Young people and girls suffer from some of the worst SRHR outcomes in Kenya such as sexual abuse and violence; STIs including HIV; unintended pregnancies; unsafe abortions; early and forced marriages; obstetric fistula; and maternal mortality. Some of the main causes to these poor outcomes include lack of correct and comprehensive information on key SRHR issues. The GUSO program was implemented in western region of Kenya from 2018-2020 with an aim of aim of increasing uptake of SRHR education and information among young people 10-24 years old through 3 strategies: Capacity development for information providers (SRHR curriculum based trainings); Direct access to SRHR information e.g. Electronic & Media platforms (direct messaging and WhatsApp group discussions); and Community approach (table talks and clarification sessions).The findings show that the number of educators trained increased through the three years. There was incremental in number of young people reached with SRHR information and similarly incremental in program realization over targets, meaning increase in willingness among the young people to utilizing the deployed strategies of direct and indirect SRHR. This also means that the deployed strategy of training of trainers to enhance capacity for young people to access information was effective in creating demand for SRHR information. The findings imply that it is possible to realize desired targets on SRHR information access by young people through capacity building and adopting the correct strategies. This study has identified such approaches to include table talks, clarification sessions, and direct messaging. Therefore, the health sector can indeed, by adopting these strategies improve SRHR service utilization among young people that may have a reducing effect to the now high levels of teenage pregnancies and other related consequences. The study has tested and determined that it is feasible to improve access to SRHR education and information among young people through training of educators and adopting proper strategies through which young people access SRH information. Furthermore, the findings have proved that these approaches lead to improved knowledge level, attitude for and SRHR service seeking behaviour for young people.

This study aims to demonstrate the willingness and roles of young people in implementation of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights for young people. A full coverage survey across all 24 link health facilities of Get Up Speak Out (GUSO) program implementation was conducted in May 2020 adopting an electronic approach in adherence to the MOH Covid-19 preventive guidelines. The findings established that there was a progressive increase in representation over the 3-year period starting at 66% in 2019 to 77% in 2020. The study also revealed that young people involved in program activities over the 3 years recorded an average of 132% on youth participation. The findings imply that programs can effectively engage young people in planning, implementing, and monitoring Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights interventions. The implication of these findings is that, a clear guideline promoting engagement of young people by Ministry of Health on the type of capacity building and for what skill would go a long way to enhance implementation of the Meaningful Youth Participation goal. This will have the effect to actualize meaningful youth participation in Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights programming and implementation by the Ministry of Health. The study recommends strengthening of Meaningful Youth Participation in service delivery to the young people as this will lead to high satisfaction for services and increased uptake by young people.

Young people have reported poor Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) indicators over the years including teenage pregnancy, unsafe abortion, neonatal mortality, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDs, among others. Further, study findings have shown barriers to young people’s access to and utilization of SRH services at health facilities include lack of confidentiality and privacy, stigma and discrimination, the unfriendly and negative attitude among service providers, long waiting time for services, and lack of information among young people on availability of SRH services at the health facilities. The limited access to SRH services among young people poses greater health risks to these groups such as a high risk of sexual and gender-based violence, a higher risk of unwanted pregnancies, and unsafe abortions. It is on this basis that the researchers conducted a study aimed at assessing the availability and readiness of Health Facilities to Deliver SRH Services for Young People in its implementation sites. A full-coverage survey across all 24 link health facilities of the Get Up Speak Out (GUSO) program implementation was conducted in May 2020 adopting an electronic approach in adherence to the MOH Covid-19 preventive guidelines. The study shows the alignment of health facilities’ activities with the Youth Friendly Services (YFS) guidelines, such as staff YFS training, YFS time allocation, and meaningful youth participation in governance and decision-making structures. However, the study has highlighted gaps such as inadequate display of SRH information; inadequate engagement and adoption of young people’s recommendations in health facilities’ governance structures for improved delivery, access, and uptake of SRH services by young people.

Data Quality Audit is a critical process that entails constant assessment of a program’s data, identifies gaps, and informs correction for improved data quality. A majority of donor-funded programs rely on targets and reporting on achievements at the end of the implementation period to track progress. For this reason, it is critical for such institutions to report data that is accurate and complete, as this informs the next steps of the program in achieving the program’s aim. The quality of data generated from a program is a critical function of the program’s M&E systems and data verification processes. Tropical Institute of Community Health and Development (TICH) implemented a project for young people- Get Up Speak Out (GUSO) with an aim to achieve enjoyment of young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. The TICH-GUSO project adopted the USAID Guidelines to evaluate the M&E system, data verification processes and the data quality reported by program outcomes. The DQA was done twice at an interval of six months. Each DQA process entailed a two-stage process that entailed objective measurement of the M&E system and a data verification process to assess the data accuracy and completeness. The DQA process was done at the institution (data centre), where all the primary and secondary data are stored. The DQA process evidenced that audit and feedback facilitate learning and improvement. The second DQA recorded an improvement across all the sectors (M&E system, data verification process, and data quality). DQA processes are critical components of program implementation since they help identify weaknesses hence informing the type of correctional intervention needed to produce quality data, reports, and evidence for strengthening program implementation, future programming, policy recommendation and further research where needed. It is primary that programs and institutions at large adopt DQA processes for continuous improvement.

Kenya’s Community Health Strategy (CHS) focuses on health actions for improved health at level one (community-based level). Poor health indicators have been reported among young people over the years; hence TICH, in its design for the Get Up Speak Out (GUSO) program, adopted the community-based approach (Community Health Strategy) by training and engaging 29 Community Health Volunteers as the SRHR youth group mentors for the GUSO program. Thereafter, the mentors were assigned roles with the aim of improving young people’s SRHR in their respective communities. The study was conducted among mentors to assess their knowledge and practice towards youth-friendly service, as well as the challenges they experience in mentoring the young people in the community. The survey was a full-coverage survey (target participants included all the 29 youth mentors engaged in the GUSO program). The study engaged an e-platform for questionnaire administration in adherence to the Covid-19 preventive guidelines from the Ministry of Health. The study found that most males are the most concerned with mentoring young people compared to women mentors with key support that mentors provide to young people during the mentorship process are attending young people meetings and providing training to young people. This study highlights the importance of CHVs when trained as mentors in supporting young people’s SRHR information and service access. The study emphasises the integration of tasks in line with young people’s SRHR alongside the CHVs normal tasks as a working strategy for improving young people’s SRHR situations in the community. However, the study highlights the gap in CHVs capacity to handle the hard-to-reach young people with SRHR information and services.