YouthNet Technical Assistance

Nepal

Background

Results

Contact Information

Background

With one-third of Nepal's population between the ages of 10 to 24, USAID/Nepal recognized the growing youth reproductive health and HIV prevention (YRH/HIV) needs of Nepali youth.  The Mission contacted YouthNet in 2004 and requested assistance in conducting a broad-based assessment of YRH/HIV and related livelihood programs in the country.

Through this technical assistance opportunity, YouthNet was asked to assist USAID/Nepal in prioritizing options for addressing YRH/HIV needs in its next strategic plan, including pre-planning for an adolescent module to be included in the 2006 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). 

The assessment was carried out by a team, including YouthNet staff, national consultants, and youth advisors, from May 3-10, 2004, in five districts of Nepal�Bara, Bhaktapur, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Parsa�through meetings with 41 organizations and nine field site visits.  Based on the assessment, YouthNet recommended how USAID/Nepal might scale-up successful YRH/HIV programs, i.e., the UNFPA-funded Reproductive Health Initiative for Youth in Asia (RHIYA) project, and introduce new initiatives to its current family planning and HIV/AIDS portfolio to help meet the urgent needs of youth in reproductive health and HIV/AIDS.

Results

What are the reproductive health and HIV prevention needs of young people in Nepal?

A YouthNet report, based on this technical assistance, provide descriptions of the following:

• Key reproductive health challenges facing Nepali youth include early sexual debut, early marriage and childbearing, and low rates of contraceptive use.
• The contextual factors which predispose young people to risky behaviors or make them vulnerable are lack of education, poverty, gender inequality and discrimination, political instability/conflict, social and cultural norms, and a lack of access to reproductive health information/services.  
• Greater priority ought to be placed on fully implementing and funding the existing laws, policies, and strategies.
• Existing RH programs in the country are summarized, including those run by various ministries of the Government of Nepal and international and local NGOs.
• Demographic levels, trends, and patterns indicate Nepal's population is young, with one-third (approximately eight million) of the total population (more than 24 million people) aged between 10 and 24 years.

Some of the most significant conclusions are:

• Nepal's young people have low school enrollment and marry and bear children early. 
• Poverty most likely acts as the cause and consequence of early marriage and low school enrollment or high drop-out rates. 
• Early marriage, in the absence of contraceptive use, results in early childbearing. 
• Gender proves to be an overarching factor for explaining many reproductive health outcomes.
• Young married females are substantially more disadvantaged than single females or single or married males.

Recommendations

YouthNet's recommendations are divided into two sections.

I. The first recommendations are for consideration by government institutions, international and local NGOs, and the donor community to help close the gap between youth reproductive health needs and current programs. 

1. Focus on the needs of young married women.

2. Scale-up successful programs combining RH, education, life skills, and gender issues after evaluating them.

3. Disseminate youth RH messages via local mass media.

4. Establish integrated VCT services for youth.

II. The second section was specific to USAID/Nepal and included recommendations for the short-term (2004-2006):

1.   Develop service delivery guidelines.

2.   Train MOH and NGO providers in youth-friendly services and YRH.

3.   Support teacher training in YRH.

4.   Develop network of YRH agencies and coordinate materials development.

5.   Include a module on youth in the next DHS. 

YouthNet's recommendations for the new USAID strategy (2007-2012) that the Mission is beginning to prepare include:

1. Include implementing a stand-alone, separate youth-focused RH, HIV prevention, life skills, and education activity.
2. Include RH activities in a more general, youth-focused project that would address the multidimensional needs of youth.
3. Implement generic RH/HIV activities, but assure young people are targeted.   

The full report, Assessment of Youth Reproductive Health/HIV Programs in Nepal (PDF 642 KB), is available.

Contact Information

FHI Contact Information for Nepal is available.