Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: Research, Policy, and Practice

Kammila Naidoo,Melanie Pleaner,Oluwafemi Adeagbo

doi:10.1177/2158244019859951

Abstract

Seventeen articles make up this special collection, covering a range of different, but cross-cutting themes. These highlight contemporary concerns in African research and scholarship about the factors configuring the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). The articles interrogate contextual and cultural impediments, problematic representations, perceptions of vulnerabilities and rights, experiences of gender-based violence, coercive sex, unplanned motherhood—and agency, resistance and strategic interventions. While a diverse range of issues, theories, and methodologies are evident, all the articles reflect on how the circumstances of young women in Africa can be effectively improved to engender empowerment, good health, and personal and sexual autonomy.

Highlights

Of the approximately 1.8 billion people aged 10 to 24 years who live across the globe, 89% live in developing countries (Braeken & Rondinelli, 2012; Delany-Moretlwe et al, 2015; Patton et al, 2016)
A 2010 report by the Guttmacher Institute shows that 7% of young people aged 15 to 24 in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are currently living with AIDS
In South Africa, for example, young people between 15 and 24 years have the highest rate of HIV acquisition despite the large number of HIV intervention programs in the country

Summary

Introduction

Of the approximately 1.8 billion people aged 10 to 24 years who live across the globe, 89% live in developing countries (Braeken & Rondinelli, 2012; Delany-Moretlwe et al, 2015; Patton et al, 2016). Keywords AGYW, sexual and reproductive health, sub-Saharan Africa, HIV, gender-based violence, vulnerability, adolescent motherhood Where services and forms of intervention are lacking, adolescents face great risk of unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV, and exposure to violence (Naidoo, 2015; Yah et al, 2017).

Results

Conclusion