FHI - Youth InfoNet 20

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This Web site includes documents detailing the results of needs assessments in Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Mali, and reports from an experience-sharing workshop. The research field guide provides tools for conducting participatory needs assessments on health with rural girls. Resources are available in both French and English.
Contact: fcipubs@familycareintl.org

2. A Costing Analysis of Community-Based Programs for Children Affected by HIV/AIDS: Results from Zambia and Rwanda (2005) (PDF, 283K)

This paper analyzes the cost of two community-based programs for children affected by HIV/AIDS, and discusses additional costs for scaling up the programs and long-term sustainability.
Contact: Reachgrants@pacthq.org

3. A Strange Illness: Issues and Research by Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in Central China (2005) (PDF, 130K)

This is a summary of the report of "a strange illness", a project that explored the issues and concerns raised by orphans and children affected by HIV/AIDS in an area of central China with a severe HIV/AIDS epidemic. This project was undertaken as a preliminary study for a longer program of child-focused work in the area to provide care, support, and treatment within a framework of child protection and children's participation.
Contact: orders@nbninternational.com

4. Breaking the Silence and Saving Lives: Young People's Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Arab States and Iran (2005) (PDF, 1.73 MB)

This review of adolescent sexual and reproductive health details regional knowledge, provides recommendations for policies and programs, and identifies gaps in knowledge on reproductive health and gender in the Middle East. The report includes sections on policies, program efficacy, and a situational analysis of the reproductive health of young people.
Contact: fxbcenter@igc.org

5. The Changing Context of Sexual Initiation in Sub-Saharan Africa (2005) (PDF, 415K)

This paper examines the connections between the increasing age at marriage in 27 sub-Saharan African countries and premarital sexual behaviors. One study found that while the age at sexual debut remains steady, more young people are initiating sex before marriage since the age of marriage is later.
Contact: pubinfo@popcouncil.org

6. The Effects of Conflict on Health and Well-Being of Women and Girls in Darfur (2005) (PDF, 799K)

This situational analysis aims to understand how the health of women and girls has been affected by the conflict in Darfur. Recommendations to improve their well-being include increasing access to healthcare, preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence, providing fuel efficient stoves, increasing girls' access to education, and facilitating community-based psychosocial interventions.
Contact: martinez@unfpa.org

7. Jayapura City YARHS (Young Adult Reproductive Health Survey) 2002-2003 (2005) (available in PDF format, by chapter)

This survey, carried out in Jayapura City (the capital of Papua, Indonesia), found that while young people are knowledgeable about modern contraceptives, they are ineligible to receive them through public health sources. This lack of access to condoms may increase the risk of HIV/AIDS among adolescents.
Contact: reports@orcmacro.com

8. Letting Them Fail: Government Neglect and the Right to Education for Children Affected by AIDS (2005) (PDF, 363K)

Based on interviews with children and their caregivers, this report explores the abuse, neglect, and discrimination faced by children affected by HIV/AIDS in the education system. International, national, and local policy recommendations encourage collaboration and sensitivity in the education of these children.
Contact: genaos@hrw.org

9. Promoting Change in Reproductive Behavior of Youth (2005) (PDF, 1.27 MB)

This final report reviews the objectives and accomplishments of the Promoting Change in Reproductive Behavior in Bihar (PRACHAR) project, aimed at young married couples and their communities. Results reveal a higher acceptance of contraception in the community, longer intervals between marriage and first birth, and successful training of local health practitioners in reproductive health issues.
Contact: information@pathfind.org

10. Reducing HIV/AIDS Vulnerability Among Students in the School Setting (2005) (PDF, 1.2 MB)

This updated manual for training of teachers focuses on the inclusion of HIV/AIDS education in schools, and includes additions to the original training module such as material on an understanding of adolescence, HIV/AIDS risk and drug abuse, human rights, and care of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Contact: i.penchun@unescobkk.org

11. State of the World Population 2005 (PDF, 1.49 MB)

This annual report includes three chapters on youth. The first, The Unmapped Journey: Adolescents, Poverty and Gender, deals with the health and livelihood of young people, including early marriage, HIV/AIDS, and employment. The second youth chapter, Partnering with Boys and Men, discusses men and boys' involvement in reproductive health and the impact of gender roles. The last chapter, Women and Young People in Humanitarian Crises, focuses on empowering young people after crises and safeguarding reproductive health.
Other languages: Spanish (PDF, 1.56 MB), French (PDF, 1.52 MB), Russian, and Arabic
Contact: publications@un.org

12. The Sugar Daddy Syndrome: African Campaigns Battle Ingrained Phenomenon (2005) (PDF, 241K)

This resource provides an overview of cross-generational sex in Africa and examines the research and programs implemented to address "sugar daddies," including peer education and social marketing.
Contact: info@psi.org

13. Violence Against Children in Cyberspace (2005) (PDF, 1.58 MB)

This report identifies a framework to understand the risks of sexual violence toward young people through new technologies, including mobile phones and the Internet. Risks include distribution of child pornography, online solicitation to lure a child into a situation where he/she may be harmed, and harassment or intimidation. The report concludes with policy recommendations for governments, the private sector, and communities.
Other languages: Spanish (PDF, 1.21 MB) and French (PDF, 1.28 MB)
Contact: info@ecpat.org

14. Woman or Child? Voices of Teenage Girls in the Middle East (2005) (PDF, 2.01 MB)

This publication from Save the Children examines the role of young women in Muslim societies; since many adults view a young woman as both a woman and a child, adolescent girls are often marginalized in their communities because of traditional gender and age relations. Topics discussed include education, female sexuality, and reproduction.
Contact: rbpublishing@rb.se

15. Youth and Sexuality Research. Ages 12-19 years in the Diocese of Cape Town, South Africa (2005) (PDF, 820K)

This research evaluates the sexual activities of Cape Town youth who attend church. Results found that 30.5 percent of respondents had engaged in sexual activity including vaginal, oral, and anal sex; 66 percent of those have had multiple sexual partners. The study also found that six percent of respondents have been forced to have sex.
Contact: info@fikelela.org.za

II. RESEARCH SUMMARIES

1. The effect of non-family experiences on age of marriage in a setting of rapid social change. Yabiku ST. Popul Stud (Camb) 2005;59(3).
This study examines the changing effects of non-family activities on the age of transition to first marriage in four cohorts of individuals across 45 years, in the Chitwan Valley, Nepal. The results indicate that school enrollment had a negative effect on both men's and women's marriage rates, while total years of schooling had a positive effect on men's marriage rates. Non-family employment experiences increased marriage rates for men only. Analyzing the effects of schooling and employment over time suggests that school enrollment became a growing deterrent to marriage for both sexes, and that non-family employment became an increasingly desirable attribute in men. The results are consistent with changing views about sex roles and schooling over time in the region, as the roles of student and spouse became more distinct. The results also suggest an increasing integration of husbands in the non-family labor market.

2. Evaluating the need for sex education in developing countries: sexual behaviour, knowledge of preventing sexually transmitted infections/HIV, and unplanned pregnancy. Singh S, Bankole A, Woog V. Sex Educ 2005;5(4).
Young people's need for sex education is evidenced by early initiations of sexual activity, involuntary sexual intercourse, high-risk sexual behaviors, and inadequate levels of knowledge regarding means of protecting one's sexual health. Apart from behaviors, extent and accuracy of knowledge about risks to sexual health and means of preventing unhealthy or undesired outcomes are important indicators of young people's need for information to help them make choices and engage in safe and healthy behaviors. Such measures of behavior and knowledge can also be relevant and valid indicators of the effectiveness of sex education interventions. The context within which young people live and key characteristics such as school attendance and literacy are important considerations in providing information and evaluating interventions.

3. Factors associated with condom use among youth aged 15-24 years in Brazil in 2003. Calazans G, Araujo TW, Venturi G, Franca I. AIDS 2005;19(Suppl 4).
Researchers analyzed factors associated with the lack of condom use among young people at last sexual intercourse with a steady or casual partner through a cross-sectional study involving 1,170 household interviews; the study was designed to build a representative sample of the population of young Brazilian residents aged 15-24 years. The overall level of condom use at last sexual intercourse was high (60 percent), although it was significantly more common in casual sexual partnerships. Cohabitation was associated with a lack of condom use in both casual and steady partner encounters. In addition, being female, having less schooling, having no work history, and having a per capita family income above the minimum wage were factors related to not using condoms in the group of young people who had their last sexual encounter with steady partners. Among young people with casual partners, such factors included a positive history of alcohol use, first sex at 9-16 years of age, inadequate knowledge of AIDS treatability, and bereavement related to violence.

4. 'Let's talk about sex, baby...': conversing with Zimbabwean children about HIV/AIDS. Gwanzura-Ottemoller FP, Kesby MG. Children's Geographies 2005;3(2).
The lack of HIV/AIDS research about children under 15 in Zimbabwe indicates that most researchers believe children are too young to "talk about sex." However, some are already sexually active, the rest soon will be, and children constitute 45 percent of Zimbabwe's population. This mixed methods study surveyed 118 children and interviewed 36 about their understanding of sex and HIV/AIDS. The study revealed that the children had a range of knowledge levels about HIV/AIDS and sexual issues. It established that children can and want to discuss these sensitive issues, and that their attitudes towards safer sex are often more advanced than those of adults.

Youth InfoNet 20 � November 2005

I. PROGRAM RESOURCES

II. RESEARCH SUMMARIES

I. PROGRAM RESOURCES

II. RESEARCH SUMMARIES

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