This report is the summary of an in-depth Regional Report into the education and sexual reproductive health status of adolescents and young people in Eastern and Southern Africa. The full report (Young People Today. Time to Act Now) was developed in support of the ESA commitment process, to provide a regional assessment of the current status of HIV and sexuality education and SRH services for adolescents and young people, and to provide an evidence base for discussion related to policy change and programming for adolescents and young people in the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region. The report looks at the challenges facing adolescents and young people, and the policies and programmes that affect their futures – in terms of health, education and global citizenship. Far too often, the health and education needs of adolescents and young people are treated as mutually exclusive issues. As this report shows, it is time to break that artificial divide and instead focus and combine our efforts around a unifying vision – a young African, a global citizen of the future who is healthy, resilient, socially responsible, an autonomous decision-maker and one who has the capacity to reach their full potential and contribute to the development of their community, country and the region. This summary presents the synthesized findings of the regional report. It covers the health and social status of adolescents and young people in the region including access to education, HIV knowledge, HIV and unintended pregnancy prevalence, and key gender and human rights indicators. The report also presents an analysis of the responses under three thematic headings: sexuality education; sexual and reproductive health services; and gender, rights and contextual issues. Ten key recommendations offer guidance on how to move forward (see Chapter 6 – Recommendations).
Centro de Recursos de Salud y Educación