Adapting Nia Learning to Promote Gender Equity & Inclusion in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands documents the evolution of Nia Learning, an evidence-based education program created by ZanaAfrica to strengthen girls’ health, agency, and socio-emotional well-being alongside academic learning. Originally developed as a reproductive health and life-skills intervention, Nia integrates gender-responsive content with a focus on confidence, voice, and positive norms. Its earlier implementation demonstrated the importance of pairing knowledge with supportive school environments to advance equity and improve learner outcomes.
Building on the success of earlier implementation, Nia Learning was introduced in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and refugee-hosting counties to better understand what it takes to adapt a proven program for more complex and fragile contexts. These regions face layered challenges shaped by climate vulnerability, displacement, poverty, trauma exposure, and deeply rooted social and cultural norms affecting both girls and boys. Schools operate within systems where leadership capacity, community engagement, and psychosocial support structures vary significantly.
This report outlines the journey of adapting Nia Learning into a whole-school, system-embedded model grounded in local participation, leadership development, and community ownership. It offers a contextual lens on how gender-responsive and socio-emotional approaches can be strengthened within complex education environments, contributing to broader conversations on responsible scaling and sustainable change.
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