Unlocking Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health with Data: A Global Effort

Strategic Insights -

The United Nations World Health Organization has published a series of country profiles to address the diverse challenges faced by adolescents worldwide, particularly in relation to their sexual and reproductive health and rights. These resources aim to provide disaggregated data on key issues affecting young people, facilitating informed decision-making and evidence-based interventions. The country profiles have been widely welcomed by stakeholders, including government officials, researchers, and youth-led groups, who recognize the importance of accurate and comprehensive data in pressing for investment and action to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

Key Takeaways:

  • The WHO has published country profiles on adolescent sexual and reproductive health, covering 50 countries and ten key areas, including socio-demographic characteristics, sexual activity, and human papillomavirus.
  • The country profiles aim to provide a snapshot of adolescent sexual and reproductive health issues, helping governments, organizations, and individuals make informed decisions and design effective programs.
  • Margaret Bolaji-Adegbola, Founder of Stand with a Girl (SWAG) Initiative, highlights the significance of disaggregated data in engaging with governments and other partners to ensure adequate programming using evidence-based interventions.
  • The profiles are particularly useful for identifying data gaps, such as those related to abortion and gender-based violence, and for informing the development of targeted interventions and engagement activities.
  • Bentoe Tehoungue, Director of Family Health in Liberia, emphasizes the importance of quality data in decision-making, highlighting that Liberia's population is predominantly youthful, and investing in young people is crucial for harnessing the demographic dividend.
  • Niranjan Saggurti, Director of the Population Council, New Delhi, India, stresses the value of bringing together data from various sources to provide a holistic view of the situation of adolescents, including socio-economic, gender, and health factors.
  • Catherine Lane, Director of Youth at FP2020, notes the crucial significance of such summaries of data in ensuring accountability by countries to implement changes and improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health.
  • Darren Welch, Director of Global Health at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in the UK, emphasizes the importance of improved data to make lasting change for adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, highlighting the UK's commitment to supporting access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Statistics:

  • Liberia's population is predominantly youthful, with 4.5 million adolescents and young people, accounting for 65% of the total population.
  • In India, the Population Council has partnered with the World Health Organization to strengthen the use of data in decision-making.
  • The FP2030 has solicited commitments from countries to improve women's and adolescents' access to and use of contraception, including guidance on how to make evidence-informed and rights-based commitments.
  • The UK has committed to supporting the WHO in developing the country profiles and has pressed for progress on the reproductive rights of adolescents, with over 30 countries committing to providing programs supporting adolescents and over 60 donors and partners committing to collecting data in their programs.

Sources:

  • World Health Organization
  • Stand with a Girl (SWAG) Initiative
  • Population Council
  • FP2020
  • Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in the UK
  • Demographic and Health Surveys Data (DHS) 2018
  • Adolescent Health Desk Officers in Nigeria
  • Nigeria Family Planning Conference in December 2020
  • United Nations United Nations World Health Organization