- More than 1,000 adolescent girls and young women in Turkana South have benefited from a five-day HIV outreach programme.
- The initiative provided HIV testing, counselling, menstrual hygiene support and behaviour change education.
- Health workers and peer educators say the programme is helping reduce new HIV infections and other risks facing young people.
By Otieno Sadat
More than 1,000 Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYWs) aged 15 to 24 in Turkana South have benefited from a five-day HIV outreach programme rolled out by the Kenya Red Cross and the Africa Inland Church Health Ministries (AICHM).
The initiative forms part of the HIV prevention and control programme supported by the Global Fund.
Services offered during the outreach included HIV counselling and testing, behaviour change communication and the distribution of sanitary pads.
The services were delivered jointly by recently trained peer educators and health workers at Lokichar, Katilu and Kalemngorok.
High-Risk Areas
Abel Murei, the programme’s Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, said Turkana South was among identified HIV hotspots alongside Turkana West, Turkana North and Turkana Central.
He noted that adolescent girls and young women remain one of the most at-risk groups.
“Beyond the outreach, the peer educators have also been deployed at the village level and allocated households. They remain responsible for ensuring that adolescent girls and young women in those households continuously access HIV/AIDS services,” he said.
According to Geoffrey Ekiru, an HIV/AIDS service provider in Kalemngorok, health facilities in the area have reported new HIV infections among young people aged between 15 and 24 years in recent months.
“It is true that our facilities have reported new cases among the youth in recent months. The Global Fund programme now makes it possible for us to extend services to adolescent girls and young women, tell them that HIV is real and encourage them to adopt behaviours that keep them out of risk,” he said.
Peer Educators
Damaris Lokoel, a 20-year-old peer educator, attributed the success of the outreach to the training recently provided by AICHM.
“We were able to talk to our peers about practical methods of HIV prevention, STI prevention, condom use, menstrual hygiene and ways of reducing risky behaviours that expose one to gender-based violence or HIV/STI infection. It was not difficult because the AGYWs saw us as their age mates,” she said.
Another peer educator, 21-year-old Faith Ekale, said many of the young women they engaged had reduced risky behaviours, including frequent visits to bars and highways in exchange for favours.
“I am confident that the peers we mobilised to access services during the outreach and those we visited for one-on-one sessions are fully empowered to take control of their lives,” she said.
Supporting National HIV Goals
Although Turkana’s HIV prevalence rate stands at 2.19 per cent, below the national average, health reports continue to show growing vulnerability among adolescents and young people aged 15 to 24 years.
According to Murei, the ongoing Global Fund programme will continue conducting outreach activities in identified hotspots over the next two months while also targeting boys, young men and fishing communities.
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“Now that we have sufficiently trained and equipped peer educators, the primary goal is to contribute to the national objective of reducing new infections by up to 75 per cent, cutting HIV-related deaths by 50 per cent, addressing teenage pregnancies and protecting young people from sexual and gender-based violence,” she said.
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