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Full-Text Articles in Gender and Sexuality
Adapting Focused Antenatal Care: Lessons From Three African Countries, Harriet Birungi
Adapting Focused Antenatal Care: Lessons From Three African Countries, Harriet Birungi
Reproductive Health
In 2001, the World Health Organization issued guidance on a new model of antenatal care (ANC) called goal-oriented or focused antenatal care (FANC), for implementation in developing countries. The new model reduces the number of required antenatal visits to four, and provides focused services shown to improve maternal outcomes. FANC emphasizes helping women maintain normal pregnancies by identifying existing health conditions, detecting emerging complications, promoting health, preparing for a healthy birth, and educating clients on postpartum care including nutrition, breastfeeding, and family planning. Trials conducted in Argentina, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand proved that FANC was safe and was a …
Kenya: Islamic Scholars Find No Religious Justification For Fgm/C, Population Council
Kenya: Islamic Scholars Find No Religious Justification For Fgm/C, Population Council
Reproductive Health
In 2004, FRONTIERS undertook a study on the cultural basis of female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C) in Kenya’s Somali community. The study showed universal support for FGM/C, and indicated that one of the major justifications is the perception that Islam requires female as well as male genital cutting. Interviews with informants showed that belief in the religious justification overrides arguments about the health and human rights aspects and the knowledge that it is illegal in Kenya. In 2005, FRONTIERS launched an intervention to engage the community in discussions about FGM/C to clarify the religious position. FRONTIERS arranged symposia involving …
Malaria In Pregnancy Pilot Projects Nationally Adopted In Kenya And Malawi, Population Council
Malaria In Pregnancy Pilot Projects Nationally Adopted In Kenya And Malawi, Population Council
Reproductive Health
Kenya and Malawi have developed national policies to prevent malaria in pregnancy. Measures to prevent malaria among antenatal clients were shown to be sustainable several years after pilot interventions ended. In Malawi, the approach has been expanded nationwide. In most malaria-endemic areas of Africa, women in their first and second pregnancies have the highest risk of acquiring malaria and, consequently, of malaria-associated anemia and low birth-weight. Two USAID-funded interventions aimed at strengthening the prevention and management of malaria in pregnancy were pilot-tested at the district level in Kenya (1998–2002) and Malawi (1998–2004). As noted in this brief, the goal was …
Kenya: Integrating Services For Fp And Hiv Improves Quality And Hiv Testing, Population Council
Kenya: Integrating Services For Fp And Hiv Improves Quality And Hiv Testing, Population Council
Reproductive Health
The Kenyan government’s reproductive health policy highlights service integration and quality of care. While integrating counseling and testing (C&T) for HIV into family planning (FP) can potentially increase the range of services to clients at risk from sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV, few studies have documented the feasibility, effects, or costs of such integration. From 2005–07, the Population Council worked with the Kenyan Ministry of Health to test the feasibility of two models for integrating C&T into existing FP services. Both models featured client education on HIV prevention during FP visits. Providers were trained to routinely use the Balanced …
Contributing Towards Efforts To Abandon Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Kenya: A Situation Analysis, Humphres Evelia, Maryam Sheikh Abdi, Carolyne Njue, Ian Askew
Contributing Towards Efforts To Abandon Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Kenya: A Situation Analysis, Humphres Evelia, Maryam Sheikh Abdi, Carolyne Njue, Ian Askew
Reproductive Health
The Kenyan Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services, with support from UNFPA/Kenya, commissioned the Population Council to conduct a situation analysis of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) programs in Kenya, with the overall objective of documenting the current status of and trends in FGM/C programming and to help identify crucial elements that need to be prioritized for support. Results show marked declines in prevalence nationally between generations, suggesting a decline in the practice as well as trends toward “medicalization” in recent years. The practice still continues for different reasons, such as rite of passage, for marriageability, controlling sexuality, religious …
Tuko Pamoja: Adolescent Reproductive Health And Life Skills Curriculum, Path, Population Council
Tuko Pamoja: Adolescent Reproductive Health And Life Skills Curriculum, Path, Population Council
Reproductive Health
As they move through adolescence, young people begin to have different kinds of relationships with their peers, family members, and adults; good communication and other skills can help ensure that these relationships are satisfying and mutually respectful. Young people need to learn to manage new feelings about sexuality to make responsible decisions about their health, reproduction, and parenthood. This manual, the second edition of the Kenya Adolescent Reproductive Health Curriculum, is for teachers; community, religious, and youth group leaders; health care professionals; and anyone working with young people. The curriculum is designed to delay sexual debut and promote sexual and …
Female Genital Mutilation In Kenya: Evidence Links Health Workers To Fgm, Population Council, Gtz
Female Genital Mutilation In Kenya: Evidence Links Health Workers To Fgm, Population Council, Gtz
Reproductive Health
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a traditional practice that affects women and girls in several African countries. It is practiced in a variety of ways, classified by WHO into four broad types all found in Kenya. In some communities it is associated with passage into maturity; in others, it is considered a symbol of ethnic identity, a religious obligation, or a necessary prerequisite for marriage, either through symbolizing attainment of womanhood or as a means of preserving and demonstrating virginity. FGM is considered a harmful traditional practice because it may be associated with a variety of short- and long-term health …
Female Genital Cutting Among The Somali Of Kenya And Management Of Its Complications, Jaldesa Guyo, Ian Askew, Carolyne Njue, Monica Wanjiru
Female Genital Cutting Among The Somali Of Kenya And Management Of Its Complications, Jaldesa Guyo, Ian Askew, Carolyne Njue, Monica Wanjiru
Reproductive Health
The Somali community living in Kenya (and in their native Somalia) has practiced the severest form of female genital cutting (FGC)—infibulation—for centuries. To understand the context within which the practice takes place, and how its complications are managed, the Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health Program undertook a diagnostic study that confirmed that FGC is a deeply rooted and widely supported cultural practice. Several closely related reasons are used to sustain the practice: religious obligation, family honor, and virginity as a prerequisite for marriage; an aesthetic preference for infibulated genitalia was also mentioned. The study also found that the health …
Kenya: Community Sensitization Must Precede Alternative Coming-Of-Age Rite, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Kenya: Community Sensitization Must Precede Alternative Coming-Of-Age Rite, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Reproductive Health
Female genital cutting (FGC) is practiced as a rite of passage in over half of Kenya’s districts. Kenyan nongovernmental agency Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (MYWO) has long conducted community sensitization focused on discouraging this practice. In 1996, MYWO began implementing the “alternative rite” (AR) intervention in sensitized communities. Girls participating in AR receive family life education in seclusion, followed by a public graduation ceremony recognizing them as adults. They are not cut as part of the ceremony. In 2000, the Population Council carried out an assessment of the AR program that sought to identify the impact of MYWO’s activities on knowledge …
Kenia: Sensibilizar A Comunidades Para Que Realicen Ritos Alternativos De Iniciación Con Las Niños, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Kenia: Sensibilizar A Comunidades Para Que Realicen Ritos Alternativos De Iniciación Con Las Niños, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Reproductive Health
La mutilación genital femenina (MGF) se practica como rito de transición en más de la mitad de los distritos de Kenia. Desde hace tiempo, la ONG Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (MYWO) ha sensibilizado a las comunidades de este país con el fin de promover el abandono de esta práctica. En 1996, la MYWO implementó una intervención para realizar un “Rito Alternativo” (RA) en las comunidades sensibilizadas. Las niñas que participan en estos RA reciben educación sobre la vida familiar durante un retiro y posteriormente participan en una ceremonia pública en la que se les reconoce como adultas. Lo más importante es …
Using Operations Research To Strengthen Programmes For Encouraging Abandonment Of Female Genital Cutting. Report Of A Consultative Meeting On Methodological Issues For Fgc Research, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Using Operations Research To Strengthen Programmes For Encouraging Abandonment Of Female Genital Cutting. Report Of A Consultative Meeting On Methodological Issues For Fgc Research, Frontiers In Reproductive Health
Reproductive Health
The Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health program, with funding from USAID, organized a consultative meeting on the practice of female genital cutting (FGC) in Nairobi, Kenya in April 2002. The meeting brought together a small group of researchers and program managers who are actively undertaking operations research and systematic program evaluations to review the state of the art concerning intervention research design and measurement issues. The deliberations at this workshop should stimulate interest both in undertaking operations research more routinely when programming anti-FGC activities and in furthering the development and application of research methods appropriate for this subject. Several …