Still reflecting on the major advocacy moments and commitments made during the regional engagements that SHARP participated in across Africa and the key results that came from them. One moment that particularly stood out was at the NEAPACOH meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, where
@MeTAKenya2018 C.E.O and
@ProjectSHARP coordinator, Dorothy Juma addressed parliamentarians and policymakers from 18 African countries with one urgent message: Universal Health Coverage cannot exist where access to life-saving medicines remains uncertain.
Drawing from evidence generated through SHARP’s studies across the Great Lakes Region on availability, affordability and stockouts of essential SRH commodities, she highlighted the realities facing women and girls across Africa, from prolonged stockouts of maternal health commodities to the high cost of essential SRH services and growing dependence on fragile external supply chains.
She called for bold, continent-led action:
✔️ Local pharmaceutical production as a pillar of health sovereignty and resilience
✔️ Ring-fenced financing for SRH commodities
✔️ Stronger parliamentary oversight and accountability
✔️ Harmonized regulatory systems through the African Medicines Agency
✔️ Sustainable investments in resilient public health systems
Key Outcome📤: The Lusaka Call to Action adopted nearly 80% of SHARP’s recommendations, with 14 African countries committing to stronger action on access to SRH commodities, health systems resilience, and local manufacturing.
Kenya further committed to strengthening regulatory capacity, advancing the Health Products Authority Bill, and implementing the Primary Health Care Fund.
@dorojuma1
#AdvocacyWins #HealthForAll #UHC
When
@MeTAKenya2018 onboarded the SHARP project, it didn’t begin with answers but with listening.
☑️We listened to county health teams in Isiolo, Marsabit, and Mandera.
☑️We listened to adolescents and youth champions often excluded from policy spaces.
☑️We listened to faith leaders ready to champion protection and dignity in their communities.
From these conversations, we chose a different path.
1⃣We co-created tools with county governments to ensure long-term ownership.
2⃣We strengthened CSOs through grants, mentorship, and institutional capacity building.
3⃣We equipped decision-makers with practical evidence for advocacy and budgeting.
4⃣We brought faith actors together to collectively speak out against harmful norms including FGM.
5⃣We centered adolescents not as participants, but as contributors and co-designers of solutions.
Our SHARP approach was simple: listen first, build together, and strengthen local systems. We are proud of what this approach made possible.
Insights from our engagements with adolescents and young people through the SHARP Project highlighted a critical gap in mental health support. Adolescents called for deeper mental health education and access to youth-friendly counselling services within their communities.
This #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, we urge policymakers and partners to prioritize:
✔️Integration of #mentalhealth into adolescent health programs
✔️Establishment of community-based, youth-friendly centres
✔️ Increased investment in counselling and psychosocial support
#MentalHealthMatters #AdolescentHealth #YouthVoices
Meet Celestine, a young champion from Marsabit who refused to accept the traditional beads that would have marked her readiness for early marriage. Instead, she chose education and is now standing up for other girls in her community.
Today, she is an advocate against FGM and child marriage, proving that when girls are empowered, they become agents of change.
@EUinKenya@HAImedicines
#SHARPtestimonies #HealthyAdolescents #EndEarlyMarriages
“Effective interviewing is a process aimed at uncovering facts, perspectives, and deeper insights.” — Ali Manzu
The media sensitization workshop emphasized the power of intentional, well-researched storytelling in health reporting. Journalists were taken through advanced reporting techniques strengthening skills in research, sourcing credible voices, and crafting compelling, human-centered narratives that go beyond headlines.
The session reinforced the need for accuracy, ethical responsibility, and depth in reporting, ensuring that health stories inform, influence, and drive meaningful change in communities.
Day 2⃣ of the SHARP Project Reflection Meeting kicked off on a high note, with Youth Champions taking center stage to reflect on four years of impact under the SHARP project. Ms. Brenda -
@Mybody_Ke representing the Youth Champions, highlighted the remarkable work led by young people across Mandera, Marsabit, and Isiolo counties.
She shared how youth champions have moved beyond participation to meaningful leadership, actively shaping and driving interventions that address Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) issues in their communities. From being included in key decision-making spaces to collaborating with county officials from the health and gender departments, the youth have played a critical role in advancing community-centered solutions. Their efforts have included leading community engagements, facilitating health facility interface meetings, and organizing joint awareness campaigns that amplify youth voices and promote access to ASRH services.
These experiences demonstrate the power of investing in young people as partners in development, showing that when youth are empowered, they become catalysts for change within their communities.
4⃣ years on, the message is clear: when young people lead, sustainable change follows. ✨
#HealthyAdolescents
While giving his remarks at the SHARP project reflection meeting, Hon. Pepela, Member of Parliamentary Health Committee, rightly noted that political dynamics often prioritize infrastructure over health budgets — yet without a healthy population, no infrastructure can drive national growth.
The goal is clear: affordable, accessible, quality healthcare for every Kenyan. But to get there, we must educate our elected leaders through enriching their ideas on policies and legislation, increasing budgetary allocations, and keeping them on their toes to deliver on the promise of the Constitution.
Today we are participating in a reflection meeting for the Solutions for Supporting Healthy Adolescents and Rights Protection (SHARP) project, looking back at the successes, impact and challenges from four years of implementation.
It’s a bittersweet moment for implementing partners as the project comes to an end. SHARP has driven meaningful change in policy reforms, strengthening health systems and strengthening community agency but most importantly, positioned adolescents at the forefront of decision-making spaces while nurturing champions across all implementing countries.
Stay tuned for highlights from the discussions and key achievements! ✨
#HealthyAdolescents
“In the short period of the SHARP project implementation, our interventions focused on acceleration, rapid response, and sustainability.” — Dorothy Okemo, SHARP Project Coordinator
One of the key sustainable outcomes has been the adoption of a support supervision tool for measuring Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (ASRH) service provision. Following the use of the tool, facility teams developed a 3-month rapid implementation plan to address identified gaps and strengthen the provision of youth-friendly services.
This demonstrates that impact is not only defined by the length of project implementation, but by how intentional and strategic the interventions are in achieving the outcomes we set out to deliver.👏👏
@EUinKenya@EUAmbKenya@eannaso@NANHRI40@Mybody_Ke
#SHARPProject #ASRH #AdolescentHealth
Faith and leadership in action. 🙏
At a recent advocacy engagement in Isiolo County under the SHARP Project, Pastor Musili emphasized the role of faith leaders in advancing adolescent SRH and addressing cultural barriers. His message reinforces the importance of combining evidence and community influence to improve access, financing, and uptake of SRH services for young people.
#RMNCAH #ASRH #IsioloCounty
SHARP project team has convened a CSOs dissemination and learning forum as part of our exit meeting engagements. The CSOs are drawn from Isiolo and Marsabit Counties to share impact of the the work that has been done in the last year of project implementation as a result of the small grants mechanism. Also present are adolescent champions and representatives from the intereligious council. This meeting is critical in documenting outcomes, learning and sharing among the CSOs whom we have engaged as implementing partners throughout the project and develop a joint action plan for continued advocacy and engagement beyond the project period.
#HealthyAdolescents #SHARP4ASRH
As we look back at the RMNCAH and SGBV indicators, we are happy to report great progress against the commitments made at the Multisectoral engagement forum we hosted in Isiolo County in November 2025. Among the great milestones reported and achieved as a result of the SHARP sustained advocacy include:
a) Employment of 230 nurses to fill the human resources of health gap and redistributed across all sub-counties.
b) Purchase of 3 ambulances to serve Merti, Garbatulla and Oldonyiro, to mitigate delayed referrals to Isiolo that caused up to 3-6 hours of delay and contributed to maternal mortality.
c) Review of RMNCAH and ASRH indicators on quarterly basis and adoption of a score card metric to measure indicators, success and follow up based on the colour codes on the status and performance.
d) Training of 45 HCWs on Adolescent friendly services and their commitment to integrate and segregate a corner to offer Adolescent Friendly Services within one month.
This is a testament of the great milestones achieved in Isiolo County attributed directly to SHARP intervention and support in just 3 months.
#HealthyAdolescents #SHARP4AYSRH
