In November, the Kenyan capital Nairobi played host to a three-day summit to mark the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). On the sidelines of the event, APHRC led a consortium of global advocacy and technical agencies  in convening over 300 young activists from 50 countries for a skill building workshop. We aimed to ground them in the ICPD agenda, and build the advocacy skills needed to accelerate the promise of achieving the targets in the agenda. Our impact was felt as we equipped the youth with the necessary skills to effectively  participate in  decision-making about their health and wellbeing.

In 2019, we also began to curve out a path as knowledge partners for the Southern Africa Development Community  (SADC) and East African Community (EAC). We contributed to  dialogue on new regional policies on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights providing insights into the barriers faced by young people and, sexual and gender minorities in their quest to access sexual reproductive health services. Through this process, we worked hand in hand to develop the SADC scorecard, and contributed to the guidance for the EAC- SRHR policy.

"Since our Human Milk Bank launched this year, we have had 380 donors, and we have donated to 80 recipient babies who have benefited from the bank."

Through our Immunization Advocacy Initiative (IAI), we have weaved a pan-African web of advocates committed to universal access to immunization as a fundamental requirement for stronger, more resilient health systems and, by extension, societies.

This year, not only did we co-create a research agenda with these civil society networks, but with our support, they finally embarked on implementing their advocacy strategies to push for more domestic resources for immunization programs. 

"My research project looks at how to improve the mental
wellbeing among university students through the development of an app. It’s an expensive venture that I would never have gone into without the support from CARTA."

2019 was a year of monumental infrastructural growth for the Center. November marked a milestone for the institution as we launched the Ulwazi Place, our new residential training facility. However, our growth not only extended within Kenya, but beyond. We officially cemented our presence  in  West Africa, through a new regional office in Dakar, Senegal marking the culmination of our expansion efforts into the region after nearly two decades of research across the continent.

"In November, APHRC opened its doors to Ulwazi Place, our new residential training facility.  This marked a pivotal moment for the institution as it affirmed our conviction that improvements in research capacity will contribute to improvements in the health and socio-economic status of the African population through the utilization and application to policy of evidence-based recommendations."

As part of our holistic approach to improving learning outcomes for the urban poor, we began expanding the scope of an initiative for adolescent girls to transition to secondary school,  to include boys for the first time. Though the project was initially targeted at young girls, engagements with community members, schools, and community-based organizations, pointed to the need for the inclusion of boys hence the shift to encompass both.

"Although WHO recommends that the milk banks be set up, Kenya is just the second country, after South Africa, to establish a human milk bank in sub-Saharan Africa. We hope that human milk banking will be scaled up in Kenya and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, using the evidence we generate from our research."