12 ORGS · 85 ACTIVITIES ← all strategies ·
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Local Capacity First

By strengthening local systems, knowledge, and leadership, we produce sustainable health and resilience outcomes, because locally owned and contextually adapted solutions are more effective, trusted, and enduring than externally driven interventions. This strategy prioritizes the transfer of skills, resources, and decision-making power to local actors—health workers, communities, and institutions—as the primary engine of change. Unlike top-down or purely emergency-driven models, it emphasizes long-term resilience by embedding expertise within communities, ensuring continuity during and after crises. It unites diverse efforts—from training community health workers to participatory design and local partner-led response—under a shared belief that sustainable impact cannot be delivered from the outside.

12
orgs running it
85
activities of those orgs
12
activity groups touched
who runs it

organizations running this strategy · 12

what it looks like in practice

activities of orgs running this strategy

A sample of programmatic activities from the orgs above. These are what the strategy looks like on the ground.

  • Blood Donor Mobilization Initiative HOPE POVERTY ERADICATION ORGANIZATION
    direct service
    Organizes blood donor mobilization campaigns to address blood shortages in Kenyan hospitals, complementing the Ministry of Health and supporting national blood banks.
  • Child and Youth Sponsorship and Education Support Programs HOPE POVERTY ERADICATION ORGANIZATION
    direct service
    Operates child and youth sponsorship programs that provide education subsidies, mentorship, and support for high school and university transition. Projects include KENYA KIDS, JAM QUEST, and Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project (KYEOP), collectively supporting hundreds of in-school and vulnerable youth across Kenya.
  • Community Health Services and Wellness Centers HOPE POVERTY ERADICATION ORGANIZATION
    direct service
    Delivers integrated health services including nutrition, psychosocial support, shelter, and disease prevention through Wellness Centers and Drop-in Centers in informal settlements like Mukuru, in partnership with County Health Medical Teams.
  • DREAMS CONNECT and SHE SOARS Programs for Adolescent Girls and Young Women HOPE POVERTY ERADICATION ORGANIZATION
    direct service
    Implements the DREAMS CONNECT and SHE SOARS projects to empower adolescent girls and young women through HIV prevention, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) education, economic empowerment, and gender-based violence prevention. The DREAMS program operates across 31 wards in 13 sub-counties in Nairobi and has reached over 77,000 girls and young women.
  • HIV Prevention and Treatment Programs for Key and Priority Populations HOPE POVERTY ERADICATION ORGANIZATION
    direct service
    Implements targeted HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs for key populations including female sex workers, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, and transgender individuals through projects such as the UON CRISSP KP and Global Fund HIV initiatives. Provided comprehensive HIV prevention services to over 28,000 key population individuals and supported TB contact tracing and treatment linkage.
  • START SMALL Education Project for Mental Health and Adolescent Empowerment HOPE POVERTY ERADICATION ORGANIZATION
    direct service
    Implements the two-year Start Small Education (Elimu ya Vijana Tuelekeze) Project to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on education by training teachers in mental health and psychosocial support and equipping adolescents with life skills, financial literacy, leadership, and ASRH education. Empowered 31,000 adolescents and trained 130 teachers.
  • Vocational Training, Economic Empowerment, and Livelihood Programs HOPE POVERTY ERADICATION ORGANIZATION
    direct service
    Provides vocational training, entrepreneurship training, microfinance access, business initiation support, and job placement services to youth, orphans and vulnerable children, and women. Includes Income Generating Activities such as smart farming by the Osiligi Girls’ Group and the establishment of Village and Youth Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA/YSLA).
  • Builds capacity of community-based organizations and local groups COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE
    capacity building
    Provides training and institutional strengthening support to community-based organizations, women’s groups, faith-based organizations, youth groups, and cooperatives in areas including health, WASH, agriculture, financial management, income generation, and communications technology.
  • Conducts community advocacy and promotes accountable governance COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE
    advocacy
    Engages in community-level advocacy to influence public opinion, policy decisions, and funding allocations, while promoting open, accountable decision-making and citizen participation in governance processes.
  • Conducts participatory rural appraisals and community problem analysis COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE
    capacity building
    Facilitates participatory rural appraisals (PRA) and community-led problem identification and analysis processes involving grassroots members, women, youth, and people with AIDS to prioritize local challenges and inform project design.
  • Conducts regional research across East and Southern Africa COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE
    research
    Carries out research studies at local and regional levels in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, and Botswana, focusing on health, agriculture, environment, and community development sectors.
  • Delivers cash transfers to vulnerable households COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE
    direct service
    Provides cash transfers to deprived households caring for orphans through the CT-OVC programme, operating in nearly all counties across Kenya.
  • Employs and trains community-based research assistants COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE
    capacity building
    Engages and builds the capacity of local community-based research assistants to conduct baseline surveys, contributing to local economic growth and sustainable data collection systems.
  • Empowers communities to define solutions and participate in policy COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE
    capacity building
    Enables communities to analyze problems, define their own solutions, and engage in the policy process through collective action, gender equity promotion, and strengthening of grassroots organizations and social movements.
  • Implements community-level operational research and impact assessments COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE
    research
    Conducts operational research and multi-phase impact assessments for its own and partner-led projects, including baseline surveys and follow-up studies on health, education, poverty, and community perceptions, particularly for programs like CT-OVC.
  • Provides ACSM training for malaria and public health control COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE
    capacity building
    Delivers training on Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization (ACSM) for malaria control to CBOs, FBOs, women’s groups, and youth groups, including behavior change communication, referral systems, cultural sensitivity, and knowledge sharing.
  • Strengthens community monitoring, evaluation, and data management systems COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE
    capacity building
    Trains and supports community organizations in monitoring and evaluation, data collection and management, data analysis, project reporting, and knowledge management for health, WASH, agriculture, and environmental programs.
  • Supports community systems strengthening for health and governance COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING INITIATIVE
    capacity building
    Implements programs to strengthen community systems in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, WASH, gender-based violence, and community governance, improving service delivery and community resilience.