In Kafue, Zambia, adolescent girls and young women continue to face significant barriers to accessing reproductive and menstrual health services. Nearly 29% of girls under 18 experience pregnancy, a rate that has remained stubbornly high over the past decade. This trend reflects deeper structural challenges, including poverty, limited access to contraception, gender inequality, and gaps in youth-friendly services.
While the COVID-19 pandemic intensified these challenges, the root causes are structural and ongoing. Adolescent girls face significant barriers to accessing accurate sexual and reproductive health information, contraception, and youth-friendly services. Poverty, gender inequality, and social norms further increase vulnerability, often leading girls to engage in relationships for financial support, while peer pressure and limited education contribute to uninformed decision-making.
Strengthening our Reproductive Health Access Initiative to provide comprehensive, youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services includes weekly health messaging, reproductive health education through "Girls Talk" and "Boys Talk" clubs, and ongoing counseling to support informed decision-making and self-esteem. We will also facilitate access to essential services including pregnancy and STI testing, family planning, and contraceptives through a partnership with the local health clinic.
By engaging girls AND boys, we address the root causes of adolescent pregnancy, including gender norms, misinformation, and unequal responsibility. Through our local leadership development model, young people will gain the knowledge, confidence, and agency to make informed decisions and advocate for their health and rights. Youth will become peer educators and community leaders, helping to shift attitudes, reduce stigma, and expand access to reproductive health information and services.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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