This year’s International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA) offered a profound space to reflect on the immense journey we've undertaken and the significant path still ahead in strengthening HIV prevention and maternal health services for adolescents across West and Central Africa.
The UNICEF Satellite Symposium, “Voices of Change: Youth-Led Innovations in HIV and Maternal Health,” was not just a meeting; it was an inspiring window into how young people and robust community systems are truly driving transformational change. I left the session with a renewed sense of purpose, especially after hearing the story of Ghana’s incredible scale-up.
The Ghana Safety Net: A National Model Built on Trust and Scale
The standout moment for me was the presentation on the Ghana Safety Net programme, delivered by Ms. Sharifa Mohammed of the Ghana Health Service. This is a story of a successful pilot project, one that began with UNICEF’s support in just two districts in 2017 that has now matured into a government-led national model active in 200 districts. It’s the perfect example of how building on existing government structures creates sustainable, national scale.
The Safety Net is a lifeline. It supports both in-school and out-of-school adolescents, ensuring they don’t just get services, but specifically adolescent-friendly Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and HIV prevention care.
More Than Just Health
The program goes far beyond medical appointments. Community Health Nurses are the heroes on the ground, guiding pregnant adolescents through safe Antenatal Care (ANC), delivery, and postnatal care. Crucially, they also provide mental health support and link girls to essential education, social welfare, and protection services.
Think about that impact: Each year, approximately 40,000 pregnant adolescents benefit from this integrated approach.
What makes it truly special? The youth-led components are now the strongest pillars of the entire model. The moving testimonies shared by the adolescents themselves highlighted the critical importance of having peer-led spaces. These are the safe havens where stigma, fear, and misinformation are tackled head-on with empathy and trust.
Learning from the Region: Agency and Innovation
The session also drew inspiration from Equatorial Guinea’s journey, which focused on creative, adolescent-driven approaches to combating stigma. Their peer-to-peer model and the multimedia platform Luces y Cámaras are helping young people reclaim their own narratives and reshape community perceptions around HIV, sexuality, and overall wellbeing. This speaks volumes about the power of adolescent agency.
Cross-Cutting Lessons for Lasting Change
Looking across both countries, the session crystalized several clear, actionable lessons for everyone working in this space:
- Youth Agency is Fundamental: Adolescents must be the ones to shape and lead the programmes intended for them. It’s not an option; it’s a necessity.
- Community is Key to Sustainability: Local systems and cultural contexts must be the compass guiding all programme design.
- Integrated Delivery Works Best: Services must be linked. HIV, maternal health, SRHR, social protection, and mental health must be offered as a connected package.
- Strengthen Health Systems: Adolescents deserve non-judgmental, confidential, and truly youth-friendly care.
- Embrace Digital: Digital innovations offer massive potential for both scale and effective monitoring.
- Tackle Barriers: Financing and social stigma remain the most persistent roadblocks we must dismantle.
ICASA reaffirmed that Ghana, and the region, is on the right, ambitious path. The scale-up of the Safety Net and the courageous, youth-led innovations emerging across West and Central Africa, show what is possible when we stop designing for communities and start building with them.
The next chapter of our work must be an all-out effort to invest in youth leadership, deepen integrated service delivery, leverage digital tools, and promote community-led accountability. Our ultimate purpose remains clear: to ensure that no adolescent girl or young woman is left behind.
