 Thank you so much for sticking to Y254 TV. Right now we are in the Christmas season and I want to wish you happy holidays. I'm coming to you live from KBC and this is the Power Talk Show. My name is Sheryl Blessing. Now on this show, last week we were handling a conversation on parenting teenagers and we were focused on the sexual perspective because most teenagers are very sexually active these days. We wanted to understand how can we parent them, such that we give them the proper education and the proper information that will help them in making these decisions. And this evening we want to continue this discussion because so many people said they would love to hear more about this. So we are focused on sexual and reproductive health. We want to talk about what pertains it. We focus on the women especially because women deal with more sexual and reproductive health issues. So we want to address that, understand how can we do better, how can we learn better, and how can we get the right information to make decisions about our sexual partners and our sexual activity. And joining me live on set today is Bridget Mudoni who is the project manager at Kenya Girls Health Ed. Karibusana Bridget, how are you? Yeah, thank you so much and I'm happy to be here. It's very lovely to have you as well. I'm so happy to be hosting a fellow woman because I want us to discuss this issue especially with someone like you who's been doing it for so many years. You have been advocating for sexual and reproductive health and rights from as early as 2017, right? Yes, I have. Yes. So I want us to get more information through this conversation and I want to engage with you as well. So go on our social media platforms which is at Y254. We've made a post and I want to hear your questions. I want to hear some of the comments you have regarding this conversation. This is something that we all need to actively be talking about, especially as young adults, as the youth and even the older generation. So I want us to understand better, do you really know what it means for you to take care of your sexual and reproductive health? How much information do you have on this subject and what can we add that is going to inform you in making better decisions going forward. Maybe in regards to family planning, maybe in regards to your reproductive health and even sexual health. So I want us to start the conversation by maybe introducing the topic. What would you define as a sexual and reproductive health? Okay, thank you so much. My name is Brigitte Moudoni. I'm the Kenya program manager, Carl Selved. And when you talk about sexual, productive health, people just assume it's all about sex. But unfortunately, that's just a perception. It entails the physical, mental, and physiological well-being of a human being. So it's the general well-being of who you are. So it's all about sex, but rather everything that entails in your life, be it in terms of hygiene, be it in terms of sickness, are you okay, mentally are you okay? That's all about sexual and productive health. And then when you dive down into it, now that's when you break down into different segments and different parts of the sexual and productive health. Nice, that was very clear. Because the truth is, most people just assume you're talking about sex, the activity, but there is so much that goes into that. And every single person has a reproductive system, be it male or female. So we need to understand how it functions and how we can best take care of our health overall. And it's not just appertaining to that. And there's the rights perspective. So there's the human rights that are tied to the sexual and reproductive health. So what is the importance of knowing and understanding this concept? So everybody needs to understand, as early as the age of eight, because that's when young people start developing the puberty. They start showing the signs of puberty. So they need to understand what's happening to their bodies. And unfortunately, you find that most children don't know. They just see maybe breast development, or they feel like the voice have changed for boys, they see pen enlargement, but they don't really understand as much as it's in the curriculum for the 844, such as classics, but they still don't understand what is happening. So it's really important for these kids to get to understand what are the changes that are happening to the bodies and how they're supposed to perceive, not only physically, but also emotionally, because there's also the emotional changes that they experience. And that's very true. What you've said is we have the sexual reproductive education within the system, but it's just touching on it. It just introduces you to the system, and I want us to focus on the health aspect of it first, and then we can get into the rights. So the sexual reproductive system is introduced at class eight. For most people, it's in science, but then it introduces you to the changes that you undergo through adolescence, but there is no help or aid through that. And that is partly what we were talking about last week. The fact that it's just a limited perspective of what it really entails, because the changes do not just affect you physically. It's mental and emotional, and most people find it hard to deal with that transition. So how do you help adolescents transition and understand what is going on in their body better? Okay, the people who are mostly affected by the changes are girls. They're body shamed because they're told maybe you don't look good, or maybe their breasts have developed and then they're like, they're big or they're too small. So the boys around them, they're laughing. When they experience menstruation, there's also the stigma, and they don't understand really what's happening to them. So they're period shamed. That's where menstrual health and it comes in. So what really needs to be done is that they need to be explained in details, and that's why comprehensive sex educations come into place. It doesn't mean that we talk of comprehensive sex education, we're also talking about sense, but rather it can start small. An example, let's say you have a young kid of three years. When you tell that kid of yours, let's say it's a baby girl, you tell her, you know what, baby or mom, you know what, when somebody hugs you, it's not okay. Or when you tell them, when somebody hugs, shakes you. Remember a while back when you hand shake somebody and then they scratch your hand and that feeling, it's really irritating. But you can tell them maybe don't have a shake because you can contract jumps. That kid you've taught them that they should not hand shake. For you, it's all about sex and reproductive health, but for them they'll think I should not do this because they'll contract jumps to my body. You have taught them something. When you tell them don't go hugging, don't go kissing, anybody will find a cross. Because even as parents, you know, we are the ones who contribute some of these challenges. Like you show too much love to your child. You hug them, you kiss them everywhere and yes, it's good, you're their parents. But there's too much into it and when they grow with it, with them, then they learn that it's normal. And so even when they are doing it as they grow up, they think that it's normal and so they continue with the practice. But when you tell them as early as, you know what, you should not, you shouldn't do this. And not in a strict way, but always show them the impact that it will have once they do that act. Then they grow knowing that this is not good. I should, I should do one, two, three. And so when they are going up, they'll understand. And then you have to have them comprehensive multiplication. So yes, we should start small and then we go building up as they grow. So by the time they are reaching puberty, these kids will be able to understand who they are. Not only the physical aspect, but also emotionally. They'll be able to understand themselves. And then when they are faced with this, when they are faced, when they start experiencing puberty, they will understand that this is what is happening. I'm supposed to do one, two, three. This is how I'm supposed to control my emotions. This is how I'm supposed to act when this happens. And through that, we'll eradicate period shaming. We'll also eradicate the issue of body image because most people, especially women and girls, they have issues to do with the way they look. Body image and self esteem. And that brings down their self esteem. So we should build that up as early as the age of three. So you should start teaching your kids when they are small and then you go building up small by some year. And that's your echoing something our guest from last week said. When you start at an early age, then you give them information because body shaming is not just something that happens internally. Your friends will body shame you. You may be an early bloomer or a late bloomer, but because you do not really understand what that entails, we've experienced, I've had friends who, because their breasts were growing earlier than others, she was being shamed because of that. And she grew with the shame of it because she didn't really have a safe space to open up and help her understand that. So you're saying it's very important for parents to start at a very early age, but how can you make it simpler for the children to understand? The way you're saying, you know, something as simple as the handshake with the scratching, that's something that is triggering sexual activity. But because we weren't warned and we weren't told of that, we grew up understanding that, oh, some people just do this. And it can lead to cases where people are being sexually exploited. There is the assault that can come in because of the lack of knowledge, lack of information. A very small percentage is told by the parents, this and this is what goes on. But how can we help the parents of today? Because we have the different generations as well. How can we help the parents of today to understand how to make it simpler for the children to understand sexual education and how to, even for the guys, you know, we have to involve the men into this conversation. How can you talk to maybe a four-year-old boy and explain that at some point, this and this is going to grow and your voice is going to break and you have to be careful how you handle women and ladies and things like that? So I'll quote Mama Rachel Ruto. As she said back in the Climate Summit, that education through knowledge and skills is the way to go. So education doesn't have to be that of books and it doesn't have to be that complex, but the small things, when you're having discussions, when you're playing with your kid, you can quote some of the things in a simpler term that the kids can understand. Also, social media, it's the thing that's going technology. Everything we're doing nowadays, it's all about tech. So we can leverage on technology. We can also incorporate comprehensive sex education in schools. Unfortunately, in terms of government, they feel like we want to teach kids about sex, which is not the case, but we have a lot of NGOs that are in place and as girls have heard, all we do is all about train young people on comprehensive sex education and we end up with girls as young as the age of eight, all the way. So we start from the point of known. You get to understand where, what does this kid know? And then from there, you're able to build and know what you can pass, how you can pass the information and then the rest follows. Then for the younger ones at home, parents, let's engage with us children because we know that parenting is all about providing, but unfortunately, apart from providing, also this kid needs to feel safe. So they need you to provide security and affection. But when you're providing security, make sure you also give them information that can assist them because you don't always spend time with your child. You would work during the day, she's at school or he's at school. So what happens? What if that kid is bullied? What if that kid is sexually harassed? Then what happens? So you need to pass the information. So that even when they are out there by themselves, they can be able to protect themselves. But again, as I said, you need to start small. Start from the point of known and relay information to kids according to their age. Don't bombard too much information because kids, yes, they can hold too much information, but some of the information may get, it can, yes, lost in translation. So yes, parents also need to play a role. Remember teachers as they can do as much as they can. They had so many children. So it's also our role as parents to also relay this information, spend time with your child, get to understand them, get to know what they want. And some of these children, imagine even from Thomas that they experience from home, they get to be violent. An example, you can find somebody who is violent, a man who is violent to a woman. But when you follow up, yes, you can hold them accountable, they can be jailed and all that. But when you follow up, you find that maybe when he was young, the parents used to fight a lot. And the only way he understood is that, in order for you to relay information to a woman, you need to batter, you need to beat them. So now then you start blaming that man, but the problem is not that. So you need to dig deep and find out the root cause of why this person is doing that. As much as you're talking about justice and all that. So parents, let's also play our role in our children's life. That's very well said because so many people, so many professionals have told us the way you raise a child, what they see you doing as a parent is what they will do out there with their friends and at school and everything. So we need to be very careful, the message that we're sending and the actions that we do. So in regards to sexual health, we have UTIs that come up as well as STIs. And most times we focus on the STIs and neglect the UTIs. And I came to realize recently there are some men who do not even have an understanding of what yeast infection or like a bacterial infection is. So how can we teach these people? Because I also don't remember being taught about a UTI in school. I remember, you know, sometimes you contract something and you're wondering what's going on with me and you're told this happens and it's because of maybe unsanitary toilets or some other things that can bring about that. But how can we incorporate this in our, maybe in our curriculum or within our families such that people understand from a very young age, children understand how to take care of their bodies and their reproductive systems to avoid cases of UTIs and STIs? Hygiene, hygiene is the key. Okay, so you need to start telling the kid from, remember during COVID, people did a lot of hand washing, okay? But nowadays, how many people hand wash? How many people sanitize? And unfortunately, we spread a lot of bacteria through hand shaking and through our hands. So I need to tell your kid to always wash their hands whenever they can, as many times as possible, before you touch your face, before you go to the washroom, after washroom, before eating, always wash your hands. And then body hygiene, always bath, at least once. For a young child, once is enough. But as the kid grows, they need to know that you should shower at least twice a day. Okay, because in the morning, you've showered and then you spend a, you day out there, but then your clothes collect a lot of germs. So what happens then? You come back, you sleep in the same bed, tomorrow the same thing happens, the other day the same thing happens. And then you find that some of the bacteria are touching your bed. So with time, you may find yourself contracted disease from the bed sheets, and yet, you say that you shower and all that. So hygiene is the key. We should keep our environment clean, we should keep our bodies clean, keep everything around us clean. That is the way. And then also, in terms of hygiene, there is a way we should shower. As men, as women, there's a procedure of how we should shower and the detergents that we use. An example, a woman is not supposed to use a scented soap when you're cleaning, especially your private baths. But most people don't know that, that when you use a scented soap and you clean your private area, you might end up wearing out the bacteria that protects you from contracting diseases or receiving bacteria from your body. So most people shower and then you find yourself, you have yeast infection or candinda, which is not, it's a sexually transmitted infection, but it happens when the bacteria in the entrance of your vagina, then it's worn out. So people need to understand that, how do you clean your panty? How do you wash your bra? And then for men, also men, you find that they contract UTIs to women not because they don't shower, but how do they shower? They don't clean their private baths nicely, and then you sleep with that person and then their body, their private part comes to contact with yours. And then you find yourself, you have contracted UTI, yet he's not cheating and you're not cheating. So hygiene, the way we clean ourselves, the way we keep the environment around us clean, that really matters a lot. So we should always consider the hygiene in our areas. And do you have classes or programs that teach this to women and men out there? Because you know as much as perhaps some people were never taught as children, and now they've grown up with the lack of information and they don't even actively seek the information. So they're not even aware. Most men are not even aware they can be carriers of UTIs. I realize that by discussing with some people about this conversation, most of them do not know they can be the ones who are transmitting the UTIs to the women because of their hygiene habits, or sometimes because they have other sexual partners. So how can we educate the people today? Do you have programs in place for that? Or do you have any social media activations that can help people understand this better? Yes, we do. So girls have that is all about women. So it's for women, by women. But we also incorporate men, especially in Kenya. You find that the need, when you go to the ground, things are different. So as much as you're talking about men, we also need, as much as you're talking about women, we also find that men involvement is very important because some of the issues that women are experiencing, they come from men. Therefore, we try to engage men wherever we can in these issues, and we have programs on going. So we have some programs that we do in schools and others at the community level. We are bi, we mobilize, we go around, then mostly girls, we talk to them. But when we find that the issues that are happening are caused by men, we also invite men to come over and then listen to what we have to say. And from there, they'll have a better understanding. Like an example, I was in Kuala County, this school where bisect trafficking is very common, within that area. So children, when they start showing signs of puberty, then you find them. So the parents move them to the road and they are supposed to service drivers along the way. And then they get 25 shillings for every guy you service. And then that money, the kid can service after four men, okay? Then that money is to be taken home to provide food. But then when I talk to the kids, I got to listen to some of the issues they're experiencing. So they saw that the issue is not even with their children, but other their parents. So I had to call the parents to come over and I also had to listen to them. And a funny thing, the men were the most active in that program. That we don't know, we don't know this happens. We don't know this. Our women don't want to engage us. So also open conversation with your partner, be it your husband, your boyfriend, as long as they are your intimate partner, you need to be open. Family planning, reproductive health, it's something that you experience, not only you as a woman, but you experience the both of you. It's an issue of two people, as long as you have a partner. So you need to sit down, talk with your partner, let them understand your point of view. Cause again, we talk that women have rights to their productive health. But then if you don't let your partner know, that one, two, three happens, then what happens? They just assume and they do the things the way they had or the way they know they are done, but they act that from a point of unknown. So when you make them known, then they start acting from there and they can help us a lot in solving some of these challenges. Yes. And it's very sad to hear about the sexual trafficking case which we'll come back to as we progress with the discussion. So the way you've said, sometimes as a woman, you can be taking care of your sexual and your reproductive health. You're on top of things. Your hygiene is okay. You're really following up. But then with the men, they may not have the information. So it's important to bring in both men and women into this. When you're at home, I hope you're really listening. If you're sexually active, if you have a sexual partner, it's very important for both of you to have this conversation because it affects both men and women. Unfortunately, women are affected more because our system is more open than with the men. So the conversation is usually focused on the women more. But even when we talk about contraceptives, women are forced to compromise more than the men. And that's a conversation that probably needs to be had because most times when you tell men to use condoms, they will tell you they have allergies or whatnot. And then women are forced to have to take contraceptives without even the proper information on the impact on their hormones, the impact on their reproductive health. So at what point, maybe if you have a sexual partner, at what point should you start discussing contraceptives and what you're willing to do such that you can both get to an understanding before you become sexually active? As early as the moment you feel that that relationship is getting serious. Because you find that an issue of hormone imbalance. When you ask that question, what is hormone imbalance? What happens? The moment a woman starts using contraceptives and they're not even aware the side effects of these contraceptives. Because people know of the basic contraceptives like dipole, implant, pills, and coil. But other than that, you don't know any other form of contraception. So they go to the doctor and they're like, you know what, give me that one for three months or do an implant or something. But they have not even understood the effects of this contraceptive. They don't know that you're first supposed to go to the hospital. You learn different methods of contraceptive. And then after you understand, you're supposed to take a test whereby the doctor is supposed to assess your hormones versus the contraceptives that are available. And then from there, he or she can guide you on which methods are best for you as a person. Then from there, and they're supposed to advice you both short term and long term because you have short term methods and long term methods. So they're supposed to give you options of short term and long term. Then from there, you're supposed to discuss with your partner, the method should be best for you. Out of the three, they are supposed to give you at least three methods. Then from those three methods, they're supposed to discuss with your partner. You know what, these are the options that the doctor have given me. Which one is good for both of us? But unfortunately, people just go to the hospitals and they ask for, you know, just give me contraceptive, whichever is available. They are given then the issues of hormone imbalance. You find that men are complaining and even they have to go out of relationship to try and get the pleasure that they are missing from this relationship. So these discussions are supposed to happen. The moment you feel that this relationship is getting serious, before even become sexually active, you need to sit down, discuss with your partner and then you go to the hospital, you get the treatment that you're required, you take those tests, then you can get advice. Then from there, you can know which method you can use even before you're sexually active because the moment you're in a relationship, the bug is used to a certain pattern. Then when you want to break that pattern, then it becomes awkward. Okay, so even before this person gets used to, just start that conversations, then take the necessary test and then get advice. That's the way to go. And are there any known male contraceptives aside from condoms? I know there's been some research on things that can be used on the males to help with the contraceptives, but is there anything in the market right now that the men can use to help them? Yes, there is. Unfortunately, they're not in Kenya. A few private hospitals have the male contraceptives. They're very expensive, but yes, they are in the market and hopefully they will be cheap as time goes by. But yes, they are. Otherwise, the only viable option right now is vasectomy. Is that permanent? No, vasectomy is reversible, but if a man takes vasectomy, let's say today is going to undergo the procedure, they need to stay three months before now the vasectomy is active. So that means for the three months, the woman also needs to continue using contraceptives because the moment you engage in sexual intercourse, within those three months without using contraceptives, there's a possibility that the woman may become pregnant. Again, this is information that is not relayed. So you think that you take vasectomy but the woman needs to use contraceptives for three months before now it becomes. It becomes active. But you say that what you're saying, this is information that is not made known to public or I don't know if we are the ones at fault because we don't really ask our doctors, but this is something that needs to be known because you can get pregnant. You know, unfortunately in the society we're in, you can get expectant through that and then the man can blame you and say that you went outside without really understanding that it's probably because it's not active yet. So could you explain vasectomy a bit better to us because most people know that it's just something that's cut and it makes men scared. So many people hear the conversation and they're like, no, there's no way we're doing that. Could you help us understand a bit better what vasectomy is? Yeah, there's a difference between vasectomy and castration. Now castration is whereby the tubes that connect the balls from now the urethra, now that one, it's cut, but for vasectomy they just tied and that's why vasectomy is reversible. So they are tied such that the spams cannot, you'll get semen, it will come out but spams they will not come out. That's how a woman doesn't become pregnant and then when you feel like you're ready to now start getting kids, then that procedure is reversible but for castration the tubes are cut completely. That means you cannot. So there's the difference. I feel like most people assume it's castration and they hear, oh my God, you're not going near my tubes. What if I want to have children 10 years later? So I hope you've understood that. I think we need more information. We need to seek more information on these contraceptives because that's something I wasn't even aware of. So it's reversible because they just tie the tubes and once you're ready to have children you can open it up. And I think that's very important to know because as you said, women experience hormonal imbalance and there's so many impacts of having contraceptives because some people will gain weight. Some people just have mood swings over and over again. Some people even the menstrual flow is interrupted and changed completely. So why is it important to have this conversation at the onset to avoid any issues? Especially let's talk about people who want to start families. Let's say they just want to get married but they're not sure if they want kids for the next one or two years because something like freezing the eggs I also came to find out is not a guarantee that once you unfreeze them you'll have children. So why is it important to discuss this as well as understand when you want to have children with your partner? Yeah, it's very important because as I had mentioned earlier the issue of hormonal imbalance we experience because family planning these things that we take they are man-made and nothing man-made is 100%. Actually the method that is most effective is condom. Unfortunately for married couples or people who are in a long-term commitment they feel that condom is not an option. So they have to use other methods but now you also need to understand the hormones. As women you have estrogen and progesterone. Progesterone is common in both men and women. So what happens with this contraceptive when you consume them they increase progesterone in your body and suppress estrogen. That causes hormonal imbalance. For some people you find that the experience sporting excessive bleeding more since it varies from one person to another. And then there's a difference also between short-term and long-term. And you find that long-term are way more preferred or prescribed by the doctors rather than short-term because you find that the amount of hormones in short-term methods, let's say depol let me use that example. Depol, it's a three month injection. So the amount of hormone that is in that depol can be the same amount of hormone in an implant of three years. Okay, so you find that the short-term methods you consume a lot of hormones in your body that affect you more than when you use a long-term method. And that's why we should go to the hospital we get tested. And then once the doctor knows the amount of hormones you have in your body they can be able to advise which can be the best method for you according to your body. Unfortunately you find that you go ask the women when you're having conversations they're like, I use this, it works best. And so I feel like, ah, my friend told me this so why should I not go and try that? And then I use, and you find that that person is experiencing challenges in their relationship, fine. So always go to the hospital, ask questions as master as you can and then let the doctor take those tests because they are important and they can advise. That way you'll be able even to decide and then if you want to have kids maybe let's say one year, two year the doctor can prescribe for you which is the best method according to all these questions and terms that you have that's the way we're supposed to go about it. It's important for you to do the tests first then you can decide on the contraceptive. Yes. So I want us to take a very short break when we come back I want us to find out where can we find this? Like where do we need to go? That's probably affordable for the common monarchy to get the test as well as STIs, FGM and all these things about sexual trafficking. We want to have that conversation once we come back from the break. So stay tuned to Y254 TV and meanwhile go on our social media platforms which is at Y254. Ask me any question, send a comment anything that you feel like will add value to the conversation and I will sample that once we come back from our break. So stay tuned, this is the Power Talk Show and I am Sherrily Blessing.