How the #formnigani movement is responding to COVID-19

Kenya reported its first case of COVID-19 on 19 March 2020. Kenyans woke up to a new reality that closely mirrored the dystopian future scenario outlined in the #formnigani report ‘Kenya in 2030: Young Voices on Future Scenarios and Contraception’. This scenario predicts a future Kenya that is unable to meet its commitments to contraception because of being overly reliant on external funding when an unforeseen disaster strikes.

#formnigani is an inclusive platform for Kenyans that is led by Kenyan youth, creatives and opinion shapers. It’s purpose is to help young Kenyans creatively frame, discuss and showcase positivity for family planning in order to achieve their constitutional right to it. In just two years, #formnigani has reached over 650 million impressions and it continues to engage millions of Kenyans.

Pandemic hits Kenya and contraception

After COVID-19 struck, Kenyan youth told us that contraception has dropped off the radar and that it has kept slipping down the list of priorities for both individuals and the system. They feel their voices aren’t being heard even when the decisions made affect them the most. 

#formnigani pivoted quickly with a new creative challenge and Futures 2.0. We launched a creative challenge led by the renowned spoken word artist Teardrops to spark conversation about contraception in the time of COVID-19. Poets, musicians, and creatives engaged their audiences by contributing to a collective work of art. The creative challenge reached over 3.3 million Kenyans in just a few weeks. 

“Don’t get out of quarantine 

And jump into Parenting 

COVID is temporary 

But Parenting is permanent”

– Teardrops

At the same time we virtually reconvened the #formnigani Future Think Tanks. Building on the Kenya in 2030 report, we worked with youth to identify the COVID-19 related stressors on the healthcare system and SRH, and to chart a way forward. The outcomes were three alternative future scenarios, a roadmap to the preferred scenario, and a new report, ‘Young Kenyan Voices: COVID-19 and Contraception’. The report identifies gaps in the SRH system that are magnified by the pandemic as well as recommendations for a minimum quality standard of SRH. We leveraged the creative challenge and report using a combination of public relations and social media to spark a national debate on the importance of contraception. 

You can read the new report here.

Watch the #formnigani mini documentary here.