Anke van der Kwaak

• Research article

Child marriage persists in many countries and has severe impacts on health, education, economic and social status of girls. Child marriage has many interlinked causes. This study aimed to explore the drivers of child marriage in specific contexts in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. Multiple intersecting drivers, which were present in different degrees […]

• Research article

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) or Female Circumcision, includes any partial or total excision of the external female genitalia for non-medical/non-therapeutic purposes. This study presents findings from three case study investigations unpacking the reasons for and circumstances of FGM/C and their social meaning within the Sundanese and Sasak communities in Indonesia, the Amhara community in Ethiopia, […]

• Evaluation

Evaluation in Gauteng Province – Diepsloot Philips has been deploying Community Life Centres (CLCs) in various sub-Saharan African countries since 2014. These CLCs are primary care approach aiming to contribute to Universal Health Coverage by increasing quality of care and effective coverage of services, strengthening management and support functions and promoting community engagement. KIT Royal […]

• Evaluation

Evaluation in Kiambu and Mandera Counties Philips has been deploying Community Life Centres (CLCs) in various sub-Saharan African countries since 2014. These CLCs are primary care approach aiming to contribute to Universal Health Coverage by increasing quality of care and effective coverage of services, strengthening management and support functions and promoting community engagement. KIT Royal […]

• Evaluation

Kenya and South Africa – Synthesis Philips has been deploying Community Life Centres (CLCs) in various sub-Saharan African countries since 2014. These CLCs are primary care approach aiming to contribute to Universal Health Coverage by increasing quality of care and effective coverage of services, strengthening management and support functions and promoting community engagement. KIT Royal […]

• Research article

Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) is an important focus of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and is embedded in various policy frameworks and strategies, including the Regional Strategy for SRHR in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) 2015–2021. As part of an in-depth review to reflect on the current strategy and for Sida to develop recommendations to the Swedish government […]

• Report

Young People’s perspectives and decision-making regarding harmful practices, sexual and gender-based violence and unintended pregnancy.

• Report

Young People’s perspectives and decision-making regarding harmful practices, sexual and gender-based violence and unintended pregnancy.

• Report

Young People’s perspectives and decision-making regarding harmful practices, sexual and gender-based violence and unintended pregnancy.

Results of the Yes I Do programme (2016–2020) in West Lombok and Sukabumi, Indonesia This Yes I Do end-line study was conducted to observe how changes have occurred between the beginning of the programme in 2016 and its end in 2020 in the five pathways of the theory of change. It is a mixed-methods study […]

Results of the Yes I Do programme (2016–2020) in Rembang, Indonesia Child marriage, teenage pregnancy and female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) are three issues that the Yes I Do programme tried to address. In 2020, the programme implementation entered the fifth and final year of the Yes I Do programme activities in Rembang, Indonesia. An end-line […]

The overall goal of this endline study was to provide insight into the magnitude, (interrelated) causes and effects of child marriage, teenage pregnancy and female genital mutilation/ cutting, as well as the extent to which these causes and effects are present in the intervention areas (Kajiado West County) of the Yes I Do programme in […]

This study explores how young people exercise agency in rural Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia in relation to sex, relationships and marriage, to inform local programmes aiming to prevent teenage pregnancy and child marriage.

This report details the endline study of the Yes I Do programme in Ethiopia conducted in two intervention woredas (districts) in the Amhara region, Bahir Dar Zuria and Kewet. The main aim of the study was to assess changes in relevant outcomes over the programme implementation years through a comparison of base-, mid- and end-line […]

This qualitative study was carried out to gain insight into the access to SRH services for young people and how access and service delivery can be improved in Bahir Dar Zuria woreda (North-West Ethiopia), according to young people and health workers.

An operational qualitative study report as part of the YES I DO programme implemented from 2016 to 2020

An operational qualitative study report as part of the YES I DO programme implemented from 2016 to 2020

A Qualitative study in Bahir Dar Zuria and Kewet woredas, Amhara region, Ethiopia This report presents the results of a study conducted within the Yes I Do programme in some of the intervention areas in Amhara region in Ethiopia in 2019 (Bahir Dar Zuria and Kewet woredas). The purpose of the study is to provide […]

Experiences of Youth and Enabling Support Structures in claiming their SRHR Solving problems of youth sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is significant for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Young people aged 15 to 24 constitute 17% (45 million) of the total Indonesian population (Indonesian Central Statistics Agency, 2011). The availability of services, […]

• Report

In 2019 the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) embarked on an initiative that aims to strengthen the capacity of 10 national societies of obstetrics and gynecology (ObGyn) in advocacy for safe abortion. In 2018 needs assessments that entailed a desk study, interviews, and stakeholder workshops were conducted in Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, […]

• Yes i do Report

Explorative Qualitative Research Report – February 2018 Child marriage, teenage pregnancy and female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) are manifestations of deeply rooted gender inequality and social norms, poverty and limited economic perspectives. The factors that hold both FGM/C and child marriage in place are the consolidation of family interests of maintaining honour, enhancing fidelity within marriage […]

• Yes i do Report

The Yes I Do programme aims to contribute to a world in which adolescent girls can decide if, when and with whom to marry and have children, and are protected from female genital mutilation/ cutting (FGM/C). Child marriage and FGM/C are human rights violations and are, like teenage pregnancy, manifestations of deeply rooted gender inequality […]

• Yes i do Report

YES I DO. is a strategic alliance of five Dutch organizations which main aim is to enhance the decision making space of young people about if, when and whom to marry as well as if, when and with whom to have children. The present report details the baseline study conducted in Kenya. The report draws […]

• Yes i do Report

YES I DO. is a strategic alliance of five Dutch organizations which main aim is to enhance the decision making space of young women about if, when and whom to marry as well as if, when and with whom to have children. The present report details the baseline study conducted in Ethiopia. The report draws […]

• Yes i do Report

This report presents a qualitative study conducted as part of the research component of the Yes I Do programme in Ethiopia, which is being implemented in the Amhara region from 2016 until 2020. This introduction starts with a brief background of the Yes I Do programme and the objectives of the research component, after which […]

This midline study aims to provide insight into the (interrelated) causes and effects of child marriage, teenage pregnancy and female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) that are present in the intervention areas of the YES I DO programme in Indonesia. In addition, it aims to provide insight into different pathways of change and unravel why and how […]

• Yes i do Report

Although there are no statistical data showing the relationship between child marriage and the rate of divorce, there are indications that child marriage contributes to divorce rates in Indonesia. Research on child marriage conducted by PLAN International (2015) in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia found that the objection of young people to child marriage was considered […]

• Policy Brief

Reaching out to male youth works! Reaching male youth through a multi-channel MI+ approach facilitates an open dialogue on SRHR issues among health care workers, peers and teachers. Continuous, tailored SRHR information and education enable male youth to adopt healthy and positive attitudes to sexuality and to lead meaningful lives.

Exploring new ways of improving sexual health and wellbeing of young MSM in Bangladesh through a Motivational Intervention (MI+) approach The Motivational Intervention (MI+) approach aimed to build the capacity of health providers and peer educators to elicit and strengthen young MSM’s motivation for change through four consecutive rounds of training, and a continuous process […]

Policy brief Can a motivational intervention create greater respect for the sexual and reproductive rights of groups that are currently denied their rights? The case of men having sex with men in Bangladesh.

“At the health centres, you are asked many questions like: ‘Have you given birth, what is your age, whom do you live with, are you in your menses…?” a respondent said. “But in the chemist, you are injected without questions,” another said. And yet another respondent said: “In chemists it is business.” “You only say […]

The Royal Tropical Institute did research in 2011 to assess the impact of schoolbased dance4life programmes on young people in Uganda and Russia. This article discusses the concept of meaningful participation using findings from the study. What does this concept mean and which models exist to analyse the different aspects of participation? It is concluded […]

In 2004 a Multi-Country Programme aimed at establishing and strengthening networks to undertake social science research into HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa was launched.

Capacity-building is key to sustainable development efforts. For all the right reasons, over the past decades it has also enjoyed considerable attention in the field of health and development. However, perspectives on what capacity-building means, what it intends to achieve and which strategies are most effective differ, depending on the context and the perspectives of […]

Half of the world’s population is under 25 and 1.8 billion is between 10-25 years of age. Enabling young people to attain a good quality of life and health, and especially sexual and reproductive health, is of the utmost priority. Not only is it critical to young people themselves, it is also of vital important […]

• Research article

It has been projected that the population of young people in Nigeria will exceed 57 million by the year 2025, a large proportion of which are adolescents. Adolescents constitute an important proportion of the population of Nigeria, they have delicate stages that presents with challenges especially that of sexual and reproductive health due to the […]

Sudan has high maternal mortality. The rate among nomads – groups of people who move from place to place as a way of obtaining food, finding pasture or make a living – is very high and varies between different regions of the country. The objective of the study is to identify the factors affecting the […]

The growing strength of the women’s movement in the 1960s and 1970s challenged the ‘medicalization’ of women’s bodies and the medical construction of woman’s health needs as distinct from women’s own experiences and priorities (Boston Women’s Health Book Collective 1992). The women’s movement questioned the fallacy that males, as doctors or partners, knew better or […]

• Report

Ten years after the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), it is relevant and necessary to review and reflect on progressmade in implementing a more holistic and comprehensive view of reproductive health care, as called for in the ICPD Programme of Action. In1994, the international health community agreed on the need to integrate sexual […]

Every year, over half a million new leprosy are detected. Since there is no evidence that the transmission in high endemic countries has been substantially interrupted, it is expected that in the coming years considerable numbers of leprosy patients will continue to report to health facilities.