Action for Girls’ and Young Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Mozambique

This project seeks to improve gender equality in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia by promoting and helping to realize adolescent girls’ and young women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Mozambique. The project works at accomplishing this by empowering the poorest and most vulnerable adolescent girls’ and young women with knowledge skills and access to SRHR services. The project also aims to increase their communities' commitment and support to protect girls’ and women’s rights by engaging boys men families and communities to change discriminatory socio-cultural norms and behaviours. Project activities include: (1) promoting life skills and SRHR through the use of safe spaces peer mentoring and girls' clubs; (2) training local sexual and reproductive health service providers to meet girls' and young women's needs; (3) educating family members community religious leaders and boys and men on the importance of girls' education and their SRHR; (4) improving SRHR policies and programming capacity through improved data monitoring and evaluation and coordination; and (5) amplifying confidential access to SRHR information for girls and young women through innovative use of communications technologies such as online interactive counselling and text messaging. The project contributes to improving gender equality and the realization of SRHR for about 1.2 million girls and young women in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased informed decision-making and leadership by girls and young women; (2) increased availability of integrated quality gender-sensitive SRHR services for girls and young women particularly those most vulnerable; and (3) improved socio-cultural attitudes behaviours and practices that protect and promote the SRHR of girls and young women in targeted districts.