communication to enable young people develop the autonomy, knowledge and skills such as decision making communication to ensure good sexual health.

We will also pay attention on building the capacities of the Community Gate Keepers who happen to be health workers in community health facilities and duel on the importance of upholding the oath of client-doctor/nurse confidentiality relationship which will help respect the roles of privacy and build trust between young people and the health workers.

Experience from the field shows that young people make up the sexually active group in many communities. This stage of life is characterized by emotional changes including physical changes for adolescents as well as curiosity in exploring and identifying their sexuality and different relationships. Some factors that contribute to youths engaging in sexual activities are hormonal changes, peer influence, lack of comprehensive sex education, curiosity, emotional needs. It is important to address the sexual activity among young people in a responsible and holistic manner. Providing accurate and age-appropriate sex education is essential to equip young people with the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed choices about their sexual health.  Subjects like sexual orientation are often ignored and, in some instances, considered a taboo in many communities, living these youths without the necessary knowledge and support. This can lead to a lack of support for young people seeking information about their sexual health.  Also, the lack of trained educators and unprofessionalism amongst health personnel has further influenced young people to shy away from expressing concerns about their sexuality leading to low self-esteem and wrongful decision making. A holistic sexuality education will provide young people with accurate information about their bodies, sexual health, STIs, consent and healthy relationship. This will improve on decision making for young people, rebuild trust in the health system, and construct healthy relationships and responsible sexual behavior and thus restore their dignity privacy and equality.

Gender is a department in our organization and has 5 gender staff, a consultant and 6 volunteers with different potentials/skills for efficient implementation of this project. The team has implemented gender related projects such as ending violence against women and girls through changes in behavior, attitude and practices, engaging women in conflict management, GBV case management, women in peace building process, sexual and reproductive health rights in these communities. With this, the team has an established relationship with community member through its community activists   which is an important factor that will enhance the successful and efficient implantation of this project. We have several focal points and community gatekeepers who are being trained on how to handle and report cases in these communities. We carry out focus group discussions and reach out programs in these communities to assess their needs regarding SRHR. We engage our focal points and community gatekeepers in capacity building workshop on inclusive training on SRHR, where they develop knowledge on how to handle and report cases. Also, through reachout and sensitization campaigns carried out by the organization, we got to identify that these communities lacked information on SRHR, young people in these communities shy away from accessing health services due to lack of confidentiality by health workers. We engage these communities through capacity building workshops trainings, interactive sensitization and awareness campaigns. these focal points are being trained as community mobilizers, counselors, whistle blowers to Handle cases at the early stage before reaching out to the organization. In these activities, community members raised their needs and issues affecting them and also proposed solutions during these sessions. In focus group discussion, privilege conversations, meetings, Njangi houses they raised issues affecting them and proposed possible solution to these problems.

In addition, we partner with health centers that are based in areas where these youths live (that is University lived in areas). They receive these youths on a daily basis and attend to their health problems. Through these health units, we are able to understand the major problems faced by the youths and engage them through our Gatekeepers. Therefore, our intervention is primarily based on the issues raised and experienced by the youths as the visit these health units. 

We have more than 10,000persons using our platform and close to 5000 youths visiting the health units we partner with.

Privacy equality and dignity will go a long way to boost the confidence of our beneficiaries to help them open up about the challenges they face regarding their Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, get relevant and concrete information about SRHR which will influence the decisions they make and help them access health services and other services when need arises. There is the aspect of inclusive decision making where the community and health practitioners also take part in decision making. Health practitioners are also trained to improve the professional ethics (nurse patient confidentiality) be confidential and friendly towards youths who seek their services. in this way young people will be able to regain trust in health workers, be sure of their privacy  and restore their dignity thus equality.

Our impact is to contribute to a community void of shame and stigmatization on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Right by 2029. In attaining this, we will specifically:

• ensure that youths gain access to sexual and reproductive health services by 30% at the end of the project.
• strengthen communication and collaboration between health services in communities.
• improve inclusive decision making on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Right at family, community, and health providers level by 2024.

in achieving this, we will carry out awareness raising through sensitization both traditional and social media, capacity building workshop, community and health service exchange.

Through our awareness raising programs, capacity building workshop and community and health service exchange, it is going to facilitate access to Sexual Reproductive Health Services, strengthen communication and collaboration between health services and communities, improve inclusive decision making on Sexual and Reproductive Health at family and community health providers level.  By carrying out all these activities, our beneficiaries dignity will be restored, their confidentiality in health practitioners will improve and thus equality. 

We have five full time staff, six volunteers and one consultant, sixty-five community gatekeepers from 13 communities, 39 focal points.

We have been working on this solution for three years

In conformity with its diversity and inclusion policy, CHRDA incorporates youths irrespective of their background, race, religion and sex and sexual orientation. The team is made up of youths from diverse cultural backgrounds and our goals are directed towards incorporating more youth from the communities with experiences from different works of life with equal considerations towards their ideologies and contributions. With regards to actions carried out to achieve those goals, there have been several privilege conversation, interviews and meetings with the community gate keepers as well as some selected members of the communities where interactive sensitization talks/campaigns were conducted on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights. It was during these talks that the ideas of diverse youths were taken into consideration on a same scale evaluation. It is because of this diversity that we have been able to influence more youths and communities and also impacted the lives of many. Since we take into consideration diversity equity and inclusivity, it has facilitated our access into the communities, creating focal points and community gate keepers.

We offer case management services such as counseling, health assistance, legal assistance, economic empowerment, training and capacity building workshop. Reconciliation and reunification. Our intervention areas are disadvantage communities in terms of development and accessibility, communities hosting internally displaced person and conflict affected communities and our services are geared towards fighting impunity and improving their way of life.

 At the inception of every project we engage beneficiaries who are empowered and trained to carryout activities in their communities. These beneficiaries carry out a need assessment of their communities and the organization then sort for funds to solve it. They become part of the project; acquire knowledge and skills from different capacity buildings workshops in   identifying and coming out with possible solutions to their problems. We also have a giveback/multiplier effect plan, where empowered beneficiaries use the knowledge and skills acquired from these capacity building workshops to give back to their various communities. In some instances the beneficiaries of seed capital from other initiative/ grants have an obligation to train other trainees from their communities. This also applies to skill acquisition. These trainees having benefited from the multiplier effect plan are further called upon to train other persons and the circle continuous. To ensure effective output, CHRDA has put in place a monitoring and evaluation plan to effectively monitor the actives of these trainees under the multiplier effect plan and ensure positive results, feedback and output. In this case those who will benefit from this initiative and who have benefited in the past like the community gatekeepers will be placed under the multiplier effect plan thereby obtaining sustainability.