Project profile — Improving Adolescents and Youth’s Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (RESPECT)

• Haiti (33.67%)
• Benin (28.66%)
• Burkina Faso (37.67%)

• Population policy and administrative management:
Population policy and administrative management (13010) (22.00%)
Reproductive health care (13020) (36.00%)
Family planning (13030) (11.00%)
• Government And Civil Society, General: Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (29.00%)
• Unallocated/ Unspecified: Promotion of development awareness (99820) (2.00%)

• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Youth Issues (significant objective)
• Nutrition (significant objective)

This project aims to improve access to sexual and reproductive health care for marginalized and vulnerable people, particularly adolescent girls and young women between the ages of 10 and 24, in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Haiti. Project activities include: (1) providing training to teachers and educators on comprehensive sexual education; (2) providing training to health care providers on high-quality, gender-sensitive and adolescent-friendly sexual and reproductive health services, particularly for adolescent girls and young women; (3) organizing awareness-raising campaigns targeted at parents and community members on improving their general knowledge about the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of adolescent girls and young women, to dispel stigma, and to encourage productive communication around sexual and reproductive topics; (4) working with youth and women’s rights groups to advocate for better SRHR policies in all three countries; and (5) leading an educational campaign across Canada, particularly targeting young Canadians, to raise awareness around SRHR and sexual and gender-based violence. The project expects to benefit 850,000 people across all three countries. Doctors of the World is implementing this project in partnership with Lawyers without Borders Canada, and several local partners, including women’s groups and government agencies across all three countries.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased equitable use of sexual and reproductive health services, especially by vulnerable and marginalized adolescent girls and young women aged 10 to 24 years in the targeted countries’ regions; (2) improved provision of gender sensitive, inclusive and accountable health services by health care providers, particularly to adolescent girls and young women aged 10 to 24 years in the targeted countries’ regions; and (3) improved effectiveness of women’s and girls’ rights organizations and health authorities in advocating for evidence based, accountable and equitable SRHR policies and legal frameworks.

Results achieved as of March 2025 include: (1) supported awareness-raising activities on sexual and reproductive health issues, gender-based violence, and related rights, targeting adolescents and young people. The beneficiaries of these activities are 2,082 peer educators, comprising 210 women and 220 men in Benin, 604 women and 360 men in Burkina Faso, and 250 women and 193 men in Haiti; (2) trained 1,776 health workers including 1,327 women and 449 men. The training focused on providing quality sexual and reproductive health services that are sensitive and respectful of the needs and rights of adolescents and young people in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Haiti; (3) implemented advanced health and sexual and reproductive health strategy activities to reach and provide services to vulnerable adolescent girls and young people in remote areas. They reached 162,639 adolescents and young people, including 16,915 women, 10,379 men, and 20 non-binary people in Benin, 78,363 women and 53,913 men in Burkina Faso, and 1,528 women and 1,545 men in Haiti; (4) supported civil society organizations and associations to implement 58 advocacy actions, including 1 in Benin, 51 in Burkina Faso, and 6 in Haiti. These actions focused on changes in norms or policies in favor of the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescents and young people, and preventing sexual violence; and (5) Supported 61 health facilities offering sexual and reproductive health services, including modern methods of contraception, such as emergency contraception as of result of the project.

• Proactive disclosure