Leveraging Kenya’s Social Media Ecosystem for Strategic Health Communication & Social Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC)

Kenya’s health communication landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by rapid digitalisation and the widespread adoption of social media. As more Kenyans seek information, connection, and services online, social media has emerged as a powerful tool for Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC), shaping health knowledge, attitudes, and practices at scale.

Harnessing the transformative power of social media to improve health outcomes offers new, far-reaching opportunities to promote positive health behaviours across diverse communities. With its youthful population, strong mobile connectivity, and vibrant online culture, Kenya is well-positioned to leverage social media to address critical public health priorities, including maternal and child health, immunisation, mental health, nutrition, and non-communicable diseases.

Kenya’s digital ecosystem is dynamic and increasingly inclusive. According to the Fourth Quarter Sector Statistics Report by the Communication Authority (CA) covering the period from April to June 2025, 48% of Kenyans, or approximately 27.4 million people, had internet access, primarily via mobile devices. The report further noted that the country had over 68 million mobile connections, exceeding its population due to widespread smartphone use and the use of multiple SIM cards.

Complementing this, The Digital 2025 Report by Data Reportal, , estimates that by March 2025, Kenya had 15–18 million active social media users, representing roughly 27–32% of the population. While overall user growth is beginning to plateau, engagement continues to rise, with many Kenyans spending several hours a day on social media.

This mobile-first approach to social media use in Kenya ensures that social media platforms are widely accessible, providing fertile ground for timely, interactive SBCC health interventions embedded in daily life.

It is also important to note that the different social media platforms play varying roles in how Kenyans communicate and consume information:

1. Facebook remains the most widely used platform, reaching over 60% of social media users, and is particularly effective for community engagement, public health campaigns, and discussion-based content.
2. WhatsApp, which is used by more than half of social media users, is central to interpersonal communication, making it ideal for community-level SBCC, peer support groups, and information sharing through trusted social networks.
3. TikTok, on the other hand, has experienced rapid growth, particularly among young people aged 15–34, offering strong potential for creative, short-form health messaging that leverages trends, music, and storytelling.
4. YouTube supports longer-form educational content, while
5. Instagram and X.com (formerly Twitter) play complementary roles in visual storytelling and real-time public discourse.

These usage patterns highlight the need for platform-specific strategies, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Unlike traditional media, social media enables two-way interaction, peer influence, and social norm formation, all critical drivers of behaviour change. Its value for SBCC in Kenya lies in several key strengths:

• Expanded reach and repetition, allowing health messages to be delivered consistently to large and diverse audiences.
• Peer influence, as users are more likely to adopt behaviours endorsed by people they trust or identify with.
• Real-time engagement, enabling rapid responses to questions, concerns, and misinformation.
• Community building, where online groups foster dialogue, shared experiences, and mutual accountability.

Despite its immense potential, social media–based SBCC in Kenya faces notable challenges. Two stand out in particular: misinformation and persistent digital inequalities.

Misinformation spreads rapidly online, often undermining public trust and health outcomes. Addressing this requires proactive myth-busting, rapid response mechanisms, and partnerships with trusted health institutions and credible influencers.

Digital inequality continues to persist since not all Kenyans have reliable or affordable internet access, particularly in rural and marginalised communities. Social media interventions should therefore complement and not replace offline channels such as radio, SMS, and community-based outreach.

Addressing these challenges demands coordinated action among government, civil society, health professionals, and digital platforms.

Kenya’s social media ecosystem presents a powerful opportunity to strengthen public health SBCC. With millions of engaged users across diverse platforms, social media can drive sustained and meaningful health behaviour change. To realise this potential, SBCC efforts must be strategic, evidence-based, culturally grounded, and data-informed. Practitioners should design platform-specific interventions, proactively counter misinformation, collaborate across sectors, and integrate digital approaches with offline communication channels to ensure inclusivity.

Article by Juliet Hinga