Empowering Youth Advocates with Data and Advocacy Skills Improving availability of RH/FP services and supplies in Latin America

Why youth? Per 1,000 women aged * Pregnancy rates only below Sub-Saharan region * UNFPA - SWOP2010

Unmet Need High unmet need for contraception among youth continues to be one of the greatest health and development challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). * USAID | DELIVER PROJECT DHS secondary analysis

What were our objectives? Analyze unmet need of contraception services among sexually active youth Contribute to- o Strengthening youth skills on FP and CS data analysis o Developing advocacy skills for Contraceptive Security o Creating a stronger policy environment for RH/FP and access to contraceptives and condoms Empower a new generation of youth advocates to move the RH/FP and contraceptive security agenda forward.

What did we do? The USAID | DELIVER PROJECT– conducted a FP market analysis of unmet need among sexually active women (15-24) and their contraceptive preferences disseminated data to technical country and regional teams brought together a group of young leaders from 8 LAC countries trained youth on the use of data for advocacy partnered with Profamilia Colombia and IDB to host a regional workshop to analyze barriers and enabling factors to increase access to RH/FP services and supplies.

Market Analysis Findings Findings illustrate that sexually active young women (15-24) experience an alarming one and a half to five times unmet need higher than married women in the LAC region. Bolivia Dominican Republic El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua Paraguay Peru

Data Dissemination The project conducted regional and country workshops to disseminate fact sheets on the situation of youth. Peru Dominican Republic Guatemala Honduras Nicaragua

Skills-Building The trainings strengthened the communication skills of young leaders and policymakers. They learned to use DHS and RH data to effectively advocate for youth sexual and reproductive rights.

What have we achieved? Helped catalyze 16 youth leaders to the forefront of the contraceptive security (CS) movement Included availability of contraceptives as an RH right in advocacy efforts Strengthened ability of youth to use evidence in persuading decision makers to address disparities Gave country participants access to data and training to promote policy changes Helped youth develop plans to train their peers so they become more actively involved in the RH and CS Community.

What are the next steps? In addition to involving youth in CS policy initiatives, we must enable and support them with resources, training, and data analysis skills, so that they can own and monitor these initiatives moving forward.

Contraceptive Security and RH Rights: The right of youth in Latin America to sexual and reproductive health will not be fulfilled until youth are able to choose, obtain and use quality contraceptives and condoms when and if they need them.