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Projects from the Better reproductive health for adolescent girls in Senegal – ADOS Initiative

Participatory action research projects

Improving adolescent reproductive health in Senegal by using evidence to address child marriage and sexual violence (Implemented by the African Population and Health Research Center [APHRC], in collaboration with ENDA Santé)

The objective of this project is to identify and implement effective strategies, based on project-generated evidence, to prevent and reduce early marriage and pregnancy as well as related problems faced by adolescent girls aged 10 to 19 in the Kaolack and Gossas areas of Senegal. These problems are related to adolescent girls’ rights to access and enjoy their reproductive health.

The project will be implemented by the West Africa office of APHRC, based in Dakar. APHRC is implementing this project in collaboration with ENDA Santé, a regional public health organization, with a focus on national and regional programs for HIV, adolescents and youth, maternal and child health and marginalized populations.

Improvement of adolescent reproductive health through an integrated approach to combat gender-based violence and the strengthening of psychosocial care for adolescent girls in Senegal (Implemented by the Institute of Health and Development [ISED] of the Université Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, in collaboration with the Centre de Guidance Infantile Familiale [CEGID] and the Réseau National des Pairs Éducateurs du Sénégal [RENPES])

Under the leadership of ISED and in collaboration with CEGID and RENPES, this project seeks to develop an integrated and participatory model focused on the prevention of GBV and its impact on the reproductive and mental health of adolescent girls. Through a strategy of dissemination and ongoing engagement with expected key users, the project also seeks to empower adolescent girls and is expected to contribute to the strengthening of mechanisms for holistically addressing the impact of GBV on adolescent reproductive health in the Dakar, Louga and Kolda regions.   

Prevention and holistic care for adolescent victims of gender-based violence: Project “WAAR” (Implemented by the Regional Center for Training, Research and Advocacy in Reproductive Health [CEFOREP], in partnership with the Siggil Jiggen Network and the Réseau des Jeunes pour la Promotion de l’Abandon des Mutilations Génitales Féminines et des Mariages d’Enfants [RJPA-MGF/ME])

Under the direction of CEFOREP, in partnership with the Siggil Jiggen Network and the RJPA-MGF/ME, this action research project aims to build a holistic approach to enhancing the reproductive health of adolescent girls, while reducing the incidence of the violence of which they are victims. Sexual violence, early and/or forced marriage and psychological violence are considered to be the three most common types of violence perpetrated against adolescent girls in the Thiès region, where the communes of Thiadiaye and Tivaouane are located.

Empowering adolescent girls to combat child marriage and its negative effects on adolescent reproductive health in Senegal (Implemented by the Institute for Training and Research in Population, Development and Reproductive Health [IPDSR])

The objective of this participatory action research project is to understand the links between child marriage and reproductive health problems and to develop locally relevant interventions to address gender inequalities and reduce child marriage, thereby contributing to better reproductive health for adolescent girls. It will be conducted in four communities (Velingara, Tambacounda, Matam and Ndioum) to reflect the country’s cultural diversity. The project, implemented by the IPDSR at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop in collaboration with JGEN Women Global Entrepreneurship, will focus on the importance of adolescent participation in research and intervention development for their own group.

Informing, welcoming, sheltering and re-socializing: The social and political challenges of taking charge of the reproductive health of adolescent victims of gender-based violence in Senegal (Implemented by the Laboratoire d’Analyse des Sociétés et Pouvoirs/Afrique-Diaspora [LASPAD] of the Université Gaston Berger (UGB) de Saint-Louis, in collaboration with Gënji Hip-Hop, an association that brings together women artists, activists and feminists who evolve in hip-hop and urban cultures) 

Media
Gënji Hip-Hop members (Magui and Eve Crazy) from the video clip called #DOTOKO DEFATI (produced by Gënji Hip-Hop), raising awareness and supporting young people on reproductive health and gender-based violence.
©BOUSSOBALLY/SOKHNA DIARRA BOUSSO FALL
Gënji Hip-Hop members (Magui and Eve crazy) from the video clip called #DOTOKO DEFATI (produced by Gënji Hip-Hop), raising awareness and supporting young people on reproductive health and gender-based violence.

Under the responsibility of LASPAD of the UGB and in collaboration with Gënji Hip-Hop through a multi-actor platform that includes youth, this project seeks to produce an integrated alternative model of shelter, service provision and legal empowerment for adolescent girls who are victims of sexual violence and multiple forms of exclusion. This model, which will integrate the interactions between GBV and the reproductive health rights of adolescent girls, will be developed and tested with the Kulimaaro shelter, located in Ziguinchor. The project is expected to contribute to empowering adolescent girls through access to integrated information and services as well as mentoring and coaching. The aim is to improve the reproductive health of adolescent girls and address the social and cultural norms that lead to their exclusion, with the aim of facilitating their resocialization.

Other projects #

Nine youth projects that are taking place at the national and local levels are described below. 

Youth projects at the national level

Supporting the improvement of adolescent reproductive health and the fight against gender-based violence in Senegal (Implemented by the NGO ALPHADEV)   

This project, called “TAWFEEX,” aims to improve the development of adolescents and youth, mainly girls, in the villages of Gniby commune, located in the department of Kaffrine, region of Kaffrine, and those of the department of Pikine, Dakar, in the communes of Yeumbeul Nord, Yeumbeul Sud, Malika and Keur Massar. This aim will be achieved by strengthening community mechanisms for access to information on reproductive health and the prevention and management of all forms of GBV.  

Promotion of adolescent and youth reproductive health and the fight against gender-based violence in the Ziguinchor Region – “SAM, AAR NDAW YI AK DJIGUENE Y" (Implemented by the RJPA-MGF/ME) 

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Kick-off workshop for the project Promotion of adolescent and youth reproductive health and the fight against gender-based violence in the Ziguinchor Region – “SAM, AAR NDAW YI AK DJIGUENE YI” implemented by the Réseau des Jeunes pour la Promotion de l’Abandon des Mutilations Génitales Féminines et des Mariages d’Enfants.
RÉSEAU DES JEUNES POUR LA PROMOTION DE L’ABANDON DES MUTILATIONS GÉNITALES FÉMININES/MOMAR ALASSANE GUEYE
Kick-off workshop for the project Promotion of adolescent and youth reproductive health and the fight against gender-based violence in the Ziguinchor Region – “SAM, AAR NDAW YI AK DJIGUENE YI”.

This project aims to contribute to the improvement of the reproductive health of adolescents and youth in the Ziguinchor Region by increasing the availability, accessibility and use of high-quality reproductive health services, including the adoption of positive behaviour change. It also aims to deepen the involvement of youth in the fight against GBV, of which women and girls are the main victims.

JUBBANTI: Rights and reproductive health of youth and adolescents with disabilities (Implemented by the Réseau Jeunesse Population et Développement du Sénégal) 

This project will help fight against all forms of discrimination that youth are subjected to for the enjoyment of their rights to proper reproductive health. Youth who live with a disability have different reproductive health needs precisely because of their disability. Implemented in Pikine and Tambacounda, this project aims to increase the inclusion of adolescent girls living with a disability in reproductive health policies and programs. It seeks to improve their rights to proper reproductive health, facilitating their access to comprehensive services without any form of discrimination.  

Amplifying the voice of adolescents against gender-based violence and promoting health (Implemented by the Association Jeunesse Développement PASTEEF) 

This project, implemented in the Guédiawaye Department, notably Golf Sud, Sam Notaire, Ndiarème Limamoulaye, Wakhinane Nimzatt and Médina Gounass, seeks to help adolescent girls to strengthen their leadership and ability to act freely and responsibly with regard to their health. The project will also contribute to raising awareness of reproductive and community health issues to improve the socio-cultural environment.  

“Ma Voix” (Implemented by the Alliance Nationale des Jeunes pour la Santé de la Reproduction et la Planification Familiale [ANJ-SR/PF])  

The “Ma Voix” project, proposed by the ANJ-SR/PF, aims to advance the rights of adolescents regarding reproductive health and to strengthen efforts to prevent GBV, particularly sexual violence, in the Kaffrine region. It will promote access to information and reproductive health services tailored to the needs of adolescents while promoting gender equality, which is essential to ensuring the protection of adolescent girls from GBV, early and forced marriages, early pregnancies and female genital mutilation. 

Youth projects at the local level

This set of projects seeks to contribute to expanding the results and impact of the ADOS program, through support to five youth organizations working to improve the reproductive health of adolescent girls at the local level in Senegal.

Mobilization against early marriage of girls in Vélingara —“Ngalou Soukaabe Rewbe” (Implemented by the Réseau des Pairs Éducateurs de Vélingara in connection with the IPDSR project) 

This project is part of efforts to provide a solution to child marriage as well as early and unwanted pregnancies. The project will be set up in the Centre Conseil Adolescents in Vélingara. It will develop actions to raise awareness supported by communication strategies for behavioural change for the benefit of the communities and to mobilize parents, teachers and women leaders to reinforce the development and dignity of girls.   

Teens, because I am informed about my health, I protect myself against gender-based violence (Implemented by Gënji Hip-Hop in connection with the LASPAD project of the Université Gaston Berger de Saint-Louis)

This project aims to raise awareness about GBV and the reproductive health of young girls, through art and culture. At the end of the project, implemented in the regions of Dakar, Saint-Louis and Ziguinchor, Gënji Hip-Hop aims to offer empowerment opportunities to Senegalese women and girls through the dissemination of information relevant to adolescent girls. In particular, it aims to participate, through art and culture, in the capacity building of young girls to enable them to gain a better awareness of their reproductive health and the fight against GBV.

ANDE TAXAWOU KHALÉ (Implemented by RENPES, in connection with the ISED project) 

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“Ande Taxawou Xalé Yi” project kick-off workshop.
RÉSEAU NATIONAL DES PAIRS ÉDUCATEURS DU SÉNÉGAL
“Ande Taxawou Xalé Yi” project kick-off workshop. Project implemented by the Réseau National des Pairs Éducateurs du Sénégal in connection with the ISED project.

This project is part of efforts to bring about a solution to the sexual exploitation of children, rape and pedophilia. It will be implemented in the health districts of Kolda, Kébémer and Guédiawaye and will develop advocacy actions supported by communication strategies for the benefit of local, administrative, health and educational authorities. It will also mobilize parents, teachers and women leaders to work together to support girls’ development and dignity.

ARR DJIGUENU Tey ak Euleuk project (Implemented by the Réseau des Pairs Éducateurs de Kaolack [REPEK] in connection with the APHRC project) 

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Training workshop on social communication for behavioural change and the “do no harm” approach in Kaolack for the ARR DJIGUENU Tey ak Euleuk project implemented by the Réseau des Pairs Éducateurs de Kaolack in connection with the APHRC project.
RÉSEAU DES PAIRS ÉDUCATEURS DE KAOLACK
Training workshop on social communication for behavioural change and the “do no harm” approach in Kaolack for the ARR DJIGUENU Tey ak Euleuk project.

This project contributes to the fight against the negative impact that the interactions between GBV and reproductive health have on adolescent reproductive health. REPEK intends to bring to fruition the authorities’ commitment to the opportunities offered by better access to reproductive health services for adolescents and young people. Using an education and health approach, the project’s objective is to improve the knowledge and attitudes that adolescents and youth have about reproductive health.