WOMEN’S health
“One of the greatest feelings is the satisfaction I get when I see a pregnant woman walking out of our facility with a full ANC profile blood test. Most maternal and infant mortality occur because of missed dangers that are well recognized with good antenatal care and follow-up.”
At The Leo Project, we are transforming women’s health by addressing both physical and mental well-being. Our Women’s Health Program spans across our education and health programmatic areas, providing a holistic approach that supports women across the lifespan helping them to thrive physically, emotionally, and socially. The Women’s Health Program consists of the following workstreams:
Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Program
At The Leo Project's (TLP) Caitlin O’Hara Community Health Clinic, our MCH program goes beyond physical health, addressing emotional and societal factors that influence maternal well-being. The program offers comprehensive care to the women and families in the communities we serve here in Laikipia County, Kenya. The MCH clinic, offers critical services including free antenatal care (ANC), postnatal care (PNC), and child welfare clinics. This comprehensive approach is crucial for ensuring a safe pregnancy, delivery, and post-natal experience. Our services are unique in that we provide a free blood test to screen for key infections and we offer free pregnancy ultrasounds to monitor fetal wellbeing and growth. At the clinic, we see an average of 419 women a month, approximately 88 of whom, on average, receive MCH or Family Planning-related care. At our clinic, the journey with our patients doesn't end once they give birth. Instead, it marks a new chapter and the continuity of their care and the care of their newborn child. The majority of women return to us for postnatal care, and their continued visits speak volumes about the trust they have in the care provided to them by the clinic staff.
This work is critical, as the African Region accounted for 69% of global maternal deaths in 2020. In 2022, Kenya has a rate of maternal mortality of 355 deaths per 100,000 live births. (UNFPA), compared to the global average of 223 deaths per 100,000 live births. (WHO 2023)
More information about this program can be found in our Elevating Maternal Care blog post.
Women’s Mental Health Program
This program is is housed in TLP’s Mental Health Department and provides comprehensive mental health services to women across Laikipia County. In partnership with Profession Huynh-Nhu (Mimi) Le, Ph.D. of The George Washington University School of Public Health, we are launching a Perinatal Mental Health Screening and Treatment program in January 2025. This program will utilize the EPDS to assess perinatal women for depression, follow up with treatment plans, and monitor their progress. We will also assess health workers’ knowledge and understanding of perinatal mental health. A preliminary assessment using the EPDS showed that 54% of perinatal women in our community scored between 18 - 22 on the scale; the threshold for signs of severe mental health issues is a score of 13.
Our mental health department provides mental health training to Traditional Birth Attendants so they are equipped to recognize signs of depression in pregnant women and can offer basic support and refer them to our mental health professionals.
Women’s Cancer Screening and Treatment Program
We are committed to transforming cancer care through education, screening, early detection, and expanded access to treatment. In partnership with the Ayana Project, we launched a program in November 2024 to screen women for HPV, a leading cause of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women in Kenya, with around 5,236 new cases and 3,21 deaths a year. (HPV Centre Fact Sheet, 2023) In the next two years, we expect that our in-patient hospital (see below) will be completed, which will include a state-of-the-art out-patient oncology care center that will significantly increase the accessibility of advanced diagnostic tools and treatment.
More information about this work can be found in the Bridging the Cancer Care Gap in Kenya blog post.
Mental Health and Sexual and Reproductive Health Education Program
This program provides mental health education to primary and secondary school boys and girls through TLP’s weekly Life Skills Program. We also provide mental health education to recent secondary school graduates through TLP’s Digital Literacy class. We intentionally teach mental health and SRH to classes consisting of both boys and girls. We have found that this integration engages young men in conversations they are often left out of, and has resulted in a critical shift in perspective that ultimately creates a more supportive environment for young women. We also provide gender-specific education and conversations as needed to ensure that individual and group needs are met.
More information about our SRH work can be found in the Breaking the Silence: Talking about SRH blog post.
In-patient Hospital
In response to the extreme need for comprehensive, accessible, and equitable healthcare in this region, we are in the process of planning for and building an in-patient hospital adjacent to the current health clinic. Like the clinic, the hospital will be designed in collaboration with our partner, Build Health International. The hospital will specialize in maternity care and outpatient oncology services, addressing critical community needs. We look forward to sharing more about this ongoing effort.