Kenya

C-Change works with Kenya's government agencies and local and international NGOs to strengthen and improve social and behavior change communication (SBCC) for family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH), malaria prevention and control, and HIV prevention (specifically, a medical male circumcision intervention). The partnerships C-Change is building are helping Kenyans to promote healthy spacing of births; prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT); and encourage pregnant women to use mosquito nets, seek prenatal care, and follow-up with postnatal care after giving birth.

See below for more information:

Implementing the National RH Communication Strategy
Family planning and reproductive health
Malaria prevention
Male circumcision  and
other HIV prevention activities   

Male Circumcision Communication Toolkit

C-Change supported the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) program of the Government of Kenya (GOK) and provided technical support to the National VMMC Taskforce and regional communication sub-committees to create demand for VMMC.

Working with local partners, C-Change developed the first phase of the Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Communication Toolkit, comprising innovative materials, tools, and guiding documents on male circumcision that emphasize safe healing and the importance of continued HIV prevention practices.

Materials in the toolkit currently include billboards, posters, video, flip charts for health providers, radio spots, fact sheets for community, faith and business leaders, dialogue cards, and a handbook for community mobilizers.  The materials can be accessed and downloaded on C-Hub. C-Change continues to develop materials for VMMC that include tools for coalition building, media outreach, advocacy with policymakers, monitoring and evaluation, and materials for circumcising communities. Current materials will be adapted to four additional areas in Kenya, including Teso, Kibera, Turkana, and Coast. C-Change is also developing an adaptation guide for material development to facilitate scale-up of materials adaptation and to strengthen capacity of the Government of Kenya.

Background—MC communication activities

An alliance of trained and equipped clinical teams circumcised over 25,000 men in western Kenya in November–December 2009. The Government of Kenya aims to circumcise 60% of men in Nyanza Province by 2014. Achieving this goal would avert an estimated 47,000 HIV infections through 2025. Kenya made this commitment after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that countries should incorporate MC into national HIV prevention strategies.

Critical to the medical circumcision program is the National VMMC Taskforce of international, government, NGO, and local organizations that are working together. As part of this taskforce, C-Change has developed a wide range of communication messages and materials that promote safe healing and follow-up checks for clients after circumcision and importance of continued HIV testing.

Also essential is communication that emphasizes that while MC reduces risk for men, MC does NOT prevent HIV. Messages underline the importance of continued condom use to ensure there is no added vulnerability for women. These messages are important for newly circumcised clients and for others in the community. They reinforce the fact that MC is an important part of preventing HIV, but must be combined with other behaviors to be effective.

Implementation Guide for the National RH Communication Strategy

With USAID support, C-Change developed the Kenya Reproductive Health Communication Strategy Implementation Guide, in collaboration with Kenya's Division of Reproductive Health, other stakeholders, and partners. Thematic areas given priority are family planning; adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health; and maternal, neonatal, and child health. The guide assists implementers to roll out the communication strategy at national, regional, and district levels and to ensure RH programs are supported by coordinated social and behavior change communication (SBCC). 

Family Planning and Reproductive Health - "Plan for Yourself a Good Life"

C-Change is supporting government efforts to develop a national behavior change communication strategy for  FP/RH and is developing implementation guidelines for USAID partners and local NGOs. C-Change is also helping to strengthen the SBCC capacity of the Ministry of Health's Division of Reproductive Health through a series of trainings.

Recently, C-Change assisted the launch of the mass media campaign “Plan for Yourself a Good Life.” The campaign targets peri-urban and rural men and women ages 25–35 in areas of the country where contraceptive prevalence is lowest. Materials for radio, print, and billboards in Kiswahili and local languages promote informed choice on use of modern contraceptives and child spacing and are available on C-Hub. Read more

Malaria Prevention and Control in Western and Nyanza Provinces

 C-Change is providing technical support to three NGOs — Merlin, PATH, and World Vision — to assist them with programming to promote healthy behaviors to prevent the spread of malaria in vulnerable populations.The NGOs are working in 12 endemic- and epidemic-prone districts in Western and Nyanza Provinces. Their work closely aligns with prevention and treatment strategies and corresponding objectives of the Kenyan National BCC Malaria Strategy and the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) program, which is funding these activities through USAID. 

The NGOs are using community mobilization, interpersonal communication, and local radio to disseminate key malaria prevention messages. They are implementing integrated community-level SBCC malaria activities that promote increased use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), prompt diagnosis and treatment of fever, and demand for intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) among pregnant women.

 These organizations are also building the capacity of local community health workers and community health volunteers to be behaviour change agents at community and household levels. One community health worker serves 20 households (about 100 people) and is responsible for communicating malaria messages, mobilizing their communities, and promoting the use of health services, including malaria services.

In mid-2009, C-Change assessed the SBCC capacity of the three NGOs using the C-Change SBCC Capacity Assessment Tool. In November–December, C-Change followed up these assessments with training, using the C-Modules, on designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating effective SBCC programs . C-Change also provided technical assistance to these NGOs on the development of their SBCC strategy.

HIV Prevention through MTV Drama 

With support from PEPFAR, C-Change is providing technical assistance to MTV Networks International and MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation on a mass media campaign in Kenya that reaches out to young people with awareness and prevention information on HIV.

This effort includes the MTV premiere ofShuga, a three-part, fast-moving drama that focuses on the lives of several young adults and university students as they confront the realities of love, jobs, and their families.

Filmed in Nairobi, the series addresses sexual networks, multiple concurrent partnerships, substance abuse, and living with HIV, in the context of cultural norms. Shuga has an online component,  which features interviews with cast members who discuss issues addressed in the drama, a Q&A section with additional information, and blogs where youth can discuss issues and comment on a question of the week.

Radio programming mirrors the TV drama. C-Change provided training for local broadcasters to strengthen capacity to produce local programming and contributed to a training of trainers and educational toolkit for youth organizations carrying out peer education in communities vulnerable to HIV.