Innovation Fund Awards: Youth Specific Round - September 2016

Publication date: 2016

I N N O VAT I O N F U N D AWA R D S : Y O U T H -S P E C I F I C R O U N D / S E P T EM B E R 2 0 1 6 MENSTRUAL CUP MARKET ACCESSIBILITY PROJECT GOAL ACTIVITIES LED BY: WOMENA WWW.RHSUPPLIES.ORG MORE COST-EFFECTIVE The menstrual cup (MC) is more cost-e ective than pads, if used for 5-10 years, as it is a one-time purchase lasting for the duration of a girl's education. 25-50% GIRLS MISS SCHOOLDAYS 25-50% girls miss schooldays due to menstrual hygiene management challenges, even engaging in transactional sex for pads. Integrate innovative MC pricing, distribution & payment models into existing service delivery. Evaluate models in terms of e ectiveness and feasibility of implementation and reach. Promote a policy environment conducive to e ective supply and distribution of MCs. INNOVATION Despite being around since the 1930s, the MC has not been widely used due to lack of access and awareness, and it's perceived high cost. Comparing and evaluating innovative models to make MCs more a ordable and accessible at scale will be an exceptionally promising agent of positive change for Ugandan girls and women. UGANDA Create sustainable menstrual cup pricing , distribution and payment models for rural and urban settings in Uganda. I N N O VAT I O N F U N D AWA R D S : Y O U T H -S P E C I F I C R O U N D / S E P T EM B E R 2 0 1 6 USING E-HEALTH TO IMPROVE YOUTH CONTRACEPTIVE ACCESS GOAL ACTIVITIES Better access to reproductive health services and information for adolescents. LED BY: CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS DE ESTADO Y SOCIEDAD WWW.RHSUPPLIES.ORG 65% NOT USING CONTRACEPTIVES 65% of adolescents giving birth reported not using contraceptives. ADOLESCENT FERTILITY RATE Adolescent fertility rate ranks as one of the highest in the Latin American Region at 69.6 births /1.000 girls. Develop a mobile application that oers information on contraceptives and points of delivery. Gather crowdsourced data related to quality of SRH services. INNOVATION The novelty of the project is in its tools and information gathering: in addition to secondary sources, members of the community, particularly adolescents and young people, will be feeding data into the platform. ARGENTINA WIDEN CONTRACEPTIVE CHOICE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN CHINA I N N O VAT I O N F U N D AWA R D S : Y O U T H -S P E C I F I C R O U N D / S E P T EM B E R 2 0 1 6 GOAL ACTIVITIES Expand contraceptive choice for young people in China by including long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). LED BY: MARIE STOPES INTERNATIONAL CHINA WWW.RHSUPPLIES.ORG 13 MILLION ABORTIONS LARC USE 13 Million abortions carried out every year. LARC use among young people is almost non-existent. CONTRACEPTION The most common forms of contraception amongst unmarried young women and adolescents are condoms, withdrawal and calendar methods. Create the ‘Guidelines for Youth Access to a Full Range of Contraceptives’. Work with two hospitals to develop and pilot-test youth friendly RH service-delivery guidelines, with a view to scale-up. Train service providers and advocates to use the guidelines. INNOVATION This project will bring together a variety of stakeholders to help develop the very …rst ‘Guidelines for Youth Access to a Full Range of Contraceptives’. CHINA I N N O VAT I O N F U N D AWA R D S : Y O U T H -S P E C I F I C R O U N D / S E P T EM B E R 2 0 1 6 PHARMACY ASSISTANT MENTORSHIP PROGRAM & YOUTH-FRIENDLY PHARMACY SERVICES GOAL ACTIVITIES Improving youth access to reproductive health supplies by focusing on the last mile of the reproductive health supply chain. LED BY: VILLAGEREACH WWW.RHSUPPLIES.ORG 25% ARE USING CONTRACEPTION Only 25% of married 15-19-year-olds and 30% of unmarried girls use contraception. 143 BIRTHS/1000 GIRLS Adolescent pregnancy and birth rates in Malawi are some of the highest in the world, with 143 live births per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 each year. An intensive mentorship program in which trained pharmacy assistants will be mentors to nearby health facilities that lack trained pharmacy personnel. Introduction of youth-friendly pharmacy services. INNOVATION The project uses pharmacy assistants to mentor their colleagues to alleviate human resource gaps for under-resourced cadres. This is more e‚cient and more realistic than relying on supervision to come from district-level employees who rarely have the time or transportation to reach every facility in their district. Furthermore, this project introduces a new approach to youth-friendly health services. Including pharmacy personnel in these initiatives is innovative because it typically only focuses on clinical cadres. MALAWI

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