INHSU’s ‘Storytelling for Advocacy’ program was developed to empower people with lived experience of hepatitis C and/or using drugs to use their voices to create change.
People who use drugs face discrimination every single day, and access to adequate healthcare is often out of reach due to harmful policies and entrenched stigma. The voices – and personal stories – of people who use drugs are imperative if we want to change this.
These stories can challenge people’s perceptions, influence policy change, and help us achieve a future where people who use drugs have equitable access to the services, treatment, and support needed to improve health and live well.
Previously run in Kenya and South Africa, the Storytelling for Advocacy program was funded by The Open Society Foundation. Thank you to our program partners NASCOP, Kenpud, and KwanPUD in Kenya and the South African Government Department of Health, South African Government Department of Social Development, TBHIV Care, SANPUD, South African National Aids Council, and CDA in South Africa.
Are you interested in this program?
We can adapt and deliver this program virtually or in-person, anywhere in the world. If you’d like to speak to us about running the Storytelling for Advocacy program in your country, please contact us at [email protected].
How the program works
Local storytelling experts from Kenya and South Africa worked directly with community members within each country. Hosted virtually and in-person, each program lasted up to four months, featuring storytelling workshops and 1-21- mentoring sessions.
At the end of each program, participants had built understanding and confidence in storytelling and had crafted a story of their own to share on hepatitis C or harm reduction. Participants also benefited from boosted confidence in networking, public speaking, and more.
Many participants also spoke at supporting storytelling events, including a webinar during World Hepatitis Day 2022.
Pictured: Participants in the South African program.
I now understand and see the value and impact our stories are going to make in the lives of those who get the opportunity to read them. These stories are going to be there for a long time. We are very fortunate to be chosen to be the voices of those who couldn’t speak for themselves or who never got the opportunity to.
Sizwe, a participant in the South African program.