You(th) Care
You(th) Care (2022–2025) supports adolescents and young people aged 10–24 years—especially girls and other vulnerable adolescents—in Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia. The programme equips them to advocate for and practice self-care for their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) while expanding access to digital and in-person self-care services and commodities.
In East and Southern Africa, adolescents and youth (10–24 years) make up 33% of the population, a number expected to double by 2050. Among the 12.1 million vulnerable girls aged 15–19 in sub-Saharan Africa:
- 62% have an unmet need for modern contraception
- 28–41% of young women aged 20–24 gave birth before age 18
- AIDS is the leading cause of death among women, with 80% of new adolescent HIV infections occurring among girls aged 10–19 years
Adolescent girls in particular face HIV, STIs, unsafe abortions, early pregnancies, gender-based violence, and restrictive laws that criminalise aspects of their sexuality—undermining their right to care.
Through You(th) Care, Paediatric-Adolescent Treatment Africa (PATA) works with health facilities and local implementing partners to strengthen health systems, integrate HIV and SRHR self-care services, and embed peer support alongside clinic–community collaboration. The programme aims to empower 325,000 adolescents and young people with knowledge and agency, shift harmful social norms, improve the quality of community and public health services, and drive reforms to laws and policies that undermine young people’s SRHR.
At mid-term, results show strong progress in creating more welcoming, youth-responsive health services. Health facilities are becoming friendlier spaces for adolescents and young people, with healthcare providers adopting approaches that emphasize privacy, confidentiality, and inclusion. Collaborative health service days and peer-support initiatives have strengthened trust between young clients and healthcare providers, leading to increased uptake of HIV and SRHR self-care services.
Partners
