About Us
Poor adolescent reproductive health has been highlighted as a major cause of morbidity and worsening poverty for the poorest people in sub-Saharan Africa. Even excluding HIV, sexually transmitted infections are the second most important cause of loss of health in women and a substantial cause of morbidity in men. The IntHEC project aims to identify the key factors which limit access to effective adolescent reproductive health (ARH) services in Tanzania and Niger. It will then develop appropriate interventions for use in workplaces, schools and communities, for example improving links between health units and communities to increase the equity, integration and effectiveness of ARH services.
The project started in March 2010 and will run until May 2014. A comprehensive situational analysis has been conducted, including qualitative research on service delivery and a household survey of over 14,000 people examining social, sexual and health-seeking behaviour, experiences of pregnancy and knowledge of reproductive health issues. Gaps and weaknesses identified by this analysis have been used to develop pilot interventions. These have been discussed with adolescents, community members and policy makers and are being pre-tested in communities. An emphasis has been placed on strengthening existing interventions rather than developing new ones.
Following implementation of the interventions, the will be evaluated to assess whether they achieve their objectives of strengthening health service provision,
improved health service uptake and integration of reproductive health services with education and community sectors.
