“It’s your life – it’s your future” in action
Get a snapshot of our on the ground programs all over the world
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 16 million teenage girls aged 15 to 19 give birth each year, accounting for approximately 11% of births worldwide. Sexual and reproductive health of teens and young adults is a global issue. But the way this topic is addressed varies depending on level of education, cultural background and regional taboos.
The global campaign “It’s your life – it’s your future” is aimed at teens and young adults aged 13 to 25. To reach as many young people as possible, the World Contraception Day Partner Coalition is involved in a number of projects worldwide that are tailored to the need for modern birth control and level of sex education of a specific region or target audience, spanning from Ugandan Youth Counselors to a Latin American TV show. The diversity of approaches shows the vast differences that exist between various countries and cultures when it comes to sexual health and contraceptive awareness.
Click on the program buttons below to familiarize yourself with a selection of Lighthouse projects supported by the “Your Life” campaign and the World Contraception Day Partner Coalition and Bayer.
120 Under 40: The New Generation of Family Planning Leaders recognizes and highlights the young people who are making a difference in family planning and reproductive health worldwide. It is led by the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with sponsorship from Bayer. The Gates Institute conducts and facilitates cutting-edge research in family planning, reproductive health, and population dynamics and translates science into evidence-informed policies, programs, and practice. The Institute works as an innovator, partner, advocate, and convener to bridge the gap between knowledge and implementation, and to promote access to universal reproductive health and family planning for all.
The program has identified the final cohort of winners and now has 120 family planning champions worldwide; winners were selected by an international jury of experts and leaders in family planning. Each winner received $1,000, furnished by the Gates Institute, to continue their work in family planning. Additionally, winners have the opportunity to receive scholarships to attend the Gates Institute Global Health Leadership Accelerator, the International Conference on Family Planning and to apply for additional funds made available through the Ingenuity fund. The Ingenuity fund was created to give the 120 Under 40 young leaders a chance to set their creative ideas in motion, the concept underpinning this fund is “small is beautiful,” recognizing that seemingly small actions can have a huge impact. This global project shines a light on the “positive disruptions” made by young leaders in family planning, enabling others to model their behavior and build on their success.
The goal of this worldwide project is to support young people to share their voice about sexuality and contraception. The health and rights of young people are a priority, and young people are the most powerful spokespersons for their own needs and agents of change to transform policies, programs, and communities for the better. Youth ambassadors are learning how to use storytelling and digital media in order to inform their peers about sexual and reproductive health. They are encouraged to initiate their own projects that are tailor-made to the needs of young people in their specific area. By fostering the next generation of champions for sexual and reproductive health and rights, the project will provide more insights into the realities of young people at country, regional, and global levels and spark a discussion on how to best meet young people’s needs.
“Teen Mom” is a TV show that follows the life of young mothers. In Latin America the show is the central element of an education campaign raising awareness for birth control. In 2014, the attention of over 1.7 million viewers was directed towards the campaign website, which provides age-appropriate information about contraception. A series of engaging tools, such as a sexual health IQ test, a call-to-action campaign around World Contraception Day and World Aids Day, eye-catching digital banners, billboards, plus social media mentions encourage safe sex and dispel myths about sex and contraception. Over 15 million direct interactions prove continuous success in helping young millennials to make conscious and self-determined decisions when it comes to sex and contraception.
In order to provide students, in particular those studying medicine, with scientific basics and the latest research data about sexual health and contraception, the program supports local healthcare providers, including doctors, nurses, midwifes and sex educators in delivering educational lectures to young students about sexual health, contraception and professional patient counseling. An extension of the program to high schools has been successfully implemented. As a next step, the program will focus on the provision of professional e-lecturing tools and techniques in order to expand the services to a larger audience of students countrywide and beyond the lecture room.
