Learning from adolescents to prevent HIV and unintended pregnancy

This In Brief, written by Heather D. Boonstra, summarizes key findings of a multiyear, multi-country study on the scope of young people's sexual and reproductive health needs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Guttmacher staff worked with 10 organizations (nine based in Africa) to gather evidence in four Sub-Saharan African countries--Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda--where national surveys of 12-19-year-olds, focus groups of 14-19-year olds, in-depth interviews with 12-19-year-olds and in-depth interviews with key adults in adolescents' lives were conducted. The Guttmacher study complements a robust body of evidence on adolescents globally published in the past five years by, among others, the National Research Council, the World Bank and the World Health Organization. It is unique, however, in that it presents information gathered from adolescents themselves and that it addresses, in an integrated fashion, young people's risk of both HIV and unplanned pregnancy.