Annual report

Annual Report 2024

The year ARI registered formally as a community-based organisation, scaled into Nyando Sub-county, and submitted our first county budget memorandum.

Published December 2024Afya Rights InitiativeKisumu, KenyaARI-AR-2024v1.0≈ 28 min readCC BY-NC 4.0

Foreword

When ARI began in 2020, our entire infrastructure was a pooled monthly bundle and a notebook. Four years later, we are a registered community-based organisation operating across four sub-counties of Kisumu, with documented programme indicators, a governance structure, audited income and expenditure, a written safeguarding policy, and, for the first time, a formal seat at county budget consultations.

2024 is the year that scaffolding got built. The programmes inside it remain the same work we always did: walking with adolescent girls and young women through the moments that determine the next ten years of their lives. What changed is that we now have the structure to do that work at scale, to report it honestly, and to be held to account for the difference between what we said we would do and what we actually did.

This report is our attempt at that account. The numbers are ours. Where we use national or county figures for comparison, we cite them. Where we estimate, we say so. Nothing here has been smoothed for the reader's comfort.

- The Afya Rights Initiative team

Section 1

Executive summary

2,140

Adolescents and young women directly reached across the year (programme records, indicative)

4 / 7

Sub-counties of Kisumu where ARI now has standing programme presence

KES 14.6m

Indicative income recognised across the year (un-audited)

Public consultations and county forums attended in a representational capacity

Section 2

The year in numbers

The numbers below summarise programme activity across 2024. They are drawn from ARI's internal monitoring system, cross-checked against partner reports where applicable. Where a metric is partially attributable to a partner co-implementer we say so.

Table 1. 2024 programme activity by area (indicative)

Programme area	Direct reach	Sessions / contacts	Sub-counties	Notes
SRHR information & peer education	1180	412 sessions	Kisumu Central, East, West, Nyando	Includes 38 school-linked sessions
GBV response & accompaniment	184	412 contacts	All four sub-counties	Includes 41 rapid-response cases
Girls' education & retention	612	9 schools	Nyando + Kisumu West	Co-implemented with two partner schools
Policy & advocacy	-	11 forums attended	County-wide	First budget memorandum submitted
Total direct reach (de-duplicated)	2140	-	-	Indicative; some overlap across programmes

Source: ARI internal monitoring records, January – December 2024.

Figure 1. 2024 direct reach by programme area (indicative)

SRHR information & peer education1180 people

Girls' education & retention612 people

GBV response & accompaniment184 people

Other (advocacy training, partner work)164 people

Source: ARI internal monitoring, 2024.

Section 3

The context we work in

ARI works in a county and a region where adolescent SRHR need is both well-documented and persistent. KDHS 2022 records the highest regional rate of adolescent childbearing in Kenya in Nyanza, where Kisumu sits^[1]. The county's CIDP III commits to expanded adolescent-friendly health provision^[2], and the National ASRH Policy provides the framework for what those services should look like^[3].

The lived environment is more uneven than those documents read. Across our 2024 work we observed: post-rape care kit stockouts at sub-county facilities; school re-entry guidelines^[4] applied unevenly across head teachers; and a steady migration of donor financing from filling gaps to underwriting structural posts in adolescent SRHR provision. We have written about each of these in dedicated documents^[5]^[6].

Section 4

SRHR programme

What we did

Our SRHR programme runs three connected strands: peer education, school-linked sessions, and a referral relationship with selected Level 4 facilities. The peer education model is built around 14 trained peer educators (8 women, 6 men), aged 19–24, working in their home wards.

1,180

Adolescents and young people reached through SRHR sessions

412

Sessions delivered (peer-led + school-linked combined)

Peer educators trained, retained and active by year-end

76%

Of session participants reporting increased knowledge of at least one SRHR service available locally (post-session card)

Figure 2. SRHR programme cascade, 2024 (indicative)

1. Adolescents reached at least once1,180

2. Adolescents who attended 2+ sessions612(52% of start)

Repeat engagement is the stronger predictor of behavioural recall.

3. Adolescents referred to a service contact248(21% of start)

4. Adolescents with a documented service contact within 30 days167(14% of start)

Source: ARI internal monitoring, 2024.

Section 5

GBV response & accompaniment

Our GBV work in 2024 was concentrated on rapid-response accompaniment for survivors of recent sexual violence, with formal referral relationships at three Level 4 facilities and a 24/7 community phone line operated on rota by trained volunteers. Forty-one rapid-response cases were handled across the year. The case patterns we observed informed our 2025 GBV capacity assessment^[6].

Table 2. GBV response activity, 2024

Activity	Volume	Notes
Rapid-response cases handled	41	Sexual violence within the 72-hour PEP window
Survivors accompanied to a facility	38	All to Level 4 facilities
Survivors initiated on PEP within 72 hours	33	5 of 8 missed initiations were due to facility-side stockouts
Survivors with day-14 PEP follow-up support	27	ARI-side follow-up; facility records not always reconciled
Psychosocial first-aid contacts (broader)	412	Includes non-rapid-response cases
Community awareness sessions	22

Source: ARI internal case logs, 2024. Numbers rounded; case categories non-exclusive.

Section 6

Girls' education & retention

Our education-retention work expanded in 2024 with a structured partnership across nine schools in Nyando and Kisumu West. The programme combines Tuseme-style girls' clubs, an MHM buffer stock, named re-entry navigators in line with MoE guidance^[4], and a Community Safe Journeys pilot in two wards. The 2025 Girls' Retention Study^[7] draws on the cohort built up across 2024.

Schools in active partnership across Nyando and Kisumu West

612

Girls in regular contact with the programme

Re-entries supported under MoE guidelines (head-teacher documented)

Wards with active Community Safe Journeys walking groups

Section 7

Policy & advocacy

2024 was the year ARI moved from being a programme implementer to also being a recognised civil society voice in county budget and policy processes. We attended eleven public consultations and forums in a representational capacity, and submitted ARI's first formal pre-budget memorandum to the Kisumu County Treasury for FY 2024/25.

Table 3. Policy & advocacy footprint, 2024

Forum / process	Engagement	Result
Kisumu County FY 2024/25 pre-budget consultations	Written memorandum + oral submission	Adolescent SRHR ring-fence flagged in subsequent CFSP
County Health Stakeholders Forum	Standing member	Quarterly attendance, joint communiqué co-signed
County Assembly Health Committee public hearing on FY 2024/25 estimates	Oral submission	Committee report cited civil society inputs
GBV Working Group (county)	Active member	Co-led drafting of stockout reporting language
Sub-County Education re-entry roundtables (Nyando)	Convening partner	Joint head-teachers protocol agreed for 2025 pilot
National PBO/CSO budget briefings	Observer	Built relationships with PBO secretariat

Source: ARI advocacy log, 2024.

Section 8

Voices from the work

The first session of every cycle, nobody talks. By session three, the girls are interrupting me with questions I am not old enough to have thought of at their age. That is the programme. The numbers are downstream of that.
Peer educator, age 22, Kisumu East

Case study

Wendy, 19

Kondele (Kisumu East) ward

January 2024

Situation: Wendy presented at a Kisumu East Level 4 facility 4 hours after a sexual assault. The night-shift clinical officer opened a PRC1 and located one partial post-rape care kit.
ARI response: ARI's rapid-response volunteer accompanied Wendy to a partner facility where PEP was initiated at 01:15, within the 72-hour window. ARI's psychosocial volunteer remained with Wendy through the visit.
Outcome: Wendy completed the 28-day PEP course with weekly check-ins from an ARI peer counsellor. Day-90 HIV test was negative. She has resumed her HND studies.

Composite case study, anonymised. Names, ages and identifying details have been changed to protect the individuals concerned.

Case study

Faith, 13

Kobura (Nyando) ward

2024 Term 1

Situation: Faith began missing school during her menstrual period. By early 2024 the absences were stretching to four days per cycle. Her grandmother was unaware; Faith was embarrassed.
ARI response: The school's life-skills teacher ran a Tuseme session that made the issue discussable. ARI added a modest pad supply to the school's existing MHM stock.
Outcome: Faith's absences fell to under one day per cycle by mid-2024 and to zero by 2025 Term 1.

Composite case study, anonymised. Names, ages and identifying details have been changed to protect the individuals concerned.

Section 9

Financial accountability

ARI's 2024 financial year ran 1 January to 31 December. The figures below are management accounts. An independent financial review is scheduled for Q1 2025 and the audited figures will be re-published in the 2025 annual report. All figures in KES.

Figure 3. Income recognised by category, indicative comparison 2023 vs 2024

2023 (informal)2024

Restricted programme grants

6.4 KES m

9.8 KES m

Unrestricted core support

1.1 KES m

2.6 KES m

Earned income (training, consultancy)

0.4 KES m

1.2 KES m

Individual giving

0.3 KES m

1 KES m

Source: ARI management accounts, 2023–2024. Indicative.

Figure 4. 2024 expenditure composition (indicative)

Programme deliveryPeople & wellbeingOperations & technologyGovernance, M&E, auditCommunications & advocacy

2024Total 100

Source: ARI management accounts, 2024.

Section 10

Safeguarding & ethics

2024 was the year ARI adopted its first written safeguarding policy (republished alongside this report as ARI-POL-2025-01). Across the year we recorded three formal safeguarding concerns relating to ARI activities. All three were investigated under the policy and closed with documented outcomes. None led to a contested dismissal or external referral. A summary of types and resolutions (not individuals) is below.

Table 4. Safeguarding concerns recorded, 2024

Type	Number	Resolution
Boundary concern (volunteer–participant interaction)	1	Refresher training; volunteer continued in role with reassignment
Confidentiality concern (case discussion in public)	1	Written reminder; updated case-handling protocol
Process concern (delayed referral)	1	Process review; rapid-response phone tree updated

Source: ARI safeguarding lead, internal log, 2024.

Section 11

Governance

ARI's governance structure was formalised in 2024 alongside registration. The committee comprises five members, two from the founding team, three independent members drawn from the health, education and accountability sectors. The committee met four times in 2024 and has a published terms of reference.

Table 5. Governance committee composition (de-identified)

Seat	Background	Standing
Chair (independent)	Public health and county budget process	Term: 2024–2027
Member (independent)	Basic education and child protection	Term: 2024–2027
Member (independent)	Audit and accountability (NGO sector)	Term: 2024–2026
Member (founding)	Programme leadership	Standing
Member (founding)	Community engagement	Standing

Source: ARI governance committee terms of reference, March 2024.

Section 12

People & culture

Paid staff at year-end

Trained volunteers active in the rota at year-end

78%

Staff retention from start of year to end of year

100%

Staff and volunteers who completed safeguarding induction

We continue to be a young-led organisation. The median age of paid staff at year-end was 27. The median age of volunteers was 23. Where we work with adults considerably older than us - head teachers, facility in-charges, county officials, we are deliberate about the partnership terms.

Section 13

Looking to 2025

Publish three substantive working documents: the County SRHR Financing Brief, the GBV Response Capacity Assessment, and the Girls' Retention Study.
Stand up a fifth sub-county presence (Seme), bringing ARI's footprint to five of seven sub-counties.
Complete an independent financial review and re-publish audited figures in the 2025 annual report.
Convene a standing adolescent advisory group with rotating seats from across the four sub-counties of operation.
Lift staff salaries to align with comparable Kenyan civil society scales for the same competencies.

Annex A

Programme indicator set

ARI's working indicator set, used for internal monitoring and partner reporting. The set is harmonised with the National ASRH Policy framework^[3] and the MoE re-entry guidelines^[4] where relevant.

Table 6. Annex A, ARI 2024 indicator set

Domain	Indicator	Definition	Source
SRHR, reach	Adolescents reached	≥1 contact with an ARI session in the period	Session register
SRHR, depth	Adolescents with 2+ contacts	Repeat engagement	Session register
SRHR, referral	Documented service contact within 30 days	Confirmed by participant or partner facility	Referral log
GBV, response	Rapid-response cases handled	Survivor reached within the 72-hour window	Case log
GBV, clinical	Survivors initiated on PEP within 72h	Confirmed by partner facility	Case log + facility note
GBV, adherence	Day-14 PEP follow-up support	ARI-side follow-up contact	Case log
Education, coverage	Schools in active partnership	MoU + termly engagement	Partnership register
Education, retention	Cohort retention at endline	Year-on-year cohort tracking	Cohort register
Education, re-entry	Documented re-entries supported	Per MoE 2020 guidelines	Head-teacher register
Advocacy, voice	Forums attended in representational capacity	Documented invitation + minutes	Advocacy log
Safeguarding	Concerns recorded and resolved	Per ARI safeguarding policy	Safeguarding lead log

Source: ARI.

Annex B

Donor list and restrictions (2024)

ARI commits to publishing the institutional donors who contributed in the year, with restriction status and approximate share of recognised income. Individual donors below the publication threshold are aggregated in line with our privacy policy.

Table 7. Annex B, Institutional donors, 2024 (indicative)

Donor (category)	Restriction	Indicative share of income	Programme alignment
Bilateral health programme partner (county)	Restricted	≈28%	GBV response, PRC kit buffer
International foundation (girls' education focus)	Restricted	≈22%	Girls' retention, MHM
Regional civil society fund	Unrestricted	≈14%	Core operations
Faith-linked grant maker	Restricted	≈11%	SRHR peer education
Earned income (training, consultancy)	Unrestricted	≈8%	Cross-cutting
Individual giving (aggregated)	Unrestricted	≈7%	Cross-cutting
Other small grants and in-kind	Mixed	≈10%	Cross-cutting

Source: ARI management accounts, 2024.

Annex C

Governance composition and meeting record

See Section 11 for the de-identified composition of the governance committee. The committee met four times in 2024 (March, June, September, December). Minutes are available on request, redacted for personal data.

Reference

Glossary

ARI: Afya Rights Initiative.
ASRH: Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health.
CBO: Community-Based Organisation, Kenyan registration category.
CFSP: County Fiscal Strategy Paper.
CIDP: County Integrated Development Plan.
GBV: Gender-Based Violence.
MHM: Menstrual Hygiene Management.
MoU: Memorandum of Understanding.
PBO: Parliamentary Budget Office, or, separately, Public Benefit Organisation registration category.
PEP: Post-Exposure Prophylaxis.
PRC: Post-Rape Care.
Tuseme: Swahili for 'let us speak', a girls'-club methodology pioneered by FAWE.

Acknowledgements

ARI is what its participants, volunteers and partners make of it. We thank the adolescents and young women whose engagement with our work is the entire reason it exists. We thank the fourteen peer educators, thirty-two volunteers, and nine staff who carried 2024 between them. We thank the three independent members of our governance committee for their candour. We thank our institutional donors for their trust and our individual donors for their loyalty. We thank the head teachers, facility in-charges, ward administrators, county officials and journalists whose work creates the conditions for ours. The responsibility for any errors in this report is ours alone.

References

Bibliography

[1]Kenya National Bureau of Statistics et al. (2023). Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022. KNBS and ICF.
[2]County Government of Kisumu (2023). Kisumu County Integrated Development Plan III, 2023–2027.
[3]Ministry of Health, Kenya (2015). National Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Policy. Nairobi.
[4]Ministry of Education, Kenya (2020). National Guidelines for School Re-entry in Early Learning and Basic Education. Nairobi.
[5]Afya Rights Initiative (2025). County SRHR Financing Brief 2025 (ARI-PB-2025-03). Kisumu.
[6]Afya Rights Initiative (2025). GBV Response Capacity in Kisumu Level 4 Facilities (ARI-CA-2025-02). Kisumu.
[7]Afya Rights Initiative (2025). Girls' Retention Study, Nyando 2025 (ARI-RS-2025-04). Kisumu.
[8]Ministry of Health, Kenya (2014, revised 2023). National Guidelines on Management of Sexual Violence in Kenya, 4th edition. Nairobi: MoH.
[9]Parliamentary Budget Office, Kenya (2024). Unpacking of the FY 2024/25 Estimates. Nairobi.
[10]Office of the Controller of Budget, Kenya (2024). Annual County Governments Budget Implementation Review Report, FY 2023/24. Nairobi.
[11]Republic of Kenya (1990, amended). Non-Governmental Organizations Co-ordination Act / Public Benefit Organizations Act, 2013. Nairobi.
[12]Republic of Kenya (2012). Public Finance Management Act, 2012. Nairobi.
[13]Republic of Kenya (2019). Data Protection Act, 2019, and Data Protection (General) Regulations, 2021. Nairobi.
[14]Republic of Kenya (2022). The Children Act, 2022. Nairobi.
[15]Republic of Kenya (2006, amended). Sexual Offences Act, 2006. Nairobi.
[16]World Health Organization (2013). Responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women: WHO clinical and policy guidelines. Geneva: WHO.
[17]UNICEF (2020). Child Safeguarding Policy and Standards. New York: UNICEF.
[18]Bond UK (2023). Safeguarding standards for international development organisations. London: Bond.
[19]International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2018). Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief. Geneva: IFRC.

About Afya Rights Initiative

Afya Rights Initiative (ARI) is a youth-led community organisation based in Kisumu, Kenya, working at the intersection of sexual and reproductive health rights, gender-based violence response, and adolescent education. We accompany girls, young women and key populations across Kisumu County and push for county-level policy and budget changes that make their rights real.

Contact: hello@afyarightsinitiative.or.ke
+254 717 558 070
Kisumu, Kenya
Document: ARI-AR-2024
v1.0
December 2024
Registration: Community-based organisation registration with the State Department for Social Protection, Kenya.
License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Suggested citation

Afya Rights Initiative (2024). Annual Report 2024. Kisumu, Kenya. ARI-AR-2024. Released under CC BY-NC 4.0.

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