Grant: Project Grant

There is an urgent need to design inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) education programs adapted for youth in global health. Many SRHR programs often do not reach or are inaccessible to youth in situations of vulnerability. Our research with youth with disabilities in Uganda and youth living in slums in Bangladesh (The Together Project) highlighted the need for empowering and transformative youth SRHR education programs. Building on our work, we aim to co-create an inclusive SRHR education program with youth in situations of vulnerability through The Together Project 2.0. Our objectives are to: 1) identify SRHR education needs for youth in situations of vulnerability with limited to no access to SRHR education; 2) co-develop with youth accessible SRHR education content adapted to their needs; and 3) co-evaluate and co-adapt the SRHR content. To guide our work, we are mobilizing critical frameworks related to structural vulnerabilities, agency, and intersectionality, as well as a participatory action approach to working with youth. Our 2-year research will be conducted in Gulu, Uganda (youth with disabilities) and in Dhaka, Bangladesh (youth living in slums). For Objective 1, we will conduct community consultations with youth to identify gaps and needs in SRHR education. For Objective 2, we will co-create with youth two SRHR educational video series rooted in agency and empowerment based on the findings from Objective 1. For Objective 3, we will organize community viewing and discussion sessions, followed by interviews with community leaders and focus groups with youth to evaluate and adapt the series. Our team is made up of SRHR experts (researchers and community organizations) from Canada, Uganda, and Bangladesh. Our multi-country project will lead to two SRHR video series co-developed with local youth in situations of vulnerability. The video series will be shared among local and international SRHR actors and websites.