HOME OUR STORY OUR WORK OUR NEWS JOIN US Adolescent Health An adolescent girl in Ghana. Photo credit: Liz Nugent Adolescent Health Home » Adolescent Health Globally, adolescents (age 10-19 years) make up 16% of the world’s population. But in some regions – notably sub-Saharan Africa – adolescents account for 23% of the population. This sizeable and important group has unique health needs that require targeted interventions and supportive health services. Risk increasing behaviors – including tobacco, alcohol, and drug use – contribute to early death, disability, and illness. Both biological and social factors contribute to vulnerability in adolescence. The leading cause of death for 15- to 19-year-old girls globally is complications during pregnancy and childbirth. And social factors – including social pressure for early marriage, interpersonal violence, lack of education, and poverty – contribute to poor adolescent health outcomes. These include malnutrition, infectious diseases including HIV, and poor mental health. A youth-led and multi-sectoral, coordinated response is crucial to improving adolescent health. Critical approaches include: Involve adolescents in the design, implementation, and monitoring of activities and services; Support civil society organizations and ministries of health to develop, modify, implement, and disseminate policies and guidelines that support best practices in adolescent health; Use different channels to reach adolescents, such as private sector providers, mobile outreach, social media and digital platforms, pharmacies and drug shops, and peer groups; Address provider bias and enrich providers understanding of adolescence; Integrate services to offer comprehensive quality care; Support the collection of data disaggregated by age and gender; and Address financial barriers to adolescent care-seeking. An adolescent-responsive health system approach ensures that health services are accessible and relevant to adolescents while remaining integrated with service delivery at large. By facilitating partnerships with youth groups to design, implement, and monitor adolescent-friendly health services, adolescents can be empowered to acquire skills, achieve goals, and boost physical and emotional health and resiliency. Adolescent girls in the Philippines attend a reproductive health education session. Photo credit: URC URC has addressed the unique vulnerabilities of adolescents throughout many of our projects. In Niger, URC worked to reduce the rate of child marriage under the Resilience and Economic Growth in the Sahel – Enhanced Resilience (REGIS-ER) Project. URC has supported orphans and vulnerable children impacted by HIV through our PEPFAR work in sub-Saharan Africa, and improved adolescent-friendly health services through change packages introduced under our global ASSIST Project. The Health Evaluation and Applied Research Development (HEARD) Project uses implementation science and strategic partnerships with more than 35 diverse global organizations to improve the implementation of evidence-based practices, interventions, and policies. The HEARD Project conducted research to identify urban youth challenges and best practices for targeting this population with health interventions. Warriors’ Camps – The fight to achieve viral load suppression among HIV-Positive adolescents in East Central Uganda The Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in North, Acholi (RHITES-N, Acholi) Activity focuses on strengthening the health system to increase access to and use of quality health services. Activity work with the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe) partnership resulted in the proportion of adolescent girls experiencing sexual and other forms of gender-based violence decreasing from 49% at baseline to 19.5% and an HIV incidence rate well below the national rate. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for Health (BARMMHealth) Project in the Philippines bolsters Ministry of Health capacity to facilitate local health solutions in family planning, adolescent and youth reproductive health, and maternal and child health to support self-reliance and sustainability. In the first year of the project, 514 adolescent youth received information on responsible practice of sexuality, contraceptive options, and respect, 5,170 community health workers were provided with FP information, and services to address violence against women and children were created. That year, the project contributed to 67,390 new FP acceptors. Projects View all of our Adolescent Health projects Overview Brief Download our Adolescent Health brief News DREAMS Program Offers Young Women a Way Forward November 29, 2021 Teenage Counselors Help Reduce Teenage Pregnancy in Uganda November 15, 2021 Allowed to DREAM Again in Northern Uganda October 12, 2021 5404 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 800 Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815 Phone: (301) 654-8338 Fax: (301) 941-8427 FOLLOW US HOME PRIVACY POLICY CONTACT ETHICS HOTLINE © 2021 University Research Co., LLC. All Rights Reserved