WHAT WE DO: Adolescents

In the 1970s Pathfinder International became one of the first international reproductive health organizations to support projects for adolescents, and we have since worked with young people in more than 30 countries under a wide range of circumstances. Adolescents reached through Pathfinder's projects may be married, working, in school, or caring for younger siblings due to parents lost from AIDS. Pathfinder utilizes innovative and multi-pronged approaches to reach this diverse group of young people with information and services that focus on:

• Delaying marriage and childbearing;
• Increasing the use of contraceptives; and
• Preventing sexually transmitted infections and HIV and AIDS.

Pathfinder has supported youth-friendly service delivery in both clinical and non-clinical settings, sexuality and life skills education in schools and youth centers, behavior change communication through mass media and local media such as theater and music, and peer education programs.

Because adolescents’ needs often extend beyond reproductive health, Pathfinder projects frequently incorporate components that provide young people with education, vocational training, microcredit, and parenting skills. Youth participation and community involvement are central to Pathfinder’s adolescent programming as young people are the best poised to advocate for their needs. Given the sensitivities around adolescent sexual and reproductive health, we work to sensitize policy makers, parents, teachers, and health workers about the special needs of this important and often vulnerable group.

Featured Projects

	Ethiopia: Pathfinder coordinates an adolescent program in Ethiopia, in conjunciton with USAID, that incorporates three projects: Family Planning and Reproductive Health Services, Women's and Girls' Empowerment Project, and HIV and AIDS Care and Support.

	Uganda: Makerere University Health Outreach Project: Addressing the reproductive health needs of university-age students through the recruitment and training of Medical Student Peer Service Providers.

	India: PRACHAR: Reaching young couples with knowledge of the dangers of adolescent childbirth and the skills to delay the first birth and space subsequent pregnancies.

Featured Publication

	Causes and Consequences of Early Marriage in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia, 2006 This report examines a study conducted in the spring of 2006 that gathered both quantitative and qualitative information on the practice of early marriage in the Amhara region of Ethiopia.

More Publications: Adolescents

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 What Are Three Challenges Young People in Mozambique Face? Regina Benevides of Pathfinder Mozambique talks about the top three sexual and reproductive health challenges facing young people.

A Smart Investment: Pathfinder's Callie Simon writes on the importance of sexual and reproductive health in multisectoral youth programs.

Building the Future Together: Pathfinder's PRACHAR project in India demonstrates how solving inequalities requires working with both young women and men.