Scaling up best practices: How to address youth sexual and reproductive health knowledge gaps
N. Samir, S. Hussein, M. Afifi
Pathfinder
International, Cairo, Egypt
Research conducted in 6 Arab countries in addition
to research done by TAHSEEN Project in Egypt demonstrated that there is a
serious lack of reproductive health knowledge among youth in the region. In
response, the Project in Egypt successfully launched a youth reproductive health
hotline, a youth-friendly website “www.shababna.org” and initiated
Shabab (Youth) TAHSEEN Week (STW); a Behavior Change Communication program aimed
at young people aged 14-18 in 68 communities in Egypt. The youth hotline and website are hosted by a local
NGO.
The Project trained newly graduated medical
doctors to work as tele-counselors for callers. In a 4 months period the hotline
received a total of 5496 phone calls with a daily average of 45 calls. Seventy
percent of
the callers are females and 14% of the total is parents. Callers mostly
inquire about fertility, pregnancy, marital relationships and genital organs.
STW is a 6 day program that blends community service, sports and education to
increase knowledge and improve attitudes towards RH and mobilize young
people as advocates for improved communication and empowerment within the
community.
Pre- and post-program indicators show youths’ knowledge of
reproductive health topics has improved significantly. For example, knowledge of
the harms of female circumcision increased from 16% to 78%, and puberty
changes from 13% to 86%. Evidence shows that participating youth have taken the
initiative to educate peers and respectfully engage parents and community
leaders on reproductive and sexual health topics breaking generations of
silence. Having worked on the hotline, website and STW simultaneously proves
to be successful in reaching youth living in hard-to-reach areas that is worthy
of replication.