Women's Health Education Program (WHEP)


Program Background

The Women's Health and Education Program (WHEP) is a new program at CAN, with the mission of helping women in Western Kenya better understand mechanisms by which to maintain their own health and that of their families.The long-term goal of this program is to contribute to positive health outcomes in the region.It is run as a collaboration with the Kenyan Alliance for Rural Empowerment, a grassroots organization that has been our partner for several years.The program was formally launched in September of 2011, employing one full time teacher, PeninahAyoti. She is an experienced Women's Health educator from Western Kenya, who conducts educational sessions in the local language.

This subject matter is very taboo in Western Kenya; consequently, there are few safe spaces in which to spread knowledge of the female body, proper nutrition, how to care for newborn babies, or to advocate for women's health. Women are more likely to contract and spread sexually-transmitted illnesses, and they oftenlack control over the number and timing of children they bear. Children are more likely to die during childbirth, and those that survive childbirth are more likely to be malnourished and suffer from preventable illnesses.In Kenya, 43% of women report that their husbands alone make decisions regarding their healthcare; one in thirty-nine women die in childbirth over the course of their lives, and HIV rates among women are double those of men . Providing access to information about their own bodiesenablesparticipants to better take care of themselves and their families, which is an empowering skillset. The program also provides a safe space where questions can be aired and discussed freely.

Seminars are requested by local women's groups, schools,and/or the district hospital, and they are held in the locality over a 4 day period, for about 3 hours per day. Topics for the program include:
  1. Female anatomy
  2. Menstrual cycle
  3. Pregnancy
  4. Breastfeeding
  5. Family planning
    UNICEF (2008).State of the World's Children 2009.Maternal and Newborn Health. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/sowc09/report/report.php
  6. Illnesses common in women
  7. STIs (including HIV)
  8. Nutrition
  9. Women's rights and violence against women
  10. Prevention and response to Sex and Gender Based Violence

While there are some variations in program implementation, the general layout is as follows:
  • The first day of the Women’s Health Education Program involves introductions and a program explanation. Topics covered on the first day include female anatomy, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and breastfeeding.
  • The second day covers family planning. This includes the benefits of family planning as well as the methods of family planning including natural, barrier, hormonal and permanent methods, which are discussed along with demonstrations of proper use. Prevailing myths about family planning methods are addressed.
  • The third day covers illnesses common in women such as clogged milk ducts, yeast infections, breast cancer, cervical cancer and pelvic inflammatory disease. Sexually transmitted infections are also discussed with some emphasis on HIV.
  • The fourth day covers nutrition, women’s rights and violence against women. Materials and staff from the Sex and Gender Based Violence program are brought in to discuss the institutional resources available to local women to prevent and respond to violence, and any cases requiring further attention are referred to the center. Women’s legal and human rights to make decisions regarding their health and wellbeing are discussed in light of the preceding three days’ discussion. Women’s groups are also assisted in registering with the Ministry of Social Services. This involves helping the women elect officials, decide on a mission, write their constitution, and start their own bank account. This is critical to ensure that the women continue meeting and discussing issues as a cohesive group, and grants them access to government support programs.


CAN members Crystal Scialla and Cassia Cearly at
a graduation of program attendees in 2010

Project Impact
  • Several of the graduates from the program used their training to obtain jobs as community health workers, thus further contributing to resources available to the community to improve health outcomes.
  • Program participants reported that based on what they learned about nutrition and the importance of iron, they have increased their intake of foods rich in iron and other minerals, and have started going to local health centers to get supplements in iron and folic acids.
  • Several women reported that, based on what they learned in the program a bout pre and post natal care, they attended the local maternity clinics and delivered their babies at the local hospitals rather than at home. Their women’s groups have also begun advocating for other pregnant women in their community to attend prenatal clinics, again based on what they learned from the program.
  • This program stresses the importance of breast milk to child development, and several women have mentioned that they are now weaning babies at 6 months whereas prior to the program they were weaning as early as 2 weeks after birth.
  • Program graduates are now able to recognize the signs of several illnesses common in females, including STIs, and are now seeking treatment earlier when these signs are recognized.
  • Visits to the local clinic confirmed that the number of women seeking treatment increased substantially.
  • As the program is centred on close, personal, interaction with women in rural communities, it has often provided a forumfor discussing ways of addressing the high prevalence of violence against women in the community.


Give the gift this holiday season of an open forum for women to discuss health issues that concern them
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