Youth
To ensure that girls and young women get access to the care they need, deliberate youth outreach programs are required. In Cameroon, Evidence2Action (E2A) is developing a comprehensive post-partum family planning (PPFP) program that includes a special focus on young mothers. The initiative taps into an existing network of youth associations called RENATA (Réseau National des Associations des Tantines) to provide information and referrals to young women and mothers. E2A also supports the delivery of community-based family planning services to groups of young women, such as teen mothers, organized by RENATA.
Young people all over the world use mobile phones, and the Global Mobile initiative from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) is designed to capitalize on this technology to deliver sexual and reproductive health information. Pilot projects in Ecuador and Nigeria are being launched this fall, with apps that feature factually accurate and age-appropriate content as well as referrals to local youth-friendly health clinics. Planned Parenthood Global, the international division of PPFA, is implementing the pilots with support from UNFPA.
Link Up is an ambitious three-year initiative to improve the
sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people affected by HIV. Led
by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, and implemented by a broad consortium of civil society partners, Link
Up has reached more than 500,000 young people in Bangladesh, Burundi, Ethiopia,
Myanmar, and Uganda since its launch in 2013. Link Up programs emphasize
youth-oriented approaches and leadership, and focus on surmounting the
structural barriers that prevent young people from accessing contraception, HIV
screening and treatment, and other reproductive health services. The project is
on track to reach one million young people by July 2016.
