A multi-faceted project addressing health challenges for youth, teenagers and young mothers in Ndhiwa Sub County, Kenya.
SCORE CBO, a community-based organization located in Kenya’s Homa Bay, is committed to improving the living standards, resilience and overall health of its community. Since its inception in 2011, SCORE has completed a variety of initiatives ranging from primary education to agribusiness development and health empowerment.
In Ndhiwa Sub County, Kenya, youth and teenagers have limited knowledge about - and access to - contraceptives. There is often pressure to marry young and have children. Poverty, discrimination and violence may also be widespread. These conditions make youth more vulnerable to teenage pregnancies, HIV/AIDS, and the respective complications that may arise. Additionally, the stigma associated to sex education and HIV/AIDS testing lead many adolescents to avoid voluntary testing services and counselling for HIV, or to engage in unprotected sex.
In 2020, SCORE launched a new initiative to provide a comprehensive solution to health challenges of youth, teenage and young mothers. Primarily fueled by its determination to address the region’s highest rate of new HIV infections in the country, SCORE understands that the solution for its beneficiaries needs to be a holistic one. To this end, SCORE's Sexual Health Empowerment (SHE) project aims to increase access and utilization of HIV services, family planning, MNCH (maternal, newborn and child health), WASH and nutrition.
Due to the multi-faceted nature of the project, a wide array of contributors need to be engaged for capacity building, delivering of services, and raising awareness - peer educators, community health volunteers, nurses, students and local administrators. SCORE will be monitoring the reduction in mother-to-child transmission, adherence to HIV treatment and adherence to ANC visits among other indicators.
Led by David Illah, Project Director, the SHE project will benefit the lives of 500 adolescents and youth, in addition to 480 pregnant mothers over the course of 12 months. Score CBO was awarded a $75,000 grant for this project as a part of Madiro's call for proposals in 2022 and in collaboration with The Gillian and Adrian Schauer Foundation and the King Baudouin Foundation Canada.
