At least 3,000 youths living in Huruma and its environs will now access youth friendly health, HIV and Aids services easily, thanks to a new initiative. The initiative that will be coordinated at Huruma Clinic, is spearheaded by the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) in collaboration with her development partners and the Ministry of Health. The new program aims at creating ‘safe heavens’ to enable the youth access the services in privacy to avoid stigmatization.
Speaking after the launch, NCCK Senior Programs Officer in Charge of Capacity Building, Grace Muthungu said that the initiative is in line with the Council’s mission of extending services to disadvantaged communities. Muthungu urged the youth in the area to take advantage of initiative to know and improve their health status. “I’m sure this initiative will see the youth opening up more since they will no longer be afraid of any form of stigmatization from the community,” she said. Huruma clinic Manager Mbaabu Barine who was present said that the youth will also be empowered through various activities on income generation.
The launch was also attended by Starehe District Medical Officer of Health representative Dr. Felix Musili. Others were representatives from Education Development Centre and University of Maryland. The initiative is an extension of the Comprehensive Care Counseling (CCC) run by the Council.
