Peer-to-Peer Education

At Higher Health, a peer educator is typically a student who is trained to provide health and wellness education and support to their peers on various topics such as sexual health, mental health, substance abuse prevention, gender-based violence and general wellbeing.

Training Programs

They often participate in training programs to develop their skills and knowledge, enabling them to deliver accurate information and guidance to students (seeking health and wellness and psychosocial support) in a supportive and nonjudgmental manner.

Delivering Results

The HIGHER HEALTH model begins to deliver results where students experience face-to-face, peer-to-peer education and activities. Peer educators facilitate this process through individual discussions, dialogue sessions, exhibitions and workshops. It is here that students:

Challenged

Are challenged and encouraged to take responsibility for their health, wellbeing and development.

Services

Access bio-metric and high-risk assessments (particularly first-year students) and links to services.

Conversations

Start conversations with their friends and classmates, develop clubs, groups and forums dedicated to various issues including treatment support, GBV survivors and gender-diverse clubs.

Break the Silence

Feel able to break the silence on matters of mental health, sexuality and gender and learn about available health and social services and begin to trust them more.

Peer-to-peer model is also linked to the 2nd curriculum, a term used by HIGHER HEALTH to refer to opportunities for learning and development that are offered to students outside of formal academic studies. It includes a range of campus activities – such as student clubs and societies – and, most importantly it includes a system for volunteers to become peer educators and mentors.

Peer Education Training

Selected students attend an interactive 1day’s training conducted by internal and external trainers to qualify as Peer Educators. The training is compulsory and empowers Peer Educators to educate their peers on many issues that affect them throughout their years as a student.

The training content covers the following key themes:

  • Sexual Reproductive Health
  • Gender Based Violence
  • Mental Health
  • Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention
  • COVID-19
  • Disability, Discrimination, Stigma & Human Rights
  • Monitoring and Reporting

Peer Educators are provided with ongoing mentoring and support through the year by peer Mentors and Campus Health Coordinators.

Peer Education Interventions or Activities

Through the year, Peer Educators conduct various interventions/activities through peer-to-peer social mobilization.

They used various methods, approaches and tools such as:

  • One-on-one talks
  • Discussion groups in person or via digital platforms such as WhatsApp
  • Distribution of IEC material and condoms
  • Participating and a screening volunteer manning the screening stations at main entry points to campuses

The main goal of a peer educator is to drive awareness, demand and refer their peers into existing student health and wellness programmes available to students on campus.

Each peer educator is assigned to a HIGHER HEALTH peer mentor, Campus Health Worker or Campus Health Coordinatorfor mentoring, support, and reporting.

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

Ongoing monitoring and mentoring is conducted to assess the performance of Peer Educators and provide support in optimising delivery of their activities on campus. On a monthly basis, Peer Educators submit activity log sheets, enrolment registers, as well as IEC AND condom distribution registers as evidence of their activities.