Girl Child Network works towards the realisation of national health outcomes in Kenya with the desired outcome that – children, youth and communities have access to appropriate water and sanitation facilities, sufficient food with nutritional components, increased uptake of reproductive health services, increased access to maternal health services, and reduction of child mortality.
Interventions
- Water, sanitation and hygiene
- Food and nutrition
- Policy advocacy on non-communicable diseases
- Sexual reproductive health rights
- Maternal health & child survival
- HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and referral for care and treatment
- Medical referrals for children with disabilities
- Mobile clinics
Programmes & Projects
Alabaster International continues to partner with Girl Child Network through the Alabaster Mobile Clinic to support the Kajiado, Nairobi and Turkana counties to make high quality health services available to its residents.
Alabaster International consists of doctors, nurses, public health officers and other health professionals whose mission is to serve those most in need and vulnerable. Together with GCN, Alabaster has made provision of medical outreaches in arid and semi-arid regions and urban informal settlements to meet primary health care needs of communities.
In addition Alabaster in collaboration with Endonyolasho community constructed a permanent clinic in 2015 and was equipped with medicines and medical equipment that has been instrumental in catering for the health needs for the community. They have also constructed a permanent library and equipped with various books of different subjects and general knowledge. This has improved the literacy skills of the community.
During COVID 19 pandemic that led to economic hardships among the target communities, Alabaster International supported Endonyolasho community in Kajiado County with solidarity package that fed over 100 households.
Girl Child Network works towards ensuring children, youth and communities have access to appropriate water and sanitation facilities.
Girl Child Network is a leading advocate on the rights of children and the youth. Among other partners, Girl Child Network lobbied the national government policy makers to review the School Health Policy 2009 and its guidelines with very clear and specific policy provisions to restrict alcohol, drugs and other substances in primary and secondary schools including other Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) related provisions. The policy aims to have healthy, enlightened and productive school age children and youth in the community in which they live or learn. The policy advocates for a holistic approach in the management of NCDs.
Girl Child Network partners with Education Assessment and Research Centres to identify children with disabilities in the community and schools. The identified children are then referred for various services including assessment by medical officers to identify the nature, type and severity of medical conditions and provision of necessary curative, preventive or rehabilitative support. The medical officers also provide medical reports for the identified cases of disabilities to facilitate registration with the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWDs). This supports them to benefit from government initiatives such as social protection services e.g. medical insurance through the National Hospital Insurance Fund, sunscreen lotion and lip balm for persons living with albinism, tax exemption, cash transfers, assistive devices including walking aids, spectacles, therapy services, psycho-social support among others.
Research has shown increasing evidence pointing to a correlation between access to education with reduced vulnerability to HIV/AIDS for the adolescent girls and young women. Girl Child Network employs enrollment into formal education as a strategy to reduce risk and vulnerability of this target group. The focus is mainly on adolescent girls and young women in Kenya who have dropped out or are at risk of dropping out from formal schooling.
At the forefront of a food revolution, spearheaded by the Institute of Biotechnology Research (IBR) at JKUAT led by researchers Dr. Sylvester Anami and Dr Grace Mungai in collaboration with Arba Minch University (AMU, Ethiopia), Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute (EBI), Girl Child Network (Kenya) and Alabaster International (USA, has brought the Enset plant to Kenya. This remarkable project, in collaboration with international partners, heralds a new era of food security.
Enset, a resilient plant that can feed families and support livestock, is more than just a crop; it’s a symbol of unity and hope. As Kenya embraces this superfood, we witness the power of global cooperation in the fight against hunger.
Let’s celebrate this green miracle, a testament to the enduring spirit of Pan-Africanism and the shared vision of a hunger-free world.Visit JKUAT UPDATES SITE for more details
Cultivated Enset Seedlings at IBR(Institute of Biotechnology Research)
Enset Corm
Cultivated Enset seedlings successfully transplanted at IBR (Institute of Biotechnology Research) Greenhouse
