Shofco Mathare clinic wins family planning award
Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco founder) and CEO Dr Kennedy Odede with community members in Mukuru kwa Njenga slums, Nairobi. Shofco Mathare Clinic is the winner of this year’s global prestigious Excellence in Leadership in Family Planning award.
Shining Hope for Communities (Shofco) Mathare Clinic is the winner of this year’s global prestigious Excellence in Leadership in Family Planning award.
The clinic was awarded during the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) held in Pattaya City, Thailand.
Shofco emerged top in the organisations level category after demonstrating its efforts to offer free family planning services to the most vulnerable slum communities in Nairobi.
The conference-themed “Family Planning and Universal Health Coverage: Innovate, Collaborate, Accelerate” was co-hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health.
The conference brought together over 3500 in-person and digital delegates from Asia, Latina America, and Africa.
According to Shofco Health Director Emma Ingaiza, the clinic has reached over 100,000 women and girls with family planning services since its founding in 2015.
“One of the things that made our case very strong is the ability to integrate access to free family planning services into the other programs within Shofco, for instance, the Gender-Based Violence Response, Community Advocacy (Shofco Urban Network), WASH and Education programs,” Ms Ingaiza, who received the award on behalf of Shofco in Thailand, said.
Shofco Mathare Clinic is a Level Three healthcare facility that offers among other services, free maternal child health, nutrition, outpatient treatment, family planning, TB, and HIV/AIDS testing.
“We have reached more than 100,000 women and girls with family planning services since 2015. In the next three years, we want to reach 4.5 million women and girls with family planning services and key messaging,” she said.
Shofco has also partnered with other 11 facilities in Nairobi’s informal settlements to offer free family services.
Healthcare is among Shofco’s seven programs which include Education, GBV Response, Women Empowerment, Community Advocacy, Sustainable Livelihoods, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
