You(th) Care
You(th) Care (2022-2025) will enable adolescents and youth aged 10-24 years, especially girls and other vulnerable adolescents, in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia to advocate for and practice self-care for their SRHR needs and to increase access to (digital) self-care services and commodities.
In You(th) Care, PATA will provide technical assistance, strengthen health system capacity using our innovative, evidence-based, data-driven quality improvement methods and best practices.
PATA will focus on HIV-SRHR and self-care integration training and provide technical quality improvement support to identified sites.
PATA will support local partners in the effective integration of peer support methodologies and clinic-community collaboration.
Through You(th) Care, PATA aims to integrate successful HIV/SRHR self-care models to address adolescent needs in health facilities and capacitate peer supporters to provide improved quality, youth friendly services.
You(th) Care objectives
Empower 325,000 adolescents and young people at an individual level, by increasing their SRHR and HIV knowledge as well as their agency to claim their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
Shift social norms in communities by working with key duty bearers that adolescents rely on including parents, community and religious leaders
Improve access to quality community and public SRHR services at health system level
Improve and change policies and laws that have a detrimental impact on SRHR at policy level
In East and Southern Africa, adolescents and young people (10-24 years) represent 33% of the population, which will likely double by 2050.
Of the 12.1 million vulnerable adolescents’ girls aged 15-19 in sub-Saharan Africa, 62% have an unmet need for modern contraception. Between 28-41% of young women aged 20-24 give birth before the age of 18. AIDS is the leading cause of death among women, and 80% of new adolescent HIV infections are among girls aged 10-19 years. Adolescent girls, in particular, face HIV and STIs, unsafe abortions, risky pregnancies and gender-based violence. Archaic laws, policies and practices criminalise aspects of adolescent sexuality which undermines their access to HIV and SRH care.
Resources
You(th) Care partners
