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AUTHOR(S) Loise Gichuhi; Jane Kalista
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprec-edented disruption to social, economic, and cultural life worldwide. In Kenya, when schools and universities closed in March 2020, nearly 18 million Kenyan learners were affected, putting at stake not only the considerable economic, social, and political gains experienced by the country over the past decade, but also the significant commit-ment the Government has made to providing inclusive, quality education. This analysis aims to provide policy recom-mendations to strengthen the leadership of ministries of education (MoEs) and collabo-ration with partners to continue to provide quality education in crisis situations. It seeks to shed light on this central question: What facilitates government leadership in crisis and risk management in education and how can humanitarian and development actors more effectively support the Ministry of Education in Kenya to lead effective educa-tion service delivery during crises?
AUTHOR(S) Pierre E. Biscaye; Dennis Egger; Utz J. Pape
AUTHOR(S) Michele R. Decker; Kristin Bevilacqua; Shannon N. Wood (et al.)
Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) disproportionately experience gender-based violence (GBV), which can increase during emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. A cohort of youth ages 15–24 in Nairobi, Kenya was surveyed at three time points over an 18-month period prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic: June–August 2019 (prepandemic), August–October 2020 (12-month follow-up) and May 2021 (18-month follow-up). This study characterised (1) prevalence, relative timing and help-seeking for leading forms of GBV, (2) GBV trajectories over 18 months and (3) associations of individual, dyad and COVID-related factors on GBV trajectories among AGYW (n=612) in Nairobi, Kenya. Virtual focus group discussions (n=12) and interviews (n=40) contextualise quantitative results.
For girls in Sub-Saharan Africa, education can be a ladder out of poverty and a way to break cycles of abuse and violence. Yet, there are still steep gender-related barriers to a quality and safe education such as gender-based violence, discrimination, child and forced marriage, lack of access to healthcare and menstrual hygiene products, unpaid domestic labour, and the prioritization of boys’ education. Even girls who do access education face a range of challenges, including poor quality facilities, large class sizes, and a lack of qualified female teachers and staff. For girls in fragile and conflict-affected areas, the threats can include kidnapping, injury, forced recruitment, and displacement. With the COVID-19 pandemic, those challenges have only increased. There are several stakeholders working to reduce these barriers and make sure that girls who must access their education in emergency situations can do so safely and effectively. They are also trying to make sure that the education available is of high quality and sensitive to their unique needs. In 2021, the Government of Canada supported a partnership with Equal Measures 2030 and its in-country partners FAWE and IPBF, based in Kenya and Burkina Faso, respectively, to look at how to strengthen the equitable and coordinated provision of education for girls and women in both countries. The result was research and advocacy that aimed to make the education systems of both countries more data-driven and gender-responsive. This report details the experiences, findings, and recommendations encapsulated in our work.
AUTHOR(S) Ashley Chory; Winstone Nyandiko; Celestine Ashimosi (et al.)
Understanding community members' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus and the prevalence of associated stigma are critical steps for increasing accurate public health knowledge, encouraging uptake of preventative or mitigating health behaviors, and ultimately bringing the COVID-19 pandemic under control. This study conducted a one-time, phone-based assessment to assess the presence of perceived COVID-19 community stigma reported by Kenyan primary and secondary school teachers, as well as adolescents living with HIV. Participants were previously enrolled in an ongoing, cluster-randomized trial to evaluate the impact of multi-media teacher training on teachers' negative attitudes and beliefs around HIV. The SAFI Stigma Questionnaire, a validated tool to assess HIV-related stigma in this setting, was adapted to ask questions regarding the stigma and discrimination experienced or perceived during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AUTHOR(S) Sarah Rockowitz; Laura M. Stevens; James C. Rockey (et al.)
This study examined patterns of sexual violence against adults and children in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform sexual violence prevention, protection, and response efforts. A prospective cross-sectional research design was used with data collected from March to August 2020.
AUTHOR(S) Leslie A. Enane; Edith Apondi; Josephine Aluoch (et al.)
AUTHOR(S) Jessie Pinchoff; Elizabeth Layard Friesen; Beth Kangwana (et al.)
Adolescent mental health has been under-researched, particularly in Africa. COVID-19-related household economic stress and school closures will likely have adverse effects. We investigate the relationship among adolescent mental health, adult income loss, and household dynamics during the pandemic in Kenya. A cross-sectional mobile phone-based survey was conducted with one adult and adolescent (age 10–19 years) pair from a sample of households identified through previous cohort studies in three urban Kenyan counties (Nairobi, Kilifi, Kisumu). Survey questions covered education, physical and mental health, and COVID-19-related impacts on job loss, food insecurity, and healthcare seeking. Logistic regression models were fit to explore relationships among adult income loss, household dynamics, food insecurity, and adult and adolescent depressive symptoms (defined as PHQ-2 score ≤2).
One of the objectives of this collaboration is to produce a range of youth-led, data-driven research products, providing insight into the most effective ways to support young people in East Africa. This special edition Barometer is designed to provide a snapshot into the lives of Kenyan girls aged 15-19 (also referred to as adolescent girls) in 2021. This edition of COVID-19 Barometer includes new insights from Shujaaz Inc’s annual national youth survey, which draws on face-to-face interviews with 2,015 young people conducted between December 2020 and January 2021. Drawing on additional qualitative research, the Barometer aims to provide an update on the challenges, lifestyles, priorities and aspirations of adolescent girls, during a turbulent pandemic. This edition focuses on key topics including education, sexual and reproductive health, financial security, mental wellbeing and resilience. We hope it provides a valuable update for organisations working with adolescent girls across Kenya, and inspiration for similar research in East and Southern African countries.
AUTHOR(S) Celia Karp; Caroline Moreau; Grace Sheehy (et al.)
Measures to mitigate COVID-19's impact may inhibit development of healthy youth relationships, affecting partnership quality and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes. This is a mixed-methods study aiming to understand how COVID-19 affected girls' and young women's relationships in Kenya. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression examined factors associated with relationship quality dynamics and SRH outcomes among 756 partnered adolescents aged 15–24 years. Qualitative data from in-depth interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis to explore youth perceptions of how intimate relationships changed during COVID-19.
AUTHOR(S) Julie Mwabe; Karen Austrian; Sheila Macharia
This new report is one of the first in the world to look exclusively at the impact of COVID-19 on adolescents’ lives. It leverages data collected on the social, education, health, and economic effects of COVID-19 on adolescents in June 2020 and again in February 2021, and features contributions and recommendations from girls and boys who are part of advisory groups in Nairobi, Kisumu, Kilifi and Wajir counties, where the data was collected.
AUTHOR(S) Rachel George; Jenny Rivett; Fiona Samuels (et al.)
AUTHOR(S) Carmen Anthonj; Sophie Githinji; Christoph Höser (et al.)
UNICEF Innocenti's Children and COVID-19 Library is a database collecting research from around the world on COVID-19 and its impacts on children and adolescents.
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