Design and research tool kit
Sketch
Photoshop
illustrator
Interviews
Surveys
Breaking sexual reproductive health silence
Even though SRH services have been made accessible in most parts of Kenya, there is still a large demographic left behind due poverty, gender, ethnicity, disability, residency status, situations of conflict and other forms of marginalisation. Reproductive rights are human rights and gender equity is enshrined in the constitution, but men still are the majority power holders in almost all aspects of everyday life, including women’s reproductive health, family planning and family size.
Although we have seen a positive change in policies and laws that support SRH, through effective approaches of preventing and treating HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, a drop in the fertility rate and progress in maternal health, adolescents seem to be locked out of movements encouraging progressive sexual reproductive health. In this past year (2018), the highest case of teenage pregnancy was reported in a national news segment, where a large number of girls in primary and secondary school gave birth during the national examination period.
This leaves other births by girls of similar contexts undocumented throughout that year. The reality is that adolescents are sexually active, and without proper information, they will keep being at risk due to pre-planned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases and infections.
NDI partnered with Royal Collage of Arts and Imperial Design school London to aid in various parts of this project that mainly included design and engineering. The team members were Aimee-Elisabeth Kyffin, Frederick Phua, Qiang Wang, Sean Irving, Shiyi Liang, Elizabeth Nenge (Gearbox) and I as the team lead
As much as I like to structure and visualize our process, what happens in our reality is more complex and asynchronous than the diagrams we’ve grown accustomed to.
UX / UI / Designer
Researcher
Sketch
Photoshop
illustrator
Interviews
Surveys
The youth fall in the category of marginalised and vulnerable groups who are ignored when it comes to sexual reproductive health service provision.
Adolescents and youth face several reproductive health challenges e.g early pregnancies, complications of unsafe abortion, complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
There is potential for promotion of healthy behaviour through appropriate education on sexual health as behaviour initiated or learnt during adolescence may be long lasting and have either negative or positive influences on young people’s future lives. Efforts therefore have to be focused on promoting healthy and preventive behaviour during this stage of life.
Age of sexual debut
Adolescents who had begun childbearing
Unplanned Pregnancies annually
Girls drop out of schools annually
Adolescents death during childbirth
New HIV infections in the youth annually
HOW MIGHT WE IMPROVE ADOLESCENTS’ ACCESS TO SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE INFORMATION & SERVICES TO PREVENT UNWANTED PREGNANCIES & STDs?
How might we leverage family units to encourage adolescents develop positive values around sexual reproductive health
“We are exposed to sex at 5-6 but are only taught about it at 12”
Study after study shows that early reading with children helps them learn to speak, interact, bond with parents and read early themselves, and reading with kids who already know how to read helps them feel close to caretakers, understand the world around them and be empathetic citizens of the world.
Juma is a storybook that teaches kids basic life values that would help nurture them to becoming responsible teenagers in the future. The book will also play a huge role in kick-starting sexually related conversations (which are considered difficult topics in African homes) with their kids especially at an early age, creating that “parent-kid” bond.
The book is divided according to age groups of 5-9yrs old and 10-15yrs old