Dr. Mallika Mitra Biswas, PhD, Planned Parenthood Federation of America-International, C-120, Sector E, Aliganj, Lucknow, India, 91-522-2327258, mallikamitra.biswas@ppfa.org and Dr. Sona Sethi, PPFA-International, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, P.O. Box 48, Bangkok, 10504, Thailand.

“Youth Access to Reproductive Health Services” (YARS) in India is a perfect example of how culturally sensitive and effective reproductive health programs can improve the health and lives of young women and their families. Four partners of PPFA-International implement the program in West Bengal and Jharkhand states of India. The program emphasizes on increasing the practice of healthy sexual behaviors and utilization of reproductive health services for prevention of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and HIV/AIDS/STI in the community. The program also contributes to an understanding of the social factors and decision-making processes of adolescents and their families. As the name of the program suggests (YARS means “peer” in Hindi) all the strategies are targeted at the peers-married, unmarried and elderly. This presentation will mainly focus on the key strategies adopted in the adolescent-centered program to achieve the output results of increased awareness, access, and utilization of quality, comprehensive reproductive health services. The effect on the lives of young women and their families will also be discussed. The presentation will also demonstrate the benefits of using the strategies in an adolescent centered sexual and reproductive health program.

Learning Objectives: