Adolescents in Kenya have long been excluded from conversations about their health. They are also given limited decision-making power on the type of services and ways in which they are offered through the health system. As part of the Solutions for Supporting Healthy Adolescents and Rights Protection (SHARP) programme, funded by the European Union, we took a deep dive to find out:
- If the adolescents are willing to learn about sex education and, if not, why do they shy away from the topic?>
- The barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.
- How many adolescents have access to or have sought SRH services?
- The family planning methods they know and have used.
- Their opinions on support from the religious and political leaders.
- The misconceptions the youth have about family planning methods and matters related to SRH services.
- The presence of adolescent-friendly health centers that offer SRH services and how close they are to their communities.
- The information they have on safe abortion.
- To what extent do the youth feel their guardians and parents are open and willing to discuss sex education with them?
- The countermeasures against the barriers to accessing SRH services.
At the end of the study, we found some interesting aspects that organizations implementing adolescent sexual reproductive health programmes could benefit from. Download the study and findings here:
