Advancing Adolescent- and Gender-Responsive Health Systems in Kenya

Adolescent- and gender-responsive health systems integrate evidence-based adolescent-friendly, gender-sensitive elements into all the health system building blocks. This approach intentionally shifts the emphasis from creating separate adolescent-friendly spaces towards ensuring that all health services are responsive to the needs and rights of adolescents and take into consideration the unique gender constraints adolescents face. To advance understanding of how to strengthen adolescent- and gender-responsive health systems, MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership (MOMENTUM) led a three-year initiative in two counties in Kenya. This case study summarizes the processes, results, and lessons learned from this initiative. Drawing on the findings, we argue that employing an adolescent- and gender-responsive approach to health systems, facilitated by a novel assessment tool, is feasible and has the potential to drive improvements within subnational health systems.