Document Type
Brief
Publication Date
11-12-2020
Abstract
Between August 15 and 18, 2020, a COVID-19 phone survey was completed with 603 10–19-year-old adolescents in Kisumu, Kenya, a port city on Lake Victoria. Households were part of the DREAMS program and evaluation cohort. This brief concludes that COVID-19 public education campaigns in Kisumu should focus on addressing the health, economic, and social impacts of lockdowns. Knowledge of symptoms and transmission is relatively high, and most adolescents still say they are interacting with a lot of people when they go out. Ensuring mask wearing, handwashing, and staying home unless urgent is critical to reducing transmission. Ensuring access to educational materials at home while schools are closed is critical, with attention to older adolescent girls who may be more likely to fall behind. Adolescents are missing meals, especially since they are not receiving meals from school during closures. Food distributions are necessary, targeting older adolescents. Mental health should be addressed, as many adolescents say they feel depressed due to the pandemic, and many report anxiety about themselves or someone they love getting COVID-19.
DOI
10.31899/pgy17.1008
Language
English
Recommended Citation
"Social, health, education and economic effects of COVID -19 on adolescent girls in Kenya: Responses from the first round of adolescent data collection, August 2020—Kisumu," COVID-19 Research & Evaluations brief. Nairobi: Population Council, 2020.
Project
Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic