Since 2018, the SAMRC Health Systems Research Unit (HSRU) has been conducting research to reduce the rate of HIV among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), as well as address the rising number of unplanned pregnancies in this population group.

One recent study evaluated the Imagine Programme. Targeting grade 8-12 female learners, the programme set out to focus on the needs of AGYW. It gave them the opportunity to access sexual reproductive health services at ‘safe spaces’ within their learning environment, without facing the criticism of staff at public-health facilities.

Dr Zoe Duby, Specialist Scientist at the HSRU, said the programme was comprehensively designed to provide clinical, psychosocial and social-structural services to learners at 14 schools across North-West and KwaZulu Natal provinces, where high rates of teenage pregnancies occurred.

“These sites were selected by government partners particularly because they had high HIV prevalence and were in high unemployment communities. These were poor areas, with high pregnancy rates amongst young women, and the population had not previously been chosen for similar interventions,” Dr Duby said.

Imagine staff members provided biomedical clinical services, inclusive of contraceptives during school hours at dedicated ‘safe spaces’ that were on-site at the selected schools. As a ’one-stop shop’ for sexual and reproductive health services, girls were able to access counselling, HIV-testing and prevention, contraceptives, HPV vaccination and various support services. Dr Duby added that the school safe space model is a brilliant innovation.

Presentation

Re-Imagining Sexual and Reproductive Health services for Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa: A Qualitative Evaluation of the Imagine Programme, Dr Zoe Duby (Health Systems Research Unit, SAMRC)

Video