Ace Africa Kenya is implementing the Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-Free, Mentored and Safe (DREAMS) project in seven wards in Ndhiwa Sub-County. This is a two-year USAID funded initiative with the goal of reducing new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women ages 10-24 years by 40 per cent. This project will provide a tailored, comprehensive and evidence-informed service package targeting young women and adolescent girls who are at the highest risk of HIV infection, their male sexual partners, families and communities.
The DREAMS programme encompasses 4 areas for intervention: the Families Matter Programme (FMP), condom distribution and HIV testing services (HTS) outreach, and community mobilization and norms change. All participants reported that the training sessions were successful and effective in raising awareness on the sexual health of young women and adolescent girls.
Families Matter Programme:
The Family Matter Programme (FMP) targets parents and guardians of children aged 9-12 years for a 5-day training course. The ultimate goal of FMP is to reduce sexual risk behaviours among adolescents, including early sexual debut, by giving parents tools to deliver primary prevention to their children as many parents have difficulty effectively conveying values and expectations surrounding sexual behaviour.
Biomedical Interventions:
HIV testing series (HTS) outreach targeted young women, their parents and guardians to improve uptake of testing. Since the beginning of the year a total of 1,396 people have been tested during these days. Girls who tested positive were referred to comprehensive health care facilities of their choice. In addition to outreach, condom distribution also occurred with the aim of fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS and STIs, and to promote safe sexual practices through nurses reported that the HTS outreach was successful and helped young women know the dangers of unprotected sex and where to pick up condoms if needed.
Community Mobilization and Norms Change:
Ace conducted paralegal training to mobilize the community. The paralegal training equipped girls’ mentors with knowledge on Kenya’s laws to protect the right of the children.
Additionally, on May 7th, World Orphan Day was celebrated. Its aim is to raise awareness and advocate for the needs of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC). The theme this year was “Embrace peace in Africa: Safeguard all children rights”, and a total of 1,134 attended.
This new project has many more activities to conduct and we look forward to keeping you updated on the progress being made to keep girls and adolescent women HIV free.