Project Fact Sheet

Project description

Context:
Rapidly changing economic circumstances are impacting the behaviour of young people in Lao PDR, and exposure to different lifestyles is influencing their social norms. Limited access to information on reproductive and sexual health means that adolescents are not in a strong position to protect themselves in high-risk situations. There are indications that some young people are engaging in pre-marital sex and are increasingly at risk of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and STDs. There is almost no access to reproductive health services for unmarried youth due to social and cultural constraints, lack of a supportive environment and reluctance on the part of service providers. In some rural areas, early marriage (>16 years) is a social norm and access to information and services is difficult due to limited education, language constraints, cost and physical access

High levels of internal and external migration place many young people at risk of unprotected sexual contact, and economic hardship is the cause of increasing numbers of young women becoming bar girls and commercial sex workers. Although there is currently a low HIV prevalence rate in the Lao PDR, of the 1,094 people known to have been infected since 1990, 37% are aged 10 - 29 years

Goal
To have contributed to improved sexual and reproductive health (SRH) practices, and improved utilisation of SRH services by young people in selected areas of Lao PDR.

Objectives
Increased political and community support for adolescent SRH interventions;
• Increased awareness and improved SRH knowledge and behaviour among youth and adolescents;
• Improved access to quality youth-oriented sexual and reproductive health services;
• Enhanced technical planning and managerial capacity among Government partners to provide appropriate, adolescent-friendly SRH information and services; and,
• Improved understanding of critical adolescent SRH issues in Lao PDR.
Beneficiaries
• Adolescents living in Vientiane City, including vulnerable youth such as bar girls, commercial sex workers and their clients; and,
• Rural youth from two districts in each of the three southern provinces of Saravan, Sekong, and Attapeu (covering a total of 60 villages).
Implementation
Four projects promoting adolescent reproductive health (interventions will be implemented. Activities will include: training of young people in ARH, Life Skills and peer education; promotion of youth friendly service provision and counselling among service providers; increasing the capacity of national partners to manage RH programmes and to encourage and value youth participation.
1. Vientiane Youth Centre for Health and Development, Vientiane City. Executed by UNFPA, implemented by Lao Women's Union, Vientiane City.
2. Peer outreach to vulnerable youth in Vientiane City. Executed by CARE Laos, implemented by Lao Youth Union, Vientiane City.
3. ARH outreach to rural youth in selected districts of Saravan, Sekong and Attapeu provinces. Executed by Health Unlimited, implemented by Provincial Lao Youth Union.
4. Umbrella project for promoting coordination and linkages, facilitation of advocacy and IEC strategies, monitoring and evaluation. Executed and implemented by UNFPA.
Location
• The Youth Centre and Peer Outreach among Vulnerable Youth projects are located in Vientiane Municipality and cover the districts of Saysettha, Chantabouli, Sisattanak, and Sikotabong.
• The Health Unlimited supported project are implemented in two districts each of Saravan, Sekong and Attapeu provinces. • The umbrella project is located in Vientiane with responsibility for providing selected technical inputs to all projects.