Consortium led by Exemplars in Global Health launch ASHER project

RWANDA— At the ongoing Women Deliver Conference (WD2023), a groundbreaking research project was announced, the Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Exemplars (ASHER) project.

The ASHER research project will underpin the drivers behind adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health requirements.

The project will seek 10- 14-year-old young adolescents in select Low & Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).

The selected countries are 4 countries in Africa, Rwanda, Cameroon, Ghana, and Malawi, and two in Asia, India, and Nepal.

The project will be facilitated by a consortium led by the Exemplars in Global Health program at Gates Ventures (GV), and the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP)

ASHER will also include researchers from the University of Southampton (UK), and the University of Portsmouth (UK).

The other partners will be the Evidence for Sustainable Human Development Systems in Africa (EVIHDAF) as ASHER implementing partner in West Africa, the University of Rwanda in Rwanda, and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, for Ghana.

ASHER was announced by Professor Nyovani Madise, Director of Development Policy, and Dr. Naa Dodoo, Senior Research & Policy Analyst.

At a panel session, WD2023 on “Future-Proofing Development: How Evidence-Based Decision-Making on ASRHR Can Protect the Health and Well-Being of Adolescents and Spur Economic Growth”.

Coming up with ASHER

Jen Kidwell Drake, Women’s Health Lead at Exemplars in Global Health, explained that the goal of ASHER is to identify and highlight the success stories that have not been fully documented, explored, and understood in the selected countries.

Drake emphasized their collaboration with local experts to comprehend how progress was achieved, with the intent of sharing these insights across other countries to collectively make strides in adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

The initial step involved identifying countries that had achieved a significant reduction in adolescent fertility beyond the expected average.

They then conducted in-depth studies on these specific countries, including Rwanda, to capture valuable insights and share them.

Explaining the selection of Rwanda, Drake pointed out that the country already boasted a relatively low adolescent fertility rate compared to many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The researchers also examined Rwanda’s primary healthcare and under-5 mortality rates, which stood out positively.

Regarding the impact on Rwanda, she highlighted the persisting challenges related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights and how Rwanda is taking necessary steps and sustaining the current progress, propelling the nation in the right direction.

Looking ahead, the researchers plan to present their findings on a global stage, tentatively scheduled for June 2024.

ASHER’s role in finding solutions for adolescents in LMICs settings.

In the selected countries, ASHER will critically examine the policies and programs that have advanced adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR) and determine how the lessons learned and best practices can be applied to improve SRHR outcomes for adolescents across geographies. 

The project aims to examine the policies and programs that have been successful in select LMICs to reduce these high levels of pregnancies, including prevention and management of unintended pregnancy, and to advance ASRHR.

The research also seeks to determine how the lessons learned and best practices can be applied to improve SRHR outcomes for adolescents across geographies.

In addition, we will engage youth leaders in each Exemplar country to help guide the work through Youth Advisory Councils.

The project has identified six positive outlier countries by assessing the annual change in countries’ age-specific fertility rate (ASFR) 15-19 years relative to mean years of education from 2000-2017.

The status of adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR)

Exemplars in Global Health report that there are 1.2 billion adolescents (ages 10–19) worldwide, with about 90% living in low- and middle-income countries.

Moreover, as the largest, most educated, and urbanized cohort in history, this demographic represents a huge opportunity for countries to accelerate social and economic growth and development by investing in their health and well-being.

Unfortunately, this is hampered with over 20 million pregnancies recorded among adolescents ages 15–19 in low- and middle-income countries in 2019.

Confoundingly, of these, approximately half were unintended; 55% of unintended pregnancies ended in abortions, which were often unsafe.

Additionally, globally, 14 million adolescent girls ages 15–19 had an unmet need for modern contraception in 2020.

ASRHR is the ability for adolescents to have access to comprehensive sexuality education, essential sexual and reproductive health services, and autonomous decision-making power to protect their health.

ASRHR encompasses an adolescent’s rights to the range of information and health services that support their physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being in relation to all aspects of sexuality and reproduction.

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