MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES TO ENSURE ENHANCED ACCESS TO SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH (SRH) INFORMATION AND SERVICES IN INDIA

Authors

  • Abhinav Pandey The YP Foundation
  • Nidhi The YP Foundation
  • Tuteja P The YP Foundation
  • Sadiqe S The YP Foundation 

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17501/24246735.2024.9203

Keywords:

Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, Young people, India, Adolescent health, SRH programmes

Abstract

India is home to an estimated 370 million young people, the largest in the world (Census 2011, Population Projections for India and States, 2011 – 2036) making Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) a critical component for ensuring health and well-being of young people thereby contributing to their holistic development. Given the current policy environment in the country, there are only two government programmes namely Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (focuses on adolescents, below age of 18) and Mission Parivar Vikas (focuses on married couples, both over and under the age of 18) with provisions for ensuring access to information and services pertaining to SRH. These programs have an obvious blind spot, with unmarried young people over the age of 18 left out from the service provision. Therefore, the challenge to address the diverse SRH needs of young people still persists. In order to comprehend the obstacles involved in the SRH service delivery for young people, a qualitative assessment was conducted through 90 key informant interviews with health service providers and RKSK programme implementers identified using randomised sampling technique across 10 states. The qualitative data was codified and analysed to highlight the key findings based on the narratives and anthology of the respondent’s feedback. The qualitative assessment led by young people highlighted the lack of awareness, staggered access to information among adolescents about the SRH services, low footfall of adolescents at Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs), incompetent and judgemental service delivery by the providers as key findings behind high unmet need of SRH services among young people. Using this data, youth champions across four states supported the government health functionaries in anchoring 6 Adolescent Health and Wellness Days (AHWDs) influencing about 2.5 lac people. This model of ecosystem approach of centering young people’s experiences to strengthen, design and deliver programmes ensures sustainability and effectiveness of SRH initiatives

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Author Biography

Nidhi, The YP Foundation

Nidhi is a young feminist activist and has worked on sexual and reproductive health rights and justice, gender based violence, and system strengthening. She has over four years of experience in working with intersectional departments to raise awareness and create spaces for adolescent and youth leaders to engage directly in policy making processes. As part of the Policy Engagement team at TYPF, she plays a vital role in advancing these goals by designing, implementing, and leading regional, state and national level programmes and action.

Nidhi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Kamala Nehru College and a Master’s degree in Gender Studies from Ambedkar University, Delhi. She conducted her Master’s dissertation on the problematics in diluting the criminal law (Section 498A) that is for married women facing domestic violence. Before joining TYPF, Nidhi worked as a trainer at Manas Foundation, conducting Gender Sensitisation Trainings to promote gender equality and prevent gender based violence.

Nidhi is a nature and animal lover and also a dancer by passion.

References

Guttmacher Institute. (2017). Adding It Up: Investing in contraception and maternal and newborn health. https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/factsheet/adding-it-up-contraception-mnh-2017.pdf

International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) & ICF. (2021). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21: India: Volume I. IIPS.

Jain, N., Bahl, D., Mehta, R., Bassi, S., Sharma, K., & Arora, M. (2022). Progress and challenges in implementing adolescent and school health programmes in India: a rapid review. BMJ Open, 12(1), e047435. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047435

National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. (2022). Youth in India.

Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. (2011). Census 2011. Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. https://censusindia.gov.in

Singh, S., Shekhar, C., Acharya, R., Moore, A. M., Stillman, M., Pradhan, M. R., Frost, J. J., Sahoo, H., Alagarajan, M., Hussain, R., Sundaram, A., Vlassoff, M., Kalyanwala, S., & Browne, A. (2018). The incidence of abortion and unintended pregnancy in India, 2015. Lancet Global Health, 6(1), e111–e120. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(17)30453-9 .

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World Health Organization. (2024). Adolescents in a changing world: The case for urgent investment. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240087791

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Published

2025-06-12

How to Cite

Pandey, A., Arya, N. ., P, T., & S, S. (2025). MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES TO ENSURE ENHANCED ACCESS TO SEXUAL REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH (SRH) INFORMATION AND SERVICES IN INDIA. Proceedings of the International Conference on Public Health, 9(02), 38–54. https://doi.org/10.17501/24246735.2024.9203

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 02 (2024): Proceedings of the International Conference on Public Health

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Articles

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Copyright (c) 2025 Abhinav Pandey; Nidhi; Tuteja P, Sadiqe S

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