This is to invite you to the second UNICEF speakers series event which will be held between 2-3:30 PM (GMT +3) on Thursday, 21st October 2021.
This will be an opportunity to learn about the impact of COVID-19 on adolescents well-being in Kenya and Tanzania.
Title: Real time monitoring of COVID-19 and adolescent well-being
Date: Thursday 21 October 2021
Time: 2-3:30 PM (GMT +3)
Venue: https://unicef.zoom.us/j/95329559721?from=addon
Password: 162103
Presentation 1: Young lives in lockdown: lessons from images and stories documented by young people during COVID-19 lockdown in Kenya
Abstract:
As the first wave of COVID-19 began in Kenya and the nation entered lockdown, the authors invited young people in Nairobi and Siaya to document their experiences through images and stories. In weekly instalments over 10 weeks in 2020, young people aged 13-24 shared over 800 items of media reflecting their reactions, struggles, and fears; the impacts on their families, faith and communities; and their outlooks for a new future post COVID-19. The authors will present samples of the material and messages they shared, and findings from a thematic and visual analysis of the material. The participants’ demonstrations of resilience and responsibility offer us lessons to support young people both immediately, during this ongoing crisis, and in the recovery period ahead.
Presenters’ Short Bio
Sarah Mulwa is an LSHTM doctoral student based in Nairobi
Grace Ogwel is an LSHTM MSc student and medical student based in London
Isolde Birdthistle is an Associate Professor of adolescent health and epidemiology at LSHTM
Vivienne Kamire is project coordinator with KEMRI in Gem, Siaya
Jane Osindo is project coordinator with APHRC in Nairobi
Presentation 2: The voices of Tanzanian adolescents in the wake of COVID-19: vulnerabilities and coping strategies
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing struggles for many adolescents living in or near poverty, but their experiences are not well documented. Adolescents in rural Tanzania are particularly vulnerable given widespread poverty, lack of formal sector employment opportunities, and related health risks including child marriage, adolescent pregnancy, and HIV infection. The authors examine influences of the pandemic on economic insecurity and mental health, and explore the coping strategies employed by adolescents and their households in the face of these challenges.
Presenters’ Short Bio:
Lusajo Kajula, Ph.D., MPhil, is a Tanzanian health behavior researcher with experience developing and evaluating interventions for adolescents and youth, including on topics related to social protection, health, and violence. She served as the qualitative co-PI and study coordinator on the Adolescent Cash Plus Study in Tanzania between 2017 and 2021 with UNICEF, in close collaboration with the government social protection agency (Tanzania Social Action Fund), the Tanzanian Commission for AIDS, and other research partners. Her research interests lie in adolescent health, gender, Violence against children, HIV related stigma and parenting. She was previously a research analyst with the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti and a senior researcher at MUHAS, Tanzania where she was site PI for various intervention trials. She holds a Ph.D. from Maastricht University.
Stephanie Simmons Zuilkowski, Ed.D., holds a joint appointment as an associate professor of International and Multicultural Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in the Florida State University College of Education and in the Learning Systems Institute, where she serves as Associate Director for Research. Zuilkowski’s research aims to improve basic education in sub-Saharan Africa, including school quality, early literacy outcomes, and teacher implementation of policies. She is the Project Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development Transforming Teacher Education activity in Zambia (2020-2025). She earned her Ed.D. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Registration will begin at 1:45 PM and the presentation will commence at 2 PM promptly. For further details and to confirm your participation, please contact Christopher Kallaghe [ckallaghe@unicef.org].
