Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country, with an estimated population of nearly 130 million as of 2024 (United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 2024). With young people (aged 10 to 24) accounting for one-third of that population, and a total fertility rate of nearly 4 children per woman, Ethiopia is poised to double its population in just 28 years (ibid.). Cognisant that future economic development depends on investing in young people’s well-being, including their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), the Ethiopian government’s National Adolescent and Youth Health Strategy prioritises two goals: raising the age of first marriage and first sex (which, in Ethiopia, remain tightly interlinked despite child marriage having been illegal for decades); and reducing adolescent pregnancy, pregnancy-related mortality, and HIV prevalence (Ministry of Health, 2021). Progress on some metrics notwithstanding, the Ministry of Health (ibid.) acknowledges that young people’s sexual and reproductive health needs remain under-served, and Ethiopia is considered off-track to deliver on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, which is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages (Sachs et al., 2023).
This report builds on previous research and synthesises findings from the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) programme’s third round of data collection (conducted in 2021 and 2022) to explore patterns in Ethiopian young people’s sexual and reproductive health (Ogunbiyi et al., 2023; Pincock et al., 2023a;b; Jones et al., 2022; Presler-Marshall et al., 2020; Jones et al., 2019a;b). Paying careful attention to similarities and differences between groups of adolescents (aged 13–17) and young adults (aged 18–21), based on gender, geographical location, and intersecting disadvantages (including disability and child marriage), we explore multiple indicators of sexual and reproductive health.
Suggested citation
Presler-Marshall, E., Jones, N., Baird, S., Yadete, W., Hamory, J., Das, S. and Workneh, F. (2024) Ethiopian young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights: evidence from GAGE Round 3. Report. London: Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (https://www.gage.odi.org/publication/ethiopian-young-peoples-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-evidence-from-gage-round-3/)
