Goal: To empower and improve health and wellbeing of AGYW and youths by addressing their specific needs, promoting gender equality, ensuring their rights to sexual reproductive health are prioritized, providing mental and psychosocial support, and reducing the incidences of new HIV infections among rural communities in the sugar belt and Lake Victoria region by 2027.
Integrated health and well-being is the holistic approach that considers various aspects of a person's health with the focus on the whole person. HEDSO recognizes the intersection of these elements and seeks to address them collectively, placing AGYW and youths in the rural communities of Western Kenya at the center of care, recognizing the unique needs and challenges that limit their health. Kenya has a youthful rural population; the latest data from the census 2019 by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) reveals. In this case, 35.7 million Kenyans (75.1%) are below 35 years, while 32.73 million (68.9%) live in rural areas.
The unique needs include access to reproductive health services, gender specific issues, mental health support and social support during transitional phases of their lives while challenges include limited access to reproductive health services, gender based violence and high HIV and STI rates. HEDSO interventions aim to address Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, HIV prevention and response, and Prevention and Response to all forms of GBV and discrimination of AGYW. By integrating these interventions, we aim to create a comprehensive support system that addresses interconnecting challenges faced by AGYW and youths in Kenya, while moving towards creating a more equitable and inclusive society.
