Partnering with Local Organisations to Support the Reproductive Health of Adolescent Refugees: A Three-year Analysis

Published by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children Reproductive Health Project, this 19-page resource focuses on the the Eleanor Bellows Pillsbury Fund for Reproductive Health Care and Rights for Adolescent Refugees (EBP Fund), which supported adolescent reproductive health (ARH) by providing US$190,027 through 36 grants to 33 local and international partner organisations in 20 countries, of which 68% was allocated to projects in Africa.

The funded activities include ARH programmes such as ARH information sessions, training youth as peer health educators, facilitating peer-to-peer education and counselling, providing educational support and income-generating skills training with integrated reproductive health messages, distributing brochures, fliers and pamphlets with reproductive health messages, distributing condoms for free, and running workshops for parents about ARH.

The report discusses the various strategies that are used to reach adolescent refugees. More than 61,000 adolescents have attended events offering reproductive health training and education on issues such as condom use, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), family planning techniques, and protection against gender-based violence. Projects have conveyed this education through seminars, workshops, drama and cultural performances, discussion groups and video screenings.

This publication states the four lessons learned, which are:

Lesson One: Peer-to-peer ARH education strategies provide opportunities for meaningful adolescent participation, which, with quality training and careful project monitoring and evaluation, can maximise project impact while minimising financial costs.

Lesson Two: Effective reproductive health projects for conflict-affected adolescents do not adhere to a set formula or model, but instead are varied in their approach, creatively designed to be culturally appropriate and to meet the specific, pressing needs of adolescents in a particular community.

Lesson Three: Conflict-affected communities, and especially adolescents themselves, are highly motivated to improve adolescents’ reproductive health, but need capacity building, through technical guidance and support, to maximise the effectiveness of their projects.

Lesson Four: ARH networks are a promising way to close gaps in service provision and to strengthen limited capacities; they facilitate coordination and collaboration among the numerous and diverse ARH projects located within a particular region.