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Our
Impact

Our impact is driven by both research and the lived experiences of the people we serve. It spans research, systems strengthening, and behavior change, working across institutions and communities to advance adolescent health and gender equality. A few of our notable areas of impact include:

  • Strengthening public education systems
    Supporting the integration of rights-based health education within public schools, enabling teachers to deliver consistent, age-appropriate learning that equips adolescents with knowledge on puberty, reproductive health, safety, and life skills.
  • Generating evidence to inform policy and practice
    Conducting rigorous research, including randomized controlled trials and studies on online child sexual exploitation and abuse, to better understand the challenges adolescents face and to inform policies, programs, and safeguarding approaches.
  • Advancing pathways to scale
    Identifying how effective interventions can move beyond pilot programs and be embedded within national and community systems, ensuring sustainable and scalable delivery of health education and support.
  • Driving behavior change through targeted campaigns
    Implementing social and behavior change initiatives, including campaigns focused on HPV and COVID-19 vaccinations, that increase awareness, address misinformation, and improve uptake of essential health services.
  • Expanding access to trusted information and referral pathways
    Connecting adolescents and communities to reliable, rights-based health information and services through integrated digital and community-based approaches, ensuring support is accessible when and where it is needed.
  • Building adolescent agency and improving outcomes
    Equipping adolescents with the knowledge, confidence, and skills to make informed decisions about their health, relationships, and futures, contributing to improved health outcomes and greater gender equality

"Thank you for this opportunity ZanaAfrica, you have made me proud as a queen. I now know how to have confidence."

"Thank you for this opportunity ZanaAfrica, you have made me proud as a queen. I now know how to have confidence."

"Thank you for this opportunity ZanaAfrica, you have made me proud as a queen. I now know how to have confidence."

Our Impact

550000

Adolescents

Now show up for gender equality through the Nia curriculum and Nia Programs

265

Hours

of dignified menstruation

10000

Reusable Kits

Distributed in Kenya

40

Counties

Health systems strengthening through the HealthLink

15

Government Departments

Collaborating
with us

500

Teachers Co Creating

To Deliver Rights Based Curriculum

THE NIA PROJECT RCT

Transformative Impacts

Our approach is grounded in one of the first large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on menstrual health and adolescent development in Kenya. Conducted over two years in Kilifi County, the study followed approximately 3,500 adolescent girls across 140 public primary schools to evaluate the impact of combining sanitary pad distribution with rights-based reproductive health education.

Using a longitudinal, cluster-randomized design, schools were assigned to different groups receiving either pads, health education, both, or neither, allowing for a rigorous assessment of what works. Data was collected through baseline and endline surveys, school tracking, and qualitative research over an 18-month intervention period.

The findings demonstrated significant improvements in reproductive health knowledge, confidence, self-efficacy, and more equitable gender norms among adolescents. These results show that while no single intervention is sufficient on its own, combining products with rights-based education creates meaningful and measurable change in girls’ lives and agency.

Our Partners