Population Council Research that makes a difference

Kelly Hallman

The world’s population is projected to reach 7 billion on 31 October 2011. Population is growing fastest in the poorest countries, where people are least able to fulfill their basic needs and access opportunities. 

My research at the Population Council focuses on the way impoverished adolescents navigate growing up, particularly their experiences in relation to schooling, sexual activity, and work. I’m most interested in how policies and programs can help these young people make well-informed decisions about their education, work, marriage, and sexual and reproductive health.

In South Africa, young people face many challenges, including HIV, orphanhood from AIDS, early pregnancy, sexual violence, and limited employment opportunities. For example, young people who live in households that have been affected by HIV and AIDS tend to be the most poor and socially disconnected. Many youth HIV programs don’t reach these young people in meaningful ways. If we could provide them with social and economic support, they might be able to improve their life prospects.

In partnership with the Isihlangu Health and Development Agency in South Africa, the Council developed and tested a program called Siyakha Nentsha (which means “building with young people” in isiZulu, the local language). This program is taking place in peri-urban neighborhoods of KwaZulu-Natal Province. We realized that if we could find a way to inform young people about a range of health and social issues, we could reduce their vulnerability to HIV and build their abilities to work and find productive social  networks. This will help them escape the cycle of poverty.

The program works with girls and boys who are in school. The vast majority of young people in South Africa attend school during their teenage years. We determined through discussions with guardians and traditional leaders in the community that working through schools would be the most effective way to reach a large number of participants. Girls are a primary focus of the program because of their vulnerability to HIV and early pregnancy. Boys participate, too, because in addition to gaining valuable skills, their working together with girls results in increased respect for and decreased objectification of the opposite sex.

Program facilitators are recent graduates of the schools in which the program is taking place. They also reside in the program communities, so they are familiar with the circumstances young people are up against and face fewer transportation difficulties than facilitators from outside the community, resulting in less absenteeism.

The participants face a host of challenges. One-third of girls and boys who took a baseline survey had lost at least one parent. Many participants lived with grandmothers, siblings, aunts, or uncles. Nearly a quarter reported their households did not have enough money to buy food or other basic necessities.

We tested two versions of the program, one that focused on developing social and health capabilities, and another that helped build financial capabilities as well. We’re finding both versions of the program are making a real difference in the lives of these young people. For example, girls report increased self-esteem, more interaction with financial institutions, and greater confidence in their ability to obtain a condom, if necessary. Boys are more likely to have remained sexually abstinent, and boys who had sex reported fewer sexual partners than boys who did not participate in Siyakha Nentsha.

There are very few programs like this, and even fewer that reach boys and girls together. Programs such as Siyakha Nentsha that are informed by careful, context-specific research, developed in partnership with communities, and implemented where they can have the greatest impact can improve the lives of vulnerable people and transform behaviors and norms. Young participants in KwaZulu-Natal will become adults who are better equipped with the skills they need to improve their lives.