Youth and Adolescents
Youth—children, adolescents, and young adults up to the age of 24—have unique needs for health, well-being, and safety. Recognizing that young children are unable to care for themselves and that older youth experience dramatic physical, cognitive, and social changes at their stage of development is an important aspect of response. For some, orphanhood, neglect and abuse, economic hardships, and exploitation—including trafficking—may contribute to dangerous living conditions and poor health outcomes, including acquiring HIV or experiencing unintended pregnancies.
| To learn how this work is continuing after the MEASURE Evaluation project, please visit Data for Impact. |
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MEASURE Evaluation, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), worked in several areas focused on children, adolescents, and young adults. Among our objectives was to identify proven and promising practices that assist youth and make them available to the global community.
For example, the project focused on children and youth who need alternate protection and care when their family settings are disrupted, or they are separated from their families. MEASURE Evaluation helped four countries enhance the capacity of their governments to assess, address, and monitor care reform.
We also worked in HIV-related programming—with support from the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Youth bear a disproportionate burden of HIV infection, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Limited knowledge, unhealthy attitudes, and lack of safeguards—such as nurturing and protective families and communities—may lead to sexual risk behaviors that increase the risk of acquiring HIV. To ensure that global goals for controlling HIV and AIDS are not stalled, these vulnerabilities must be addressed. Evidence of what works among youth in prevention, testing, care, and treatment is needed to help design and implement effective programs. The project also worked with adolescent girls and young women in several countries where PEPFAR has focused programming and with youth of both sexes in South Africa through a school-based sexuality and HIV prevention program.
In Kenya, MEASURE Evaluation helped to develop a child protection information management system to monitor children who have been orphaned, abused, or who have experienced other risk factors that make them vulnerable.
Related Content
How MEASURE Evaluation Supports DREAMS
Role of Male Sex Partners in HIV Risk of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Mozambique
Characterizing Male Sexual Partners of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Mozambique: Key Findings
Impact Evaluation of a School-Based Sexuality and HIV Prevention Education Activity in South Africa – Baseline Survey Report
Guidelines on Best Practices for Adolescent- and Youth-Friendly HIV Services
Best Practices for Adolescent- and Youth-Friendly HIV Services
HIV-Related Knowledge, Behaviors, and Exposure to the Life Orientation Curriculum among Grade-8 Learners in KwaZulu-Natal
HIV-Related Knowledge, Behaviors, and Exposure to the Life Orientation Curriculum among Grade-8 Learners in Mpumalanga
