Another Communication Strategy Goes Rolling for Posterity: Thank You The SRHR Alliance for the Vision

Completion of the Communication Strategy 2017-2020, is landmark in the process of instituting effective operational systems and structures at the SRHR Alliance (the Secretariat and Partners) in Kenya; a coalition of civil society organizations and institutions working to promote the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people and women. Structured on expectations, perspectives, priorities and preferences divulged through a participatory process that involved partners of the SRHR Alliance, the strategy endeavors to respond to young people’s concerns which are: lack of confidentiality; fear of mistreatment; inconvenient hours and locations of facilities; high costs of services; and limited knowledge of available Youth Friendly Services. In this manner, the Communication Strategy 2017-2020 feeds to Social Pillar of the Kenya Vision; investing in the people of Kenya to improve the quality of life for all Kenyans by targeting a cross-section of human and social welfare projects and programmes.

The overall goal of the communication strategy is to promote access and utilization of sexual reproductive health and rights package by young people through communication approaches. It is designed to seamlessly execute strategic objectives, to: enhance the SRHR Alliance and Partners capacity to communicate effectively; promote access and utilization of Youth Friendly SRHR Services by young people; promote uptake of sexual and reproductive health information and education among young people; and create awareness on the need for elimination of retrogressive cultural practices affecting sexual and reproductive health of young people. The four objectives are systematically unpacked using a planning matrix: it highlights, a situational analysis (focusing on internal, external challenges and opportunities); audience segmentation (to fashion SRHR communication content for identified cohorts); communication messaging (that are specific, measurable, and realist); and strategic activities (resource sensitive result-based engagements). It is envisaged that by promoting access and utilization of SRHR to young people through communication approaches, the communication strategy contributes to the UNAIDS 90-90-90 target calls, which requires countries to reach: 90% of people living with HIV diagnosed by 2020; 90% of diagnosed people on antiretroviral treatment by 2020; and 90% of people in treatment with fully suppressed viral load by 2020.

The communication strategy transcends beyond mutual exchange of knowledge created, shared, used and managed, to institutionalizing the process to make SRHR information available for use by all cadres of health care providers, young people, and community leaders. To provoke peoples’ demand for it, the strategy accommodates production of Information Education and Communication (IEC) and Social Behavior Change and Communication (SBCC) materials (in print, audio and audio-visual), advises on activities to sell packaged information, upholds ability to publish for expansion of specific knowledge areas, and recommends enhancing of existing school club corners, youth centers, health facilities and offices, and community based information centers with products that are marked and branded as guided by funders policies.

Responding to global Sustainable Development Goal number 17, the communication strategy strengthens the means of implementation and revitalizes partnership for sustainable development by setting a dynamic environment where: innovations (such as e and mHealth) fit a scalability, replicability, and interoperability bill; mass media engagement (with radio, newspapers, television media houses) is driven by trained officers who champion dissemination of co-produced (by media houses and partners) local content on SRHR; community engagement (such as dialogue sessions) give the grass root an opportunity to participate and provide feedback in development projects; and researches conducted through resource-pooling, translate to learning opportunities to enable the SRHR Alliance secretariat and partners make informed decisions.

During its implementation, the strategy envisages monitoring and evaluation as a key contributor to supplying feedback that allows for better understanding of how stipulated communication programming performs, while enabling effective response to decisions regarding operations for greater efficiency. The strategy considers monitoring a continuous affair which cuts across inputs like finances, human resources, and time – largely regulated by member organizations. To support the outlined architecture, a management mechanisms between the Secretariat and Partners is woven through the implementation plan for the next three years.

This strategy is hence envisaged to make significant progress among the SRHR Alliance Partners [Africa Alive (AA), AMREF Health Africa, Anglican Development Services (ADS) Nyanza, AYARHEP, Centre for the Study of Adolescence (CSA), Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Child Line Kenya (CLK), Family Health Options Kenya (FHOK), Great Lakes University of Kisumu (GLUK), Kisumu Medical Education Trust (KMET), Nairobits Trust, Network for Adolescence and Youth of Africa (NAYA), National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK), Support Activities in Poverty Eradication and Health (SAIPEH), World Starts With Me Alumni Youth Advocacy Network (WAYAN Kenya), Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK) and UNESCO], as it will provide leadership, coordinate and standardize information service delivery on matters of Sexual and Reproductive Health to young people.

My appreciation goes to Daniel Otieno (NAYA), Evans Munga (CLK), Emmanuel Oyier (KMET), George Nyamor (ADS), Georgina Obonyo (AA), James Ndungu (NEPHAK), Kevin Owino (AYARHEP), Sheenan Mbau (CSA), Stella Pamba (Nairobist), Vilmer Nyamongo (CSA), and Vincent Ogaya (NAYA), who provided valuable insights during the development of the strategy. I cannot fail to acknowledge the SRHR Alliance Secretariat team leader, Johnstone Kuya, and his team, Mwikali Kivuvani, Judy Amina, and Nelly Chelagat, for providing technical guidance leading to the development of the strategy.