Reducing Teenage Pregnancy in Sierra Leone

Abstract

Research directly involving teenagers and their families in Sierra Leone to reduce teenage pregnancy has helped pave the way for a new community-friendly Child and Family Welfare Policy. The research by the Columbia Group for Children in Adversity and UNICEF Sierra Leone mobilised local people through child- and youth-led education initiatives and through closer connections with district health workers. Thanks to the project, condom use increased, teenage girls reported feeling more confident to say ‘no’ and boys showed more willingness to act responsibly. The findings directly influenced the Sierra Leone government’s development of a new policy on child protection.