Adolescent sexual and reproductive health for out-of-school youth: lessons from a pilot intervention with young people with disabilities in Ethiopia

Sexual and reproductive health is integral to the well-being and rights of adolescents and young people. Ethiopia’s 2016 National Adolescent and Youth Health Strategy seeks to improve the quality and accessibility of adolescent and youth health services. However, adolescents and young people with disabilities in Ethiopia are often denied basic rights to education and healthcare due to stigma attached to their disability and a lack of adapted services. As a result, they are vulnerable to sexual exploitation and violence, and have a lower overall level of knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and rights than their peers without disabilities (Population Council and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 20101; Kassa et al., 20162; Jones et al., 20183; Jones et al., 20214).

Suggested citation:

Pincock, K., Jones, N., Solomon, L., Ayenekulu, M., Mesfine, R. Yadete, W. and Aytenew, T. (2023) ‘Adolescent sexual and reproductive health for out-of-school youth: lessons from a pilot intervention with young people with disabilities in Ethiopia’. Policy brief. London: Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (https://www.gage.odi.org/publication/adolescent-sexual-and-reproductive-health-for-out-of-school-youth-lessons-from-a-pilot-intervention-with-young-people-with-disabilities-in-ethiopia)