Project Example

Supporting Scalable, Youth-Powered Programming at the Community Level in Ethiopia: The Case of Smart Start

In 2016, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, PSI launched Adolescents 360 (A360), a 4.5-year program that works directly with young people to develop and deliver interventions that aim to increase demand for, and voluntary uptake of, modern contraception among girls aged 15-19 in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania. This technical brief presents the case of Smart Start, A360’s intervention in Ethiopia, offering lessons for similar AYSRH programs seeking to design and implement scalable, sustainable, community-based programming for adolescents.

Program evidence to date suggests that Smart Start resonates with girls, couples, and key stakeholders which influence girls’ decision-making around contraception. Furthermore, by expanding the ability of the public health system to reach adolescent girls and couples in relevant, meaningful ways, Smart Start is viewed by stakeholders at all levels of the Ethiopian FMOH as addressing a critical need for improved programming for adolescents.

Source: Population Services International Adolescents360

Date of Publication: November 8, 2019