Increasing Domestic Workers
Access to SRHR through Door-toDoor Integrated Services.
Presented at: Amref Health Africa International Conference
From Evidence to Action: Lasting Health Change for Africa
25th November 2014
Job Odoyance Akuno
Manager, Preventive and Promotive Health
NOPE-Kenya
27 November 2014
National Organization
of Peer Educators (NOPE KENYA)
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Founded: in 2000, registered 2000, becomes international 2007.
Vision: A world with healthy communities and sustained social
development.
Mission: ‘To build capacity of communities and organizations for
delivery of quality health and social services.’
Strategic Goal: NOPE is a premier international organization with
strong integrated systems and structures to build the capacity of
communities towards delivery of diverse quality services.
NOPE MOTTO: “Building Capacities, Changing Lives”
Background
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Estimated that half of the 2.3 million households in
Nairobi use the services of a domestic worker.
Four in every five of these workers are female,
commonly referred to as house girls.
Others are gardeners, cleaners, guards and drivers
Most of them live with the family that employs them.
They have limited assess to sexual and reproductive
health information and services.
Description
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NOPE conducted Social Mapping and size estimation of DWs
Equipping DW with life skills: to improve their Sexual and
Reproductive Health (SRH) knowledge and practices.
Provision of appropriate package of Services: These included
Post-Abortion Care, Post-Rape Care, Family Planning/EC, HTC
services and financial literacy.
Increasing accessibility of services: Due to restrictions on
movement and time, NOPE provided convenient services around
the streets junctions where they prospect for work, within the
gates or doors of their work places and operated at hours and
days that are acceptable to domestic workers sub-populations.
Description
The project used the triple E approach implementing the
domestic workers sexual and reproductive health project, this
included;
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Empowering domestic workers to advocate for their sexual and
reproductive rights through advocacy training and mentorship.
Engaging health facilities and other service providers in provision of
sexual and reproductive health services to domestic workers and
Enhancing access to knowledge and information for behavior
change amongst domestic workers
Achievements
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The intervention trained 517 peer educators reaching 15,000
DW with integrated services,
Trained Health Service Providers and law enforcers to offer DW
friendly SRH services;
Trained 30 DWS as health right advocates
Effectively referred 295 survivor of Sexual violence
Strengthened representation with 912 DW joining KUDHEIHA
Supported Formation of 54 table banking groups(1620), 18
groups linked to Micro-Finance Institutions
Products
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Developed a Domestic Workers Sexual & Reproductive Health
Communication Strategy 2013.
Developed Domestic Workers SRH Peer Education
Facilitators Manual and Participants Hand-outs.
Targeted IEC materials on SRH information and services
Developed referral directory and inventory.
Popular versions of the HAPAC and SOA
Lessons learnt
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Door-to-door integrated services are effective
Most domestic workers experience sexual violence but
have no recourse and resources for redress.
Advocating with Health Care Managers can improve
services to DWs- “opening on Sundays”
Through collaborative efforts between MoH, Trade
Unions and PBOs, the rights of domestic workers can
be protected and access and utilization of services
improved.
Next Steps
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There is need to equip DW with information and
skills as well as resources to deal with GBV.
There is need to Scale Up domestic workers
comprehensive package of friendly services.
Programs for domestic workers require
collaborative partnerships to increase quality and
range of services to the population.
Partners and collaborators
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Funded by FHI360 with PEPFAR through USAID
Co-implementer, KUDHEIHA
Nairobi County Reproductive Health Team, the health facilities)
The Government of Kenya – the Kenya Police, the office of public
administration
Post Rape Care Centre’s – Maria Immaculata, LVCT, MSF-France
and MSF- Belgium
Religious institutions – the Catholic Church, the Madina Mosque, the
Hindu Temple
Employers of DWs and the domestic workers.
Contact:
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Presenter: Job Odoyance Akuno
Email: jakuno@nope.or.ke.
Cell: +254-723 850599
Executive Director: Philip Waweru Mbugua
Email: pmbugua@nope.or.ke.
NOPE website: www.nope.or.ke
Email: info@nope.or.ke.