Sex and Gender Based Analysis for Adolescent Health and Nutrition (AHN) Programs in Elgeyo Marakwet County in Kenya
Nutrition International (NI) will be implementing a new project entitled; Realizing Gender Equality, Attitudinal Change & Transformative Systems in Nutrition (REACTS-IN) in Elgeyo Marakwet county in Kenya. The REACTS-IN program will implement integrated, multisectoral, evidence-based interventions that will address the key determinants of nutrition, gender inequalities and sexual reproductive health in underserved and target areas, including rural areas. The program’s ultimate outcome is: Improved nutrition, nutrition-related rights, and gender equality for the poorest women, adolescent girls, and children under five years of age. This will be achieved through three intermediate outcomes: ensuring Women and Adolescent Girls (WAGs) have equitable access to nutrition, health, WASH and SRHR practices, enhanced availability, and quality of gender-equitable and responsive nutrition, health and SRH services, and through strengthening the effectiveness of local stakeholders including rights groups in realizing the nutrition and SRH rights of Women and Adolescent Girls.
To follow a gender mainstreaming process in the REACTS-IN project, Nutrition International in Kenya contracted Bodmando Consulting Group to conduct a Sex and Gender Based Analysis (SGBA) of Adolescent Healt and Nutrition (AHN) programs, to reflect on how the project can better promote gender equality and respond to gender barriers and any potential enablers in Elgeyo Marakwet for the adolescent nutrition program. The specific objectives included the following.
1. Assess the gender equality issues relevant to Adolescent Health and Nutrition in Elgeyo Marakwet. These include socio-economic status, access to nutrition, vulnerabilities to malnutrition, potential to participate, etc.
2. Identify and explain gender barriers, lessons, key entry points that worked well in the Adolescent Health and Nutrition programs.
3. Assess Nutrition International’s current outcomes and outputs and indicators in the joint nutrition financing project and REACTS-IN design and suggest opportunities to be more gender sensitive and responsive as applicable.
4. Identify potential opportunities and enablers and provide recommendations for developing short- and long-term strategies that will promote gender equality and girls’ and women’s empowerment through the programs.
1. The research will involve a cross-sectional design and will rely on both primary and secondary data sources to gather information. Primary data will be generated by conducting Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), school observation and review, health facility observation and review, content and curriculum review guided by Gender Equality and Adolescent Well-being frameworks. While secondary data will be generated from a desk review of relevant internal and external documents.
2. The Sex and Gender Based Analysis for Adolescent Health and Nutrition (AHN) Programs in Elgeyo Marakwet County will be guided by the gender equality and women and girl’s empowerment framework (Gender Analysis Matrix), Adolescent Wellbeing Framework, human rights-based approach and the social ecological framework.
Participants include health sector representatives, education sector representatives, County government officials in Elgeyo Marakwet, women organizations, Adolescents aged 10-14 years and 15-19 years, key social influencers, civil society organisations, community leaders, women and men. This includes schools and health facilities.
