Most teenagers express fear and reluctance about using public health services for a sexual health problem. In partnership with the South African Department of Health, loveLife has developed national standards for adolescent-friendly services in primary care clinics. These standards provide the basis for an adolescent-friendly clinic accreditation program. This program includes intensive technical assistance and training to help clinics meet the accreditation criteria, as well as monitoring clinics compliance with the standards. The goal is to get all 5,000 clinics, countrywide, to comply with the adolescent-friendly standards within three to five years.
Peer groups are one of the most effective mechanisms for sexual health education.
The work of these young people is supported by the loveTrain a sexual health education center and clinic on rails and the loveTours a mobile radio broadcast unit. The approach is to motivate young people to participate in sexual health education programs through recreational opportunities and entertainment. What is learned in the Y-Centres also informs loveLife s work in making government clinics more accessible to young people. Additional elements of each Y-Centre are developed in partnership with the local community. Y-Centres also provide venues for peer education programs and a regional base for the corps of community mobilizers.