Engaging Ethiopian youth and their communities for improved youth reproductive health

From 2003 - 2007 Save the Children (SC) expanded a school and community-based Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health program to the in the region of Oromiya, Ethiopia. The Initiative to Save the Young Generation's Health Today (INSYGHT) program targeted hard-to-reach young people living in semi-urban and rural setting. INSYGHT supported and facilitated ARSH Club training and activities for in and out-of-school youth; created an enabling health facility environment through Quality Improvement Teams and a referral network; encouraged parent/youth communication through training, parent-facilitated discussion groups and parent-designed community events; established a supportive socio-political environment through ARSH Committees meetings and community-wide special events. In addition, INSYGHT supported a radio broadcast and radio promotion network. In 2007, SC conducted an impact evaluation, and collected data from 816 in and out of school youth (408 intervention and 408 non-intervention).

The presentation will highlight key behavior change results including: an increased age at sexual debut in both sexes; decreased high risk sex among sexually experienced youth in both sexes; better communication on HIV/AIDS with peers, parents, and other family members; significant improvement in knowledge and use of youth friendly health services (YFHS)among youth of both sexes and better uptake of key reproductive health services.