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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Using Data To Identify And Reach The Most Vulnerable Young People, Adam Weiner
Using Data To Identify And Reach The Most Vulnerable Young People, Adam Weiner
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 10 describes how the Population Council, through workshops and conferences with partners around the world, seeks to promote a better understanding of the adolescent experience and advocates for the development of programs based on evidence. To facilitate fact-based planning, the Council uses valuable sources of data, such as the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), to generate evidence to support policy analysis and program design. In 2001, the Council produced a series of reports using DHS called “Facts about Adolescents from the Demographic and Health Survey: Statistical Tables for Program Planning” …
Biruh Tesfa Provides Domestic Workers, Orphans, And Migrants In Urban Ethiopia With Social Support, Hiv Education, And Skills, Annabel Erulkar, Belaynesh Semunegus, Gebeyehu Mekonnen
Biruh Tesfa Provides Domestic Workers, Orphans, And Migrants In Urban Ethiopia With Social Support, Hiv Education, And Skills, Annabel Erulkar, Belaynesh Semunegus, Gebeyehu Mekonnen
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
In Ethiopia, the HIV epidemic is increasingly urban and female. An estimated 7.7 percent of the urban population in Ethiopia is HIV-positive, compared with less than 1 percent of the rural population. Nationally, the female-to-male ratio of HIV infection is 3 to 2. Girls who migrate from rural to urban areas may be less protected, more vulnerable to violence and sexual abuse, and less equipped to avoid abusive situations—all of which may increase HIV risk. The Biruh Tesfa (“Bright Future”) program addresses the social isolation of out-of-school adolescent girls aged 10–19, including rural-to-urban migrants, domestic workers, and orphans. Using a …
Summary Of New Lessons: The Power Of Educating Adolescent Girls, Cynthia B. Lloyd
Summary Of New Lessons: The Power Of Educating Adolescent Girls, Cynthia B. Lloyd
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Over the past 15 years, girls’ education in the developing world has been a story of progress, as noted in Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 33. Interest from the development community has grown steadily in response to evidence documenting the benefits of girls’ schooling, and female education is now a major part of global development commitments. Education helps adolescent girls avoid long working hours and early pregnancies, and lowers risk of HIV/AIDS, and secondary education offers greater prospects of remunerative employment. But according to a 2008 United Nations report, 113 countries failed to reach the …
Survey Of Young People In Egypt (Sype) 2009—Final Report, Population Council
Survey Of Young People In Egypt (Sype) 2009—Final Report, Population Council
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This document contains the Final Report for SYPE 2009. Responding to a dearth of data on youth in Egypt, the Population Council conducted a comprehensive situation analysis of Egyptian adolescents and young people: the Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE) 2009, which covered a nationally representative sample of 15,029 young people aged 10-29. SYPE collected data on the five key life transitions of education, work, family formation; health; and civic and political participation. SYPE follows up an earlier survey conducted by the Population Council in 1997, The Adolescence and Social Change in Egypt (ASCE) survey. SYPE updates the results …
Operationalizing And Scaling Up Hiv/Rh Referrals In Kenya: The Way Forward, Aphia Ii Or Project In Kenya
Operationalizing And Scaling Up Hiv/Rh Referrals In Kenya: The Way Forward, Aphia Ii Or Project In Kenya
Reproductive Health
This policy brief describes the APHIA II Operations Research Project through which the Population Council and Kenya’s Ministry of Health (MOH) developed and tested an approach to systematically link HIV-positive family planning (FP) clients to treatment and care services. Key activities included provider training and testing of a referral package which showed how, where, when, and who is to make and receive referrals. This referral package consisted of a directory listing all facilities in the vicinity available for services including HIV counseling and testing, FP, STIs, tuberculosis, and well-child checks; and referral forms directing clients to appropriate receiving clinics. The …
Siyakha Nentsha: Building Economic, Health, And Social Capabilities Among Highly Vulnerable Adolescents In Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, Kelly Hallman, Eva Roca
Siyakha Nentsha: Building Economic, Health, And Social Capabilities Among Highly Vulnerable Adolescents In Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, Kelly Hallman, Eva Roca
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Young people growing up in South Africa face many challenges. HIV, orphanhood, early pregnancy, and limited employment prospects are some of the major obstacles to a healthy and productive adulthood. In KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the province with the highest HIV prevalence rates, the impact of HIV and AIDS is felt especially strongly, and already-disadvantaged adolescents face the prospect of falling even further behind socially and economically because of the disruption of key relationships in their lives. The Isihlangu Health and Development Agency and the Population Council developed and piloted a life-orientation program, Siyakha Nentsha, to improve the lifelong skills and well-being …
Rethinking The Time Allocation Of Egyptian Females: A Matching Analysis, Rana Hardy
Rethinking The Time Allocation Of Egyptian Females: A Matching Analysis, Rana Hardy
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This study explores the extremely biased division of labor within Egyptian households. The effects of marriage on women’s market and domestic labor supplies are important aspects of this study conducted by the Population Council for its working paper series on gender and work in the Mideast-North Africa region. New explanations for married women’s low participation rates are proposed. A matching model is estimated to determine how selection into marriage alters the time allocation of women. The empirical results show that marriage significantly affects both types of work with married women spending about eight hours less on market work weekly relative …
Protecting Young People From Sex Without Consent, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy
Protecting Young People From Sex Without Consent, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Over the last decade, a growing body of evidence has laid to rest any illusion that the young are protected from unwanted sexual advances or forced sex both within and outside of marriage. Studies have established the prevalence of unwanted sex within marriage among young women and its risk factors; the association between poverty and forced sex among adolescent girls in South Africa; levels and correlates of forced sex reported by young people in Ethiopia and Kenya. Evidence has established that sex without consent among the young exists in every region of the world, and that girls, as well as …
Piloting A Safe Spaces, Asset-Building Program For Adolescent Girls In Urban Ghana, Sarah Engebretsen, Selina F. Esantsi
Piloting A Safe Spaces, Asset-Building Program For Adolescent Girls In Urban Ghana, Sarah Engebretsen, Selina F. Esantsi
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Ghana’s population of 24 million is projected to reach 31.8 million in 2025. This population growth is coupled with rapid urbanization. Urban adolescent females experience a rapid decline in school enrollment, often because they need to provide economic support to families. Girls living apart from families and out of school often lack social networks and have few opportunities to build the critical skills needed for adulthood. The Population Council has a global portfolio of work reaching vulnerable adolescent girls with programs that provide a safe, girl-specific platform where girls can develop core skills, form friendships, receive and give peer support, …
Introducing Adolescent Livelihoods Training In The Slums Of Allahabad, India, Monica J. Grant, Barbara Mensch, Mary Philip Sebastian
Introducing Adolescent Livelihoods Training In The Slums Of Allahabad, India, Monica J. Grant, Barbara Mensch, Mary Philip Sebastian
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
While all adolescents in India face a rapidly changing economic environment, girls’ life choices are very different from boys’. Girls are much less likely to be engaged in economic activities, and when young women do participate in income-generating activities, it is often in unremunerated home-based work. Even when young women are paid for their labor, they may not retain control of their income. The Population Council and its partners are promoting a “livelihoods approach” that aims to expand the decision-making power of young women by building social networks and developing financial and income-generating capacities. This approach attempts to provide technical …
Safe And Smart Savings Products For Vulnerable Adolescent Girls In Kenya And Uganda: Results From The Uganda Pilot Evaluation, Karen Austrian
Safe And Smart Savings Products For Vulnerable Adolescent Girls In Kenya And Uganda: Results From The Uganda Pilot Evaluation, Karen Austrian
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This presentation was given at the Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference in Washington DC, USA in 2011. It looks at results from a Uganda Pilot Program to provide financial education among girls and increase asset building in the form of Girls Savings Programs. Results from this study saw that savings programs build social, health, and economic assets for girls.
A P4p Model For Increased Utilization Of Maternal, Newborn And Child Health Services In Bangladesh, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Ubaidur Rob, Laila Rahman, Ismat Ara Hena, A.K.M. Zafar Ullah Khan
A P4p Model For Increased Utilization Of Maternal, Newborn And Child Health Services In Bangladesh, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Ubaidur Rob, Laila Rahman, Ismat Ara Hena, A.K.M. Zafar Ullah Khan
Reproductive Health
In Bangladesh, maternal health programs are not yet reaching the desired level of facility-based obstetric care service. Most deliveries are conducted by untrained persons at home, demonstrating inequity in access to recommended maternal health care services and underutilization of existing obstetric and newborn care services. Suboptimal performance by providers is a key barrier to improving availability and quality of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services. To increase use of facility-based services, an operations research study of “pay-for-performance” (P4P) incentives for providers and subsidization of consumer costs was initiated in 2010. The study, part of the Government of Bangladesh–United Nations …
Addressing Sexual Violence And Hiv Risk Among Married Adolescent Girls In Rural Nyanza, Kenya, Chi-Chi Undie
Addressing Sexual Violence And Hiv Risk Among Married Adolescent Girls In Rural Nyanza, Kenya, Chi-Chi Undie
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Married adolescent girls form a large segment of Kenyan youth, yet they are largely overlooked by researchers and program managers concerned with the lives of adolescents. In settings such as Nyanza Province, Kenya, rates of HIV infection are extremely high, and evidence is increasing in some settings that girls who are married are much more likely to be infected, compared with their unmarried sexually active counterparts. Research indicates that the risk of HIV infection following forced sex is likely higher than following consensual sex. Finding ways to tackle sexual violence and HIV infection simultaneously has therefore become a major public …
Education During Humanitarian Emergencies: The Situation Of Displaced Children And Youth In Darfur, Sudan, Safaa El-Kogali
Education During Humanitarian Emergencies: The Situation Of Displaced Children And Youth In Darfur, Sudan, Safaa El-Kogali
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
More than 39 million children and youth who live in conflict-affected fragile states do not have access to education. With an increase in the average duration of refugee displacement from 9 years in the early 1990s to 17 years today, whole generations of children have little chance to recoup the potential educational investment lost during their years living in the midst of a humanitarian emergency. The Population Council and the Women’s Refugee Commission launched a research project to identify the link between education and children’s protection and well-being in Darfur, Sudan. The objective was to document the educational environment in …
Investigating School Quality And Learning Outcomes Among Adolescents In Malawi, Christine A. Kelly
Investigating School Quality And Learning Outcomes Among Adolescents In Malawi, Christine A. Kelly
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Education, particularly at the primary level, has long been regarded as an essential input of social and economic development. In addition to its role in increasing the cognitive abilities of students, schooling is recognized as a facilitator of labor force participation, female empowerment, improved health outcomes, and greater civic engagement. As one of the early pioneers in sub-Saharan Africa of free primary education, Malawi’s enrollment figures compare favorably with those of its neighbors in southern Africa. However, as noted in Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 34, primary school completion rates stand at just 35 percent, …
Calling Attention To Young Adolescents: Building The Evidence Base To Inform Policies And Programs, Martha Brady
Calling Attention To Young Adolescents: Building The Evidence Base To Inform Policies And Programs, Martha Brady
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Young adolescence is a critical life-cycle stage marked by a dynamic combination of opportunity and risk. During this time, children undergo tremendous physical, emotional, social, and cognitive changes as well as socialization into prevailing sexual and gender norms. For the majority, young adolescence is characterized by relatively good health and stable family circumstances, but it can also be a period of vulnerability due to a number of rapid transitions that force some young people into adult roles. Most young adolescents experience the onset of puberty (girls earlier than boys), which typically marks an abrupt life change. Some young adolescents will …
Addressing Sexual And Gender-Based Violence (Sgbv) Against Adolescent Girls, Sajeda Amin, Althea D. Anderson
Addressing Sexual And Gender-Based Violence (Sgbv) Against Adolescent Girls, Sajeda Amin, Althea D. Anderson
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
The Population Council’s extensive work on adolescent safe spaces and livelihoods programs has demonstrated the pathways of empowering adolescent girls and the substantial benefits for society. Monitoring and evaluation data from these initiatives have produced empirical evidence about threats to girls’ health and well-being that relate to both longstanding and emergent social forces. In developing countries, where the risk of adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes is high and young girls are at high risk, it is important to address issues related to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and gender norms that relate to these risks. The Council’s work with …
Provider-Related Barriers To Accessing Emergency Contraception In Developing Countries: A Literature Review, Katherine Williams
Provider-Related Barriers To Accessing Emergency Contraception In Developing Countries: A Literature Review, Katherine Williams
Reproductive Health
This systematic literature review aims to identify and describe existing provider-related barriers to accessing emergency contraception (EC) in developing countries, as well as the prevalence of these barriers and documented research programs to address them. Findings from this review will contribute to specific recommendations on provider attitudes and behaviors related to emergency contraception and inform the development of a global advocacy strategy to increase access to the method.
Survey Of Domestic And Work Life Experience And Reproductive Health Of Women Workers Of Selected Industrial Compounds In Ha Noi, Nguyen Thi Van Anh, Nguyen Hong Phuong
Survey Of Domestic And Work Life Experience And Reproductive Health Of Women Workers Of Selected Industrial Compounds In Ha Noi, Nguyen Thi Van Anh, Nguyen Hong Phuong
Reproductive Health
The Population Council Viet Nam and local stakeholders undertook a collaborative project in Ha Noi entitled “Improving the health care response to gender-based violence.” The study’s objectives were: 1) to assess the knowledge and experience of female workers about gender-based violence; 2) to assess knowledge and practice of women workers on reproductive health focusing on abortion; and 3) to make recommendation for the Ha Noi Health Service to improve the women workers’ knowledge on gender-based violence, choice of contraceptive method, reproductive health care, and abortion. The women factory workers, who have higher levels of education than their peers in the …
Increasing Access To Safe Abortion In Rural Rajasthan: Outcomes Of A Comprehensive Abortion Care Model, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, A.J. Francis Zavier, Rajib Acharya, Shveta Kalyanwala
Increasing Access To Safe Abortion In Rural Rajasthan: Outcomes Of A Comprehensive Abortion Care Model, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, A.J. Francis Zavier, Rajib Acharya, Shveta Kalyanwala
Reproductive Health
This report describes an assessment by the Population Council of the Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC) model implemented in Tonk district, Rajasthan. Findings highlight that at the time of the baseline survey, the availability of abortion services was limited; also evident was the poor quality of abortion-related care. Given this context, and given the short duration of implementation, the changes achieved by the intervention are promising. The district-level CAC model succeeded in strengthening facilities, training providers, and increasing women’s access to safe abortion services at the Primary Health Centre level. Community-level activities were less successful, attributable to a considerable extent to …
Introduction Of Medical Abortion In Ghana, Emmanuel Kuffour, Selina F. Esantsi, Placide Tapsoba, Gloria Quansah Asare, Ian Askew
Introduction Of Medical Abortion In Ghana, Emmanuel Kuffour, Selina F. Esantsi, Placide Tapsoba, Gloria Quansah Asare, Ian Askew
Reproductive Health
To significantly expand women’s access to modern family planning and comprehensive abortion care services a provisional license was awarded to Marie Stopes International-Ghana by the Ghana Food and Drugs Board for the introduction and provision of the first medical abortion regimen (mifepristone and misoprostol) in Ghana. The Population Council conducted this study to document the introduction process; findings from the study will provide much needed evidence to inform policy decisionmaking and the scale-up phase. Overall the study has shown that medical abortion is a viable option for Ghanaian women--an overwhelming number of those who have benefitted from the procedure are …
Social Mobilization Strategy, Family Advancement For Life And Health (Falah)
Social Mobilization Strategy, Family Advancement For Life And Health (Falah)
Reproductive Health
This document outlines social mobilization strategies at the national and community levels of the Family Advancement for Life and Health (FALAH) project in Pakistan. The project aims to improve the health and well-being of women, men, and their children through tackling the major obstacles in adoption of birth spacing to improve maternal and child health outcomes and family well-being, by increasing knowledge of the benefits of birth spacing as well as knowledge, increased demand for, and effective use of contraceptive methods. The strategy aims to achieve a significant increase in couples’ knowledge and understanding of the need for and benefits …
Strengthening The Delivery Of Comprehensive Reproductive Health Services At The Community Level In Kenya, Population Council
Strengthening The Delivery Of Comprehensive Reproductive Health Services At The Community Level In Kenya, Population Council
Reproductive Health
The Population Council APHIA II Operations Research Project collaborated with the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation to improve the quality of services offered by community-based midwives in two districts in Western Kenya, to prepare them to offer more comprehensive maternal services through antenatal, obstetric, postpartum, and newborn care. The study found that community midwives can tremendously increase clients’ access to essential maternal health services and other reproductive health services. Therefore Ministry of Health and its partners should scale up community midwives’ activities to enable more women access these services. Furthermore, information campaigns are needed to promote the range of …
Migration And Hiv In India: Study Of Select Districts, Niranjan Saggurti, Bidhubhusan Mahapatra, Suvakanta N. Swain, Madhusudana Battala, Alka Narang, Umesh Chawla
Migration And Hiv In India: Study Of Select Districts, Niranjan Saggurti, Bidhubhusan Mahapatra, Suvakanta N. Swain, Madhusudana Battala, Alka Narang, Umesh Chawla
HIV and AIDS
Report of a study assessing the important role of migration in the spread of HIV in districts with high out-migration in India. The study suggests a considerable spread of HIV linked to migrants’ extramarital sexual behaviors, and subsequent delay in treatment for infected spouses. In order to control the spread of HIV, the study provides programmatic recommendations made by the study participants and the counselors from ICTCs and ART centers. These suggestions include village-level mapping of at-risk persons, mainstreaming HIV prevention interventions within current health resources, improving various village level HIV prevention programs, and involving women left behind by migrant …
Evaluation Of The Informed Consent Process For Male Circumcision Scale-Up In Swaziland, Barbara Friedland, Louis Apicella, Katie D. Schenk, Meredith Sheehy, Paul C. Hewett
Evaluation Of The Informed Consent Process For Male Circumcision Scale-Up In Swaziland, Barbara Friedland, Louis Apicella, Katie D. Schenk, Meredith Sheehy, Paul C. Hewett
HIV and AIDS
This report evaluates the informed consent process for male circumcision conducted through the Male Circumcision Partnership for Swaziland, led by Population Services International, in partnership with Jhpiego, Marie Stopes International, and the Population Council. The study assesses participants' comprehension of the circumcision process, the informed consent process, as well as the affect of male circumcision counseling on their experience.
Addressing The Needs Of Girls At Risk Of Early Marriage And Married Adolescent Girls In Burkina Faso, Sarah Engebretsen, Gisele Kaboré
Addressing The Needs Of Girls At Risk Of Early Marriage And Married Adolescent Girls In Burkina Faso, Sarah Engebretsen, Gisele Kaboré
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Early marriage occurs frequently in rural areas of Burkina Faso and curtails girls' ability to complete their education and fulfill their potential. Once married, girls tend to be less mobile and have limited social networks compared to unmarried girls, and married girls are expected to begin childbearing almost immediately. Given their young age, pregnant adolescents may be at risk of complications during childbirth. Despite the large number of married girls and girls at risk of early marriage in Burkina Faso’s rural areas, few programs address the issue of early marriage directly. Furthermore, the country lacks services tailored to their needs. …
Scaling Up Asset-Building Programs For Marginalized Adolescent Girls In Socially Conservative Settings: The Ishraq Program In Rural Upper Egypt, Nadia Zibani, Martha Brady
Scaling Up Asset-Building Programs For Marginalized Adolescent Girls In Socially Conservative Settings: The Ishraq Program In Rural Upper Egypt, Nadia Zibani, Martha Brady
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
In 2001, the Population Council and partners designed and implement an intervention program to address the needs of out-of-school adolescent girls in rural Upper Egypt. As noted in Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 12, the pilot, referred to as Ishraq (“Sunrise”), was launched in four rural villages of el-Minya governorate in Upper Egypt, the country’s least developed and most disadvantaged region. Targeting girls aged 13–15, this program was designed to promote literacy, impart life skills, build social networks, and foster leadership and self-confidence through sports. By establishing girl-friendly spaces in which participants could meet, learn, …
Creating 'Safe Spaces' For Adolescent Girls, Wendy Baldwin
Creating 'Safe Spaces' For Adolescent Girls, Wendy Baldwin
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Adolescence is a time of many transitions and a time to acquire the skills for adult life. Although skills can still be acquired in adulthood, adolescence is a time to lay a foundation of education, financial skills, positive health behaviors, and critical thinking. For many girls in the developing world, the opportunity to move freely in the community becomes limited at the onset of puberty. This may be a well-intentioned protective measure, but the effect can be to limit girls’ opportunity to form strong social networks, gain requisite skills, and learn how to be full members of their community. The …
Innovative Financing Through Pay-For-Performance For Providers To Improve Quality Of Care In Bangladesh: Transforming Research Into Action, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Ubaidur Rob, Laila Rahman, Ismat Ara Hena
Innovative Financing Through Pay-For-Performance For Providers To Improve Quality Of Care In Bangladesh: Transforming Research Into Action, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Ubaidur Rob, Laila Rahman, Ismat Ara Hena
Reproductive Health
To improve access to and use of facility-based obstetric and newborn care, the Government of Bangladesh is implementing two innovative performance-based financing programs, namely demand-side financing (DSF) and pay-for-performance (P4P). With the purpose of identifying the lessons learned, limitations of the P4P and DSF models, and scopes for cross learning, a two-day workshop was organized in Dhaka. This workshop report, prepared by the Population Council, resulted in several recommendations to modify DSF and P4P schemes. In Bangladesh, the need for continuing performance-based financing programs to meet MDGs and other health indicators is beyond argument, but it is urgently required to …
Expanding Access To Safe Abortion And Post-Abortion Care: Recommendations Of A South Asia Regional Consultation, Population Council
Expanding Access To Safe Abortion And Post-Abortion Care: Recommendations Of A South Asia Regional Consultation, Population Council
Reproductive Health
A South Asia Regional Consultation, organized by the Population Council with representation from governments and key stakeholders of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, was held in New Delhi, to discuss ways of expanding women’s access to safe abortion services. The Consultation deliberated on ways of expanding the provider base for safe induced abortion so as to overcome inadequate and inequitable access to safe abortion. They also looked to expand access to services for the management of incomplete abortion and complications of unsafe abortion that persist in the region and, thereby, to reduce morbidity and mortality resulting from unsafe abortion. In …