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You(th) Care

Our Work

About You(th) Care

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youth-care-project

Duration: 2022 - 2025
Location: Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia
Youth(th) care (2022-2025) is a four-year project supported by Aidsfonds to ensure that vulnerable adolescents and young people in Kenya, Zambia, and Tanzania benefit from a more supportive policy and community environment and strengthened health system enabling them to practice self-care to promote and maintain their SRHR, access to family planning and prevent HIV and AIDS.

The You(th) Care project aims to enable adolescents and youth aged 10-25 years, especially girls and other vulnerable adolescents, living in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia to advocate for and practice self-care for their SRHR needs, increase access and utilization of (digital) self-care services and commodities.

Self-care is a sustainable and cost-effective approach to achieving Universal coverage of SRHR to reduce unwanted teenage pregnancies, decrease adolescent HIV infections, and increase adolescents living with HIV on treatment, and END AIDS by 2030.

Background/context

allen-kyendikuwa In East and Southern Africa, adolescents and young people (10-24 years) represent 33% of the population, which will likely double by 2050. Of the 12.1 million vulnerable adolescent girls aged 15-19 in sub-Saharan Africa, 62% have an unmet need for modern contraception. Between 28-41% of young women aged 20-24 give birth before the age of 18. AIDS is the leading cause of death among women, and 80% of new adolescent HIV infections are among girls aged 10-19 years. Adolescent girls, in particular, are at risk of HIV and STIs, unsafe abortions, risky pregnancies and gender-based violence. Archaic laws, policies and practices criminalize aspects of adolescent sexuality which undermines their access to HIV and SRH care.

youth-care-statistics

Objectives

The overall objectives of the You(th) care are;
  1. Duty bearers and decision-makers improve, resource, and implement laws and policies that respect, promote and realize adolescents' SRH and HIV self-care needs.
  2. Adolescents and young people, specifically girls and those who are vulnerable, have increased access to quality SRHR and HIV community and public services including access to self-care services and commodities.
  3. The objectives will be met through two mutually reinforcing pathways.

Pathway 1
Supports adolescents and youth-led action to promote an ‘enabling legal, political and societal environment for vulnerable adolescents and young people by ensuring that duty bearers at legal, political and societal levels adopt and implement laws and policies and promote adolescents and young people as agents to access services and claim their SRHR including through self-care. Y+ Global implements activities under pathway 1.
Pathway 2
Advances the strengthening of public and community health systems and to improve access to and demand for SRHR services.

Target

  • 135,000 adolescents and young people trained as advocates
  • 300 decision-makers and duty bearer champions (including local and national government officials, health system decision-makers; religious and community leaders; parents and guardians)
  • 99 public health service providers; 99 community health workers and 330 peer supporters.

By 2025, 325,000 adolescents and young people (10-25 years) in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia will have benefited from improved laws and policies, expansion of available family planning, self-care, HIV prevention and treatment services and commodities, and the availability of innovative digital information services.

Download You(th) Care Year 1 Report

You(th) Care Partners
You(th) Care is implemented by 11 consortium partners:
Whistle-Blower