Self-care interventions are evidence-based tools that support self-care. They include medicines, counselling, diagnostic kits, and digital technologies. Self-care is about empowering people to be active agents in their own healthcare. Doing so puts people at the centre of their own healthcare and relieves pressures on health systems.
“As we roll out self-care to young people, educate them on bodily autonomy and integrity and how it can complement the mainstream health centre. Self-care bypasses many barriers to accessing health care, such as reducing the distance required to visit health centres because it can be practised at home and out-of-pocket expenditures. But more importantly, self-care practices need to be broken down in language that young people can understand”Josephine Odhiambo
AYAHREP
Youth Wise and You(th) Care partners, supported by Aidsfonds and led by Y+ Global, came together to commemorate the self-care month and self-care day through a series of activities, including launching a social media campaign and organising a commemorative webinar with various partners.
June 24 marks the beginning of Self-Care Month, which concludes with International Self-Care Day on July 24. This significant day was selected because self-care is something that can and should be incorporated into our daily lives, seven days a week. Throughout the month, young people and adults alike, worldwide observe self-care practices and interventions and recognise the positive impact they can have on our well-being.
To commemorate International Self-Care Day, Y+ Global, Aidsfonds, and YouthWISE held a special webinar, building from a month-long campaign that promoted self-care among adolescents and young people living with HIV. The campaign focused on various topics, including treatment adherence, mental health, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. The webinar brought together all partners and centred around this year's theme of resilience, adaptability, and thriving in adversity.
The webinar featured various speakers, such as young advocates from Malawi and Kenya, a WHO Adolescent HIV Lead, a healthcare provider, and a member of civil society from Nigeria. They discussed the progress made in self-care, including the Differentiated Service Delivery (DSD) models for those who are virally suppressed and doing well on treatment, new prevention technologies like the dapivirine vaginal ring, and the adoption of WHO self-care guidelines in countries like Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria.
“Self-care for young people goes beyond digital platforms. Not all young people are in urban areas. Not all have phones.”Luka Nukundula
Y+ Malawi
The webinar provided a chance to explore the WHO's self-care guidelines, which offer crucial insights into creating and maintaining a supportive atmosphere for self-care, as well as programmatic considerations for self-care interventions. Currently, over 400 million individuals globally do not have access to essential healthcare services, and each year, around 100 million people are pushed into poverty due to having to pay for healthcare on their own. It is imperative to develop creative solutions that go beyond traditional healthcare sector approaches to address this pressing issue.
This guide to self-care interventions follows the fundamental principles of universal health coverage. It takes a person-centred approach that recognises individuals as active decision-makers in their own health rather than just passive recipients of health services. Self-care interventions are essential in achieving global health targets and can significantly improve young people's health if prioritised and implemented effectively.
“Self-care has the potential to contribute to the WHOs strategic priorities and triple billion goals and global initiatives, including UHC and PHC. Self-care is liking taking a selfie. You are taking control of the lens, the angle, just like taking charge of the results.”Wole Ameyan
Adolescent HIV Lead, WHO
Healthcare providers play a crucial role in realising self-care at the facility level. As highlighted by Nedah Musonda, healthcare workers are keen to create demand for self-care and to offer the services when available. Healthcare workers must be in charge of their own lives while supporting others.
“Self-care is the closest link to realising primary health care. Even when rolling out self-care, it ensures clients are well informed to make decisions and that they are supported through the process.”Nedah Musonda
Nurse Epidemiologist/Adolescent Health Focal Point Person
Speaking on the process of endorsing the WHO self-care guidelines, Dr Adewole Adefalu shared insights and lessons learned from the involvement of civil society organisations in Nigeria.
“The Nigerian government kickstarted this process of implementing self-care interventions when the country faced various challenges in providing health care to a country with nearly 219 million people. The government assembled a task force with key stakeholders to modify the guidelines to the country’s context, which took almost four years. We are not at this critical juncture where civil society ensures the guidelines translate into practice.”Dr. Adewole Adefalu
Country Director for Nigeria and Technical Advisor for John Snow Inc.