African Population and Health Research Center

18/08/2026

In locally led development, the voices and priorities of the community should carry the greatest weight, particularly when shaping an intervention intended to address their lived realities.

In Turkana, the SAFE-T Project, under the ANeSA initiative, is putting this principle into practice by working with communities to co-create approaches to ending child, early, and forced marriage.

From addressing poverty and harmful social norms to engaging men as champions and creating spaces for community-led monitoring, lessons from SAFE-T show that evidence is a starting point, not a prescription.

🔗 Read more: https://buff.ly/1ufJ9v2

By Erick Muge, Communication and Advocacy Officer, and Martha Mukami, Program Officer, NASCOP A quiet revolution is underway in Turkana, Kenya – In the arid plains of northwestern Kenya. It is not led by international NGOs or government decrees but by pastoralists, grandmothers, beadwork artisans,...

17/08/2026

What will it take to scale nutritious and locally sourced school meals across Kenya?

Evidence from and its partners recommends;

✅ Strengthening procurement systems.
✅ Procuring from smallholder farmers and local businesses.
✅ Implementing Policies and approaches that shape school meal choices.

Scaling healthy school meals will improve children’s nutrition and learning outcomes, strengthen local livelihoods, and build resilient food systems.

🔗 Read more: https://buff.ly/2jHVvvP

Earlier this year, in an opinion piece published in The Standard, Dr. Jacqueline Kung’u, Nutrition Scientist at the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), argued that Kenya’s school meals must deliver more than full stomachs. While expanding feeding to more learners is a signific...

14/08/2026

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What should the next generation do to help APHRC thrive for the next 25 years and more?

From being at the table where policy issues are discussed, to embracing innovation, investing in people, and staying committed to evidence that drives change, our team shares their hopes and ideas for APHRC’s future.

🎥 Take a look at what they had to say.

14/08/2026

A 15-minute conversation can change an adolescent's future. Yet in refugee and host communities, those conversations are often blocked by cultural norms, gender dynamics, and social stigma.

The APHRC’s CONNECT Project is changing that, and we have the evidence to prove it.

Join us for a webinar which will unpack new baseline and formative findings from Southwestern and Northern Uganda.

The session will cover:
🔹 What’s working (and what’s not)
🔹 The barriers we can no longer ignore
🔹 How communities co-designed the solution
🔹 What this means for policy and programming
🗓️ Aug 19, 2026 | 3:00–5:00 PM EAT
💻 Virtual

Register now: https://buff.ly/sKR6NXO

13/08/2026

As global resistance to gender equality grows, African research and policy institutions have a role to play in generating evidence, shaping policies, and keeping gender equity at the center of Africa’s development agenda.

In our latest blog, ’s Dr. Lucy A. Wakiaga and Lydia Namatende-Sakwa explore why stronger African leadership, locally grounded research, and evidence-informed policymaking are needed to advance gender equity and protect hard-won gains for women and girls.

🔗 Read the blog: https://aphrc.org/advancing-gender-equity-in-africa-amidst-global-backlash-the-urgent-case-for-african-research-and-policy-institutions-leadership/

Introduction Across the world, efforts to advance gender equity are at a crossroads. After decades of progress, a resurgence of anti-rights movements, political polarization, and shrinking civic space is reversing hard-won gains. Global funding for gender equality is shrinking, policy commitments ar...

13/08/2026

Join us today as ’s Sofia Jomo, MSc, joins a panel of experts in the Africa Food Systems (AFS) Forum, "Women in Food Systems" Webinar Series. She will be discussing "Equality and Inclusion in Food System Policies: Perspectives from Eastern Africa."

Drawing from her recently published research, "Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Food Systems Transformation Pathways: Evidence from Eastern Africa," She will also highlight how inclusive policies can accelerate food systems transformation and contribute to achieving regional development commitments.

📅 Date: August 13, 2026
🕒 Time: 2:00 PM (EAT)
📍 Platform: Zoom

🔗 Register for the webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CoU970KxQ_CND6oTDldipQ #/registration

12/08/2026

How do factors such as displacement, food insecurity, social support, and other stressors compound mental health outcomes in Nairobi’s urban informal settlements following flooding (extreme precipitation)?

’s Wellcome Trust -Funded Weather Events and Mental Health Analysis (WEMA) study revealed that 1 in 2 adults in Mukuru Kwa Reuben screened positive for at least one common mental health condition, while 43.6% screened positive for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These findings speak to how extreme weather events affect mental health and wellbeing among vulnerable populations in Africa.

Today’s workshop brought together Nairobi County, national administration, community researchers, and community representatives from Mukuru Kwa Reuben to explore these pathways, bring research findings into conversation with lived experiences, and consider what they mean for action.

12/08/2026

Today, we celebrate , and this year’s theme is ‘Different Contexts, Common Aspirations’.

As part of the Kenya Young Adolescents Gender Norms Survey, we recently asked young adolescents in Nairobi and Marsabit one question: “What do you dream of, and how might being a boy or girl get in the way?” Using paper and colored pencils, they shared their thoughts.

Five digital stories! Two very different settings! One shared aspiration and a future hopefully not narrowed by gender.

Watch the series:

Young adolescents in Nairobi and Marsabit answered this question through digital storytelling — sharing, in their own words and images, how gender shapes the...

12/08/2026

Nearly half of Kenya's population is under 20. Adolescents aged 10–14 alone make up 13% of the country, and it is this window, early adolescence, where gender norms harden fastest.

Research shows that gender shapes exposure to violence early, and girls face higher rates of sexual violence, while for boys higher rates of physical violence are often disguised as discipline or masculinity training.

But the reverse is also true: adolescents who hold more equitable gender attitudes do better- healthwise, in school, and in the long term as adults.

Read more about how the Kenya Young Adolescents Gender Norms Survey is mapping values and attitudes among young people across the country: https://aphrc.org/publication/gender-norms-in-early-adolescence-in-kenya/

APHRC is a premier research-to-policy institution, generating evidence, strengthening research and related capacity in the African research and development ecosystem, and engaging policy to inform action on health and development.

12/08/2026

Did you know Kenya has a human milk bank?

Established at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, it is the country’s first human milk bank, providing an important source of safe donor human milk for newborns in need.

Human milk banking has moved beyond the pilot stage and is becoming part of newborn care in Kenya, giving babies who need donor human milk a better chance at a healthy start.

But how did we get here? What has Kenya learned along the way? And what does the future of human milk banking look like? researchers Sofia Jomo and Antonina Mutoro explore these questions in our latest blog, “Human Milk Banking in Kenya: Progress, Promise and Persistent Questions.”

Read the blog and follow us for the story behind Kenya’s first human milk bank.🔗 https://aphrc.org/human-milk-banking-in-kenya-progress-promise-and-persistent-questions/

Breast milk is nature’s perfect food for infants as it contains all the nutrients a baby needs for the first six months of life, along with immune boosting antibodies that protect against illness. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breast milk continues to meet about half of a child...