Kenya | Sexual & Reproductive Health | Key Populations

Key Achievements

• Infographic: Distributed 100 SRH infographics and leaflets among FSWs to improve health literacy.
  
• Radio interview: Scheduled radio interview on Spice FM to raise awareness of FSW health challenges.
  
• Article: Publication in The Standard Media highlighting FSW perspectives.
  
• Abstracts: Submitted abstracts to the 3rd African Workshop on Women & HIV 2026 (Cape Town) and the 16th International Workshop on Women & HIV (Hybrid, Prague) to share findings internationally.
  
• Community engagement: Built trust with FSW communities through co-designed tools and peer educator collaboration, producing authentic and culturally grounded narratives.
  
• Storytelling: Enhanced accessibility of technical SRH information through storytelling, relatable scenarios, and simplified terminology.

In Nairobi’s informal and commercial spaces, female sex workers make daily decisions about sexual and reproductive health while navigating stigma, risk, and limited access to care.

The project explored how women negotiate condom use, HIV testing, and STI care, centring lived experience to challenge stereotypes and inform more inclusive health communication.

Using in-depth interviews, focus groups, and collaboration with peer educators, evidence from SRH programmes and UNAIDS resources informed accessible, community-grounded storytelling.

Engagement with FSW communities prioritised trust and confidentiality through peer-led sessions, while outputs including infographics, a radio interview, and a feature in national publication, The Standard, extended insights to wider audiences. Abstracts submitted to international Women & HIV conferences positioned the work for global dialogue.

Feedback from participants indicated that the approach fostered empowerment, visibility, and knowledge-sharing within their networks.

“A key turning point was realizing that co-creation with FSW peer educators was not just consultation but essential to designing tools that reflect lived realities. This shifted the project from researcher-led to community-shaped, improving relevance, trust, and potential impact.”