World Population Day - July 11, 2006

World Population Day aims to raise awareness about important population and development issues. This year’s focus is on the unique needs of young people.

USAID's Office of Population and Reproductive Health supports many programs and activities to meet the needs of young people in the developing world.

The world has nearly 2 billion young people ages 10 to 24; of these, more than four out of five – 86 percent – live in developing countries. Society must face the challenge of harnessing the energies of these youth while helping them realize their full potential so they can contribute to and participate in the social, economic, political, and cultural life of their communities.

A Sampler of USAID Youth Programs

In Kenya, USAID supports the national Girl Guides Association in raising HIV awareness among its members and in having the girls work toward merit badges related to various aspects of HIV/AIDS prevention. The program provides a forum for girls and young women to discuss HIV and support each other in avoiding risky behaviors.

Within a broader family planning/reproductive health program, USAID/Bangladesh supports numerous youth activities, including initiatives to reach newlyweds with messages and materials about delaying first pregnancy and with contraceptive and maternal health services.

In the Dominican Republic, USAID is helping to improve the quality of services at public and private reproductive health facilities where adolescents are a priority target group. The USAID project CONECTA provides training to service providers to improve post-abortion care counseling for youth in public hospitals. The training includes improved counseling on contraceptives and HIV/STIs and information on post-abortion danger signs and symptoms.

JA-STYLE, a USAID-funded project in Jamaica, uses the youth resiliency model to enhance protective factors, such as community involvement and youth participation in recreational and other extracurricular activities, to reduce sexual risk-taking behaviors. The project also works to mitigate factors such as substance use and abuse and violence. JA-STYLE is currently implementing a behavior change communication and mass media strategy and has initiated a small-grants program to provide funds to community-based organizations for training, education, and counseling adolescents about reproductive health.

In the 1990s, USAID expanded its specialized activities in reproductive health for youth. Two projects, FOCUS on Young Adults and its successor YouthNet, represented a 10-year program to improve the health and well-being of young adults. FOCUS emphasized tasks such as awareness raising, capacity building, and identifying appropriate strategies for promoting reproductive health and preventing HIV/AIDS among youth. YouthNet shifted its emphasis to program expansion, adaptation, institutionalization, and sustainability of successful strategies. Additionally, USAID Missions provide direct support to youth programs in their host countries.