Interagency Youth Working Group

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In recent years, a number of major studies and reviews of youth reproductive health and HIV prevention programs have appeared. These studies provide useful overviews of program experiences, lessons learned, research reviews, and synthesis of ideas. The documents are summarized below in chronological order, beginning with the most recent.

TV Soap Operas in HIV Education: Reaching out with Popular Entertainment (40 pages, 664 KB)
This document provides an overview of why and how the German Development Cooperation supports soap operas as an integral component of national and regional HIV programs. It also describes three soap operas designed to reflect and respond to three very different epidemics in Kyrgyzstan, Dominican Republic, and Côte d'Ivoire. Characters and target audiences include young people. (German HIV Peer Review Group, 2009)

SAWAKA Jali Watoto Program Supporting Most-Vulnerable Children, Tanzania: A Case Study (PDF, 26 pages, 1.1 MB)
In 2007–2008, the MEASURE Evaluation project evaluated the Jali Watoto (Care for Children) project in Tanzania. Jali Watoto is a child- and community-centered program that provides support to most-vulnerable children and their caregivers. The evaluation assessed the effectiveness of the program model in improving the well-being of most-vulnerable children and their caregivers in communities affected by HIV/AIDS. In addition, the paper outlines the programmatic implications of the findings for service providers and other stakeholders and makes recommendations regarding effective, replicable interventions. (MEASURE Evaluation, 2009)

It Works! Communication for HIV Prevention and Social Change in Adolescents: A Mid-Term Review (80 pages)
This report is a mid-term review of the Straight Talk Foundation's work on improving the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents in Uganda. It is primarily a qualitative assessment of progress made toward meeting the program's objectives and is informative for colleagues implementing similar programs in other contexts. (Straight Talk Foundation and CRC, 2009)

Increasing HIV/AIDS Therapy Adherence among Youth in Mozambique: the TAP/Pathfinder International Experience (PDF, 8 pages, 455 KB)
This document provides an overview of the World Bank-funded Treatment Acceleration Project (TAP) in Mozambique. It outlines Pathfinder's comprehensive program for youth that integrates counseling, treatment, and care to promote HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy adherence for HIV-positive youth. The program demonstrates the effective role to be played by well-trained peer advocates and their collaboration with quality youth-friendly clinical services. (Pathfinder International, 2009)

Effects of Programs Supporting Orphans and Vulnerable Children (PDF, 50 pages, 810 KB)
This report summarizes findings from evaluations of four programs, two in Kenya and two in Tanzania, that support orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC).  The report focuses on the outcomes, emerging issues, and lessons learned. Implications of the findings are offered to provide guidance to OVC service providers, donors, and policy-makers. (MEASURE Evaluation and Futures Group International, 2009)

Curricula Review of Emergency Plan Centrally-Funded HIV Prevention Programs for Youth (PDF, 34 pages, 226 KB)
The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) supports HIV prevention programs for youth that emphasize abstinence and being faithful (ABY) among a broader array of prevention interventions.  The focus of this report is an evaluation of multi-country, multi-year PEPFAR ABY programs implemented by 14 nongovernmental and faith-based organizations that were awarded a total of $100 million. Most of these programs are curriculum-based programs; however, the curricula have not been evaluated for quality, and few published standards and guidelines exist for HIV prevention curricula, especially for developing countries. Recommendations are made for strengthening the curricula reviewed. (MEASURE Evaluation, 2009)

Investing in Young People’s Health and Development: Research that Improves Policies and Programs (PDF, 664 KB)
The link between research, programs and policies needs to be strengthened to maximize both the investments and gains concerning the health and development of adolescents. To this end, a large partnership of organizations organized this international conference in April, 2008 on “Investing in Young People’s Health and Development: Research that Improves Policies and Programs,” led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Center for Population and Reproductive Health at the University of Ibadan, and the Department of Community Health, Obafemi Awolowo University. (2008)

Protecting the Next Generation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Learning from Adolescents to Prevent HIV and Unintended Pregnancy (PDF, 3.84 MB) 
Executive summary (PDF, 227 KB)
Executive summary (French) (PDF, 237 KB)
This monograph compiles policy and program recommendations based on findings from national surveys of about 20,000 African adolescents, as well as focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with hundreds of young people, parents, teachers and health care providers. (Guttmacher Institute, 2007)

Effective Strategies in Reproductive Health Programs for Young People (PDF, 3.16 MB)
International Planned Parenthood/Western Hemisphere Region, along with eight other organizations, evaluated their youth programs to identify best practices for working with youth. This document synthesizes the strategies that proved to be effective. Each organization's project and evaluation results are discussed, along with key lessons and questions that emerged during the process of implementing, documenting, and evaluating these programs. The document offers strategic recommendations for organizations that work with youth. It is also available in Spanish (PDF, 3.18 MB). (2007) 

The End of Program report for YouthNet (2001-2006), led by Family Health International, focuses on the program's top 10 results, with recommendations and resources for taking action. It includes 37 recommendations, organized by the 10 major results, along with a list of YouthNet country activities, a summary of research studies, and an annotated summary of YouthNet publications. (FHI/YouthNet, 2006)

 

This report provides systematic reviews of the evidence for policies and programs to decrease HIV prevalence among young people. Topics covered include school-based programs, mass media campaigns, community interventions, and young people at highest risk, including sex workers. Short summaries of the report are also available, including abstracts in multiple languages. (UN Interagency Group/WHO, 2006)

 

This report examines five pivotal phases in the lives of young people: learning, working, staying healthy, forming families, and exercising citizenship. Within each of these transitions, the report recommends ways that governments can increase investments directly and also cultivate an environment for young people and their families to invest in themselves. The health chapter relates directly to reproductive health/HIV issues (World Bank, 2006)

 

Promoting Young People's Sexual Health 

The book discusses different aspects of sexual and reproductive health among young people, with a focus on developing country contexts and synthesizing lessons learned from a five-year Safe Passages to Adulthood project. Topics include research approaches for studying adolescent health, gender and gender-based violence, particularly vulnerable youth populations, and approaches to improving the sexual and reproductive health of youth.  (Safe Passages to Adulthood, DfID, 2006)(Available for US$37.95)

 

Recognizing the need to learn more about young people, the U.S. National Research Council convened a panel of experts to examine how the transition to adulthood is changing in developing countries. The panel also looked at the implications of these changes on those responsible for designing youth policies and programs, in particular, those affecting adolescent reproductive health. This book reports on the panel’s work and resulting recommendations. (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2005)

 

This publication highlights 10 programs from seven developing countries around the world. All 10 programs produced beneficial changes in sexual risk behaviors among sexually experienced youth while six of these programs also delayed the initiation of sex. Two of the programs showed a reduction in incidence of STIs or pregnancy. (Advocates for Youth, 2005)

 

Many program planners find it challenging to develop effective programs for youth. Many have exciting ideas, but lack evidence of successful programs, clear guidelines on innovative principles, and strategies for sustainability, all of which would facilitate the implementation of their initiatives. This publication provides access to materials previously unavailable, and brings to light essential elements of HIV prevention for youth-focused programming. (Safe Youth Worldwide, UNFPA and Margaret Sanger, 2004)

 

This report examines the condition of adolescents in the context of changing social norms and lifestyles, including weakening of family support systems amid globalization and urbanization. The report provides country-specific examples of projects that combine life skills education, including sexuality education, and peer counseling with access to services, and points out the high costs and social consequences of failing to adequately meet adolescents' reproductive health and rights. (UNFPA, 2003)