*DIGITAL ROUTES – Page 26

Promoting contraceptive uptake among 15-24 year old youth using innovative approaches including ICT and new media in Western Kenya (Centre for Adolescent Study in Conjunction with David and Lucile Packard Foundation, 2014 onwards)

January 24, 2016

Background: The Western region of Kenya has a high burden of HIV/AIDS, high teenage pregnancy rates, low condom usage and limited access to SRH information and services among the youth.

Unmarried but sexually active young people have an even higher unmet need for contraception, with 46% (nationally) indicating that they are not currently using any form of contraception. This means that they are not only exposing themselves to the risks of unwanted or early pregnancy, and all the social implications of such, but that they are also exposing themselves to STIs including HIV/AIDS.

The project seeks to promote contraceptive uptake – particularly condoms, which have been singled out as a critical element in HIV prevention – among young people aged between 15-24 years using ICT and interactive media in western Kenya. It is part of a wider programme being implemented in the region by the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC), Great Lakes University of Kisumu (GLUK), Family Health Options, Kenya (FHoK), and Marie Stopes Kenya.

What did the programme involve? The project focuses on strengthening the capacity of partners and stakeholders to provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services to young people in four districts in western Kenya over the next two years. It was initiated by a set of strategies including health education, interactive media and linkages to health services.

The ICT and interactive elements of the project include SMS messages and an interactive Facebook page. Information relayed to young people includes awareness and prevention of sexually transmitted infections (including HIV/AIDS), prevention of unplanned pregnancies, advice on abortion, and contacts of local youth-friendly health facilities. This is supported by a number of young peer advocates on the ground who distribute condoms and can link young people to health facilities for comprehensive HIV and sexual and reproductive health services.

Why this approach: Social media and SMS messaging are popular amongst young people in Kenya and can offer a confidential, non-judgemental way for them to feel comfortable about accessing information and services.

Results observed: Findings show an increase in contraceptive uptake by young people at local clinics between April and December 2014. Approximately 6,417 young people have ‘liked’ the Facebook page and many have used the page to engage with discussions about the consequences of unprotected sex, abortion, where to access HIV services and condom use. There are also indications that the range of health services offered to young people is beginning to broaden as a result of the project.

Lessons learnt: Social media platforms could be widened to include websites and other channels and existing channels could be strengthened.

Mwili Wangu Changuo Langu [My Body, My Choice] (The Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health, Kenya 2011-2015)

January 24, 2016

Background: Young Kenyans often lack places to safely ask questions, or talk to anyone about their sexual feelings. For various cultural and social reasons (not limited to Kenya, or Africa in general) sex education is not a topic many parents and teachers feel comfortable or happy to take on which often results in young people not having the knowledge or confidence needed to avoid unwanted and/or risky sexual activity.

To try to tackle this the Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH), works with groups of adolescents and youth to help them understand their choices when it comes to their sexual and reproductive health (SRH).

What did the program involve? TICAH created safe spaces for peer groups (young women and young men separately) to think about attraction, intimacy, safety, health, and pleasure. The programme involved a holistic approach that focused on SRH issues, including HIV prevention for young people for discussions. Young people involved in the project were involved in discussion groups of not more than 30 young people to share thoughts, experiences and lessons learnt around SRH for a duration of six months. As part of the discussion groups that also produced short five minute films recorded with a true story collected from the discussion groups told in such a way that it evoked discussions on each choice made in the film.

Through social media, TICAH partnered with other local organisations working with young women for twitter chats and sessions to discuss current affairs relating to young women’s choices and challenges on sexual health. The twitter chats sessions were moderated by a facilitator well informed on SRH Issues.

Why this approach: In terms of the social media approach, Twitter works well because discussions and chats can be pre-planned and young people can prepare in advance. These discussions can then be storified and shared in other platforms for young people to read.

In terms of video production, short videos are a useful way to bring young viewers together to explore issues and to share their experiences with each other.

Results observed: Scenario videos have reached over 250 young people who have reported that their knowledge has increased and their behaviour re: safe and wanted sexual encounters has also changed as a result of learning from the scenario videos. However, actual behaviour change can be very difficult to measure

Lessons learnt: Scenario videos are a very effective tool in behaviour change because they opens up space for frank discussions that are sometimes regarded a taboo. Young people learn better in spaces where they feel safe and confidentiality is upheld. Twitter chats works better in a controlled environment where young people are notified earlier of chat discussions.

No Hoodie, No Honey social media campaign (United Nations Population Fund, Nigeria 2013 onwards)

January 23, 2016

Background: In 2013 UNFPA launched its “No Hoodie, No Honey” social media campaign in Nigeria in order to try to educate young people, particularly girls, about the importance of safe sex. The campaign was driven by recent figures that half of girls under the age of 18 are sexually active and that Nigeria has one of the highest rates of adolescent HIV/AIDs prevalence: 3.4%. The aim of the campaign is to inform and empower girls aged 15-24 with accurate information and skills that will allow them to make informed decisions when it comes to sex and relationships.

What did the Programme Involve? UNFPA produced two animated videos, 5 minutes in length to which were placed online and were freely available.

In these videos, targeted mainly at adolescent girls, the two main female characters, Ene and Toju, discuss having sex for the first time, pregnancy, sexual transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDs, and using and carrying condoms. The second video also features a young male character whose behaviour and attitudes are also supportive of the film’s main messages – namely, girls in relationships should not feel pressured into having sex but if they would like to have sex then carrying condoms and asking male partners to use them does not make them promiscuous but is rather a sign that they are in charge of their life and sexual health. The videos encourage young women to carry condoms and to be assertive when it comes to their use, even when the man disagrees. The videos also try to stimulate discussions about the embarrassment girls face when it comes to initiating condom use, and give ideas for how that can be overcome.

UNFPA Nigeria has also run a regularly updated and interactive Twitter feed since 2013 – pushing the messages with the #NoHoodieNoHoney hash tag and encouraging engagement and activity through the use of online competitions and Twitter chats.

Why Animations and a Social Media Campaign? The target group, young women and girls, are frequent users of social media in Nigeria. Therefore it was felt that this medium would reach the largest number of the target audience.

The animations allowed a greater engagement as the characters were young people that the target audience felt familiar with and could relate to. Pidgin English is used to make the conversation seem less formal and more engaging for young Nigerians.

Results Observed: The campaign was widely reported in the Nigerian media, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. On YouTube, the first video has been seen over 6,000 times, and the second video has over 3,000 views. Over 7,000 people have liked the UNFPA Nigeria page, which focuses on issues of sexual health and the #NoHoodieNoHoney hash tag has been tweeted from, to and about on an almost daily basis since 2013. All of which suggests that the campaign has reached significant amounts of the target audience and is sparking conversations about sexual health, which was the aim of the campaign. Due to the nature of the campaign it is difficult to judge the amount of behaviour change it might initiate.

Lessons Learnt: This case study emphasises the importance of formative research in deciding target group, message and medium. Background research about sexual activity and health in Nigeria highlighted the need to focus on improving sexual health among adolescents, and revealed the lack of young women’s empowerment when it comes to sex.

It also highlights the importance of ensuring those without access to electricity/ICT do not miss out in social media campaign as the NoHoodieNoHoney videos were adapted into free comic books to ensure the message was spread.

Femina Hip online multimedia and civil society initiative (Tanzania 1999 onwards)

January 19, 2016

Background: Founded in 1999, Femina Hip is a multimedia platform and a civil society initiative working with youth, communities and strategic partners across Tanzania. The aim is to promote healthy lifestyles, sexual health, HIV and AIDS prevention, gender equality, citizen engagement and more recently includes coverage of income generation and employment issues through edutainment, connecting young people and giving them a platform to speak up and share experiences. The project has received financial support from a number of partners, including SIDA and USAID/PEPFAR.

What the programme involved: Using edutainment as its main approach to entertain and educate young people Femina produced and developed a wide range of media products, which include two magazines (English and Swahili language ‘Fema’ and ‘Si Mchezo!’ ) aimed at 15 – 25 year olds; two TV products (Fema TV Talk Show and Ruka Juu), an interactive website (Chezasalama or ‘Play Safe’) which focuses on providing youth-friendly information on sexual and reproductive health, and an interactive SMS platform. All are supported by community mobilization and interpersonal contact through Fema Youth Clubs.

In 2010, the use of social media and the era of accessing the Internet via phone, and indeed the ‘smart phone’ were just beginning in Tanzania and Femina began exploring how young people used these products and how they in turn could use them – particularly Facebook – to reach out to young people. In 2010, Femina Hip opened its first Facebook account (and later a Twitter account) and invited young people in Fema Clubs to become ‘friends’ and ‘like’ the page. It later encouraged Fema Clubs to develop their own online spaces.

Femina Hip recently updated their SMS system and there is now a strong SMS feedback system that allows young people to communicate with Femina directly. Outgoing messages are used inform audiences about new issues of TV shows and magazine editions. Incoming SMS messages help generate content (in the form of audience questions), gage the level of understanding and knowledge of audiences, and allow an easy and affordable communication platform. It also encourages young people to learn, understand and use technology more – all of which are useful skills that Femina would like to encourage and expand to include more rural young people, especially girls. Femina Hip is also exploring the use of SMS as a counselling system.

Why this approach? ‘Entertainment education’ – including portraying the realities of everyday life for young people, magazine and TV features that featured and included young people, published messages and letters from young people etc. – encouraged and enabled young people to easily get on board and actively participate in discussions about issues that resonated with them.

Results observed: Femina’s work is evaluated through a Results Based Management system In terms of Femina’s social media output it was found that the audience is mostly urban and mostly male and mostly interested in sexual and reproductive health questions and content. When TV and radio programming is live and on-air Femina sees a surge in SMS responses from young people.

However, through social media engagement Femina has seen an increase in audience participation and engagement with their core topics, they have reached more young people with relevant information, especially with sexual and reproductive health information, and they have expanded the use of technology in rural areas. Overall Femina’s media and social media products are estimated to reach an audience of around 11 million.

Lessons learnt: Social media spaces are public platforms, and often in the public domain. Young audiences might not be fully aware of this and some of the consequences of posting in public spaces, so it’s important awareness is raised, particularly in relation to the content of certain subjects that Femina Hip encourages debate on. A social media policy can provide a useful guideline for staff on how to participate in online spaces.

Access to phone and internet technologies are still limited in Tanzania and this can make young women especially vulnerable; being offered the use of a phone and credit by men in exchange for sexual favours. This makes outreach and face-to-face training an important component of Femina’s programme.

(Source: Report by C4D Network member Lynn O’Rourke )

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