WEL in Partnership University of California School of Medicine  

The University of California School of Medicine is piloting a programme on Women’s Reproductive and Economic empowerment which employs the use of self help groups (SHGs). SHGs provide an important opportunity and context to promote reproductive empowerment/autonomy. 

WEL is currently working with the SHGs to:

1. Expand formative research to include a broader range of contexts.
2. Adapt training materials to better fit the realities of SHG members.
3. Pilot the approach across various geographic and cultural contexts in Kenya.
4. Evaluate impact by comparing the adapted model with standard SHG participation to measure improvements in women’s economic empowerment.
5. Scale successful models through Kenya’s extensive SHG networks.
6. Advocate for policy changes to remove structural barriers to women’s access to reproductive health services and resources.
7. Document the best practices from the pilot and share these findings with stakeholders to support national adoption and expansion beyond Kenya.