What Works for Women and Girls

were also effective in increasing use of the clinics (Neukom and Ashford, 2003). (GrayIII) (adolescents, HIV testing, STIs, treatment, health services, mass media, Madagascar)Promising Strategies:2. Youth-friendly condom distribution can help young people feel more comfortable accessingcondoms.A study in Mexico evaluating a program that made condoms available in schools foundthat 570 high school students used the program at least once during the three monthsin which the program operated in each school. More than 27% (158) used the programthree of more times. On average, students used the program 2.09 times. Most statedthat obtaining printed educational materials was one of the reasons to visit the program,however, sexually initiated students were more likely to report that obtaining condomswas one of the reasons to visit the program. The majority was satisfied with the programbut 27.6% felt that more educational materials should be provided. In addition, significantlymore males than females accessed the program. Nearly 33% of female users wereplanning to have unprotected sex compared to 12% of their male counterparts (Zellneret al., 2006). (Gray III) (condoms, adolescents, Mexico)Two social marketing interventions conducted between 2000 and 2002 in Cameroon andRwanda promoted the use of community-based, youth-friendly condom sellers, whichcontributed to a decrease in reported ‘shyness’ by both sexes in purchasing condoms. InCameroon, youth-friendly condom sellers were trained and identified as youth-friendlycondom ‘outlets’ and sold more than 40,000 condoms to youth in 2002. In Rwanda,peer educators collaborated with the community-based condom sales agents to identifyand promote youth-friendly condom sellers in the rural areas, resulting in a significantincrease in youth reporting “knowledge of a nearby condom source,” and a decreasein reported shyness to buy condoms, from 79% to 56%, among females (Neukom andAshford, 2003). (Gray IV) (condoms, young people, self-perception, Cameroon, Rwanda)Gaps in Programming—Increasing Access to Services1. Interventions are needed to increase community involvement and investment inprograms that promote the introduction and utilization of youth-friendly services.2. Laws and practices that obstruct adolescents’ access to services, such as parental consentrequirements, age, and marital status requirements, must be reviewed and revised.3. Adolescents who acquired HIV through perinatal transmission need information andservices through adolescent-friendly HIV and family planning services.4. Actions are needed to increase young people’s knowledge of when and where toaccess health services.140 CHAPTER 5 PREVENTION FOR YOUNG PEOPLE