Interagency Youth Working Group

Youth who do not attend school or who drop out prematurely miss many of the fundamentals of basic education. They also lose a valuable opportunity to learn about reproductive health and HIV in a stable classroom situation. Such youth are vulnerable to misinformation from unreliable sources or may possibly never learn about the issues at all. While some parents fulfill their roles as educators by openly discussing these health concerns with their children, others avoid the topic because of embarrassment of lack of knowledge or skills. In some parts of the world, too, a growing number of out-of-school youth have lost their parents to AIDS.

 

Program planners can think of out-of-school youth as falling into two main categories: mainstream or especially vulnerable youth. The mainstream out-of-school youth include girls, who typically receive less education than boys in the developing world; pregnant girls and married adolescents, who often drop out of school; and those rural boys and girls who have no access to formal schooling. Youth who are especially vulnerable and socially marginalized include street children, orphans, migrants, child soldiers, refugees, drug users, and adolescent sex workers. Program planners and policy-makers must consider the differing needs of these two groups when developing reproductive health and HIV prevention programs for out-of-school youth.

 

Generally speaking, interventions should include one or more of these goals:

Reaching Out-of-School Youth with Reproductive Health and HIV Information and Services. This paper explores different populations of out-of-school youth, examines the link between schooling and safer sexual behaviors, and summarizes programs that work with young people. Four case studies detailing programs working with mainstream and marginalized youth are included. (Family Health International/YouthNet, 2004)

Reaching Socially Marginalized Youth. These youth are vulnerable to sexual exploitation and are at disproportionately high risk of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. They often lack access to reproductive health information, counseling, legal protection, and health and other services, so reaching them requires special planning, advocacy efforts, and supplemental resources. (Pathfinder/FOCUS on Young Adults, 2000)

New Generation Models for Asia’s Youth: Strengthening Networks and Building Capacity. This report describes approaches to reaching youth in Asia, including a case study on work with some 35,000 young factory workers in Cambodia. It worked to build the capacity of some 200 health facilities located near 15 large garment factories to provide quality services to young people and strengthen referral networks. (PATH, 2003)

Using Scouting as a Vehicle for Reaching Out-of-School Youth. This document describes efforts by the Kenya Scouts Association and PATH to reach out-of-school youth with a family life skills curriculum in Kenya, where the number of school-age youth who do not attend school equals the number who are in school. (PATH, 1999) 

Human Rights Watch: Child’s Rights, Child Soldiers. This Web site has publications, materials, and links to useful information related to child soldiers in many countries. Many children are abducted or recruited by force, often compelled to follow orders under threat of death. Others join armed groups out of desperation. As society breaks down during conflict, children often have no access to school, are driven from their homes, or are separated from family members. Children may perceive armed groups as their best chance for survival. (Human Rights Watch)