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The Power of Synergy: Collaborating to Address Young Peoples Sexual & Reproductive Health in Vietnam represents the collaborative work of the Centre for Reproductive and Family Health, the UNESCO Centre for Non-Formal Education in Vietnam and the Youth Union to undertake community advocacy, education and services to meet the needs of young people in Hoa Binh Province.
The practice was selected because:
- It was effective in generating not only the support but the active participation of local authorities in the project activities as well as in greatly increasing young peoples access to reproductive and sexual health information and services in an underserved rural province.
- The development of parent-child clubs was an innovative way to address the need of both parents and their adolescent children for reproductive health information while at the same time fostering communication and openness between them.
- The practice provides a sustainable model for providing youth-friendly services in small rural communities through their integration into government services. The participation of local authorities increased their commitment and is also an important step towards sustainability for the community-based activities.
- Many of the activities and strategies could be easily replicated
Country-Wide Change: Adolescent Health Policy Across Vietnam presents the efforts of the Youth Union to develop and implement a national advocacy strategy with all RHIYA partners.
The practice was selected because:
- They have made careful efforts to consult and engage the community and address their concerns that have effectively paved the way in a conservative environment for the establishment of 20 youth information centres, ten each for boys and girls, that included sexual and reproductive health education in their mix of activities.
- They were also successful in enabling girls to use the centres. They adapted their strategies to the situation in innovative ways, for example, they undertook research on Islam and reproductive health to address the concerns of local Mullahs which proved so useful it was adopted by others.
- It effectively integrated sexual and reproductive health issues into the fi rst ever Youth Law and successfully advocated for the inclusion of vulnerable young people in the National Master Plan for Adolescent and Youth Health 2006-2010.
- It was innovative in using a systematic and participatory approach to developing a national advocacy strategy that brought together policymakers, RHIYA partners, and youth, thereby enabling young people to speak directly to policymakers about their needs and concerns and increasing policymakers support for programmes to address those needs and concerns.
- The process for developing the advocacy strategy is replicable.
- The resulting improved laws, new policies and plans as well as greater understanding of young peoples reproductive and sexual health issues among policy and decision makers is a significant step towards the sustainability of programmes addressing them.
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