The SRH Unit seeks to address the age specific needs of the entire life cohort of the Kenyan population : from the reproductive health needs of a baby born intersex , through an adolescent seeking guided understanding of the changes occurring, and protection from harm, as they cross over to adulthood, to the family seeking to prevent cancer of the organs of  reproduction, or struggling with a member afflicted by cancer of the cervix, ovary or breast or reproductive tract, all the way to the reproductive health needs of  the older citizens such as menopause and andropause, and further mainstreams the special reproductive health needs or persons born with disability.

The SRH Unit also recognizes the role of information in shaping one’s Reproductive Health trajectory and seeks to avail age appropriate and culturally competent information and education to guide the nation in ensuring that reproductive health remains the pillar of good health and not a portal for negative health outcomes for our population.

This guide can be considered as a ‘Mwaks’ or a guide to life. The guide empowers you to understand your rights as a Kenyan adolescent so as to avoid any kind of violation from any person. By reading this guide, it is my hope that you will increase your knowledge about your body’s growth and development. This guide provides useful and critical information about the unique challenges and solutions that come with growth and development as an adolescent.

How to read the Guide:

This guide can be read chronologically but you can pick any topic of interest and read through at your convenient time.

Inadequate access to accurate information on Sexual and Reproductive Health by adolescents and young people has been identified as one of the main drivers of teenage pregnancies, new HIV infections, GBV and other SRHR risks. Most children approach adolescence and even adulthood with little or no information about their sexuality while others are forced to rely on uninformed peers and the internet for this life saving information. This debacle is further exacerbated by embarrassment, silence and disapproval of open discussion of sexual matters by adults, including parents and teachers. Inadequate parental capacity coupled with disjointed behaviour change programmes, and inadequate innovative interventions have further compounded the problem.

Following a national outcry on the absence of an objective format of providing culturally competent age-appropriate sexual health education to adolescents in Kenya, the Ministry of Health through the Department of Family Health with support from various partners have developed a culturally competent age-appropriate sexual health guide targeted towards adolescents in Kenya. The Guide is titled: ‘UNDERSTANDING ADOLESCENCE: A GUIDE FOR ADOLESCENTS.’

• Adolescent Growth & Development
• Personal Hygiene
• Healthy Relationships and Communication
• Abstinence
• Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
• HIV/ AIDS
• Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
• Cancers of the Reproductive Organs
• Mental Health
• Drugs and Substance Use
• Harmful Cultural Practices
• Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
• Nutrition and Physical Activity
• Life Skills
• Social Media
• Career Choices