Strengthening Adolescent and Youth Agency and Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Scale-up of the Empowered Choices Project

From 2021 to 2022, Pathfinder International, in partnership with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Emergency Management Agency, led the Empowered Choices project in Nigeria, implementing a comprehensive program to improve the health and wellbeing of young people in Durumi Area 1 Internally Displaced Persons Settlement in the FCT. The project worked to advance gender equality, strengthen girls’ agency, and ensure healthy transitions to adulthood.

Building on this work, in 2023 Pathfinder expanded the intervention to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) among young people in Kobi, a community in Asokoro Abuja. The project’s objectives were to raise awareness of SRHR, increase the agency of girls and young women in making informed choices, and advance gender equality. The project successfully increased SRHR knowledge by 75% and 100% among participants ages 15 to 17 and 18 to 24, respectively, offering important insights, highlighting the effectiveness of peer mentorship programs, and establishing safe places for the best possible learning and engagement.

This brief highlights the Empowered Choices approach to scale-up, sharing key intervention strategies, results, and lessons learned.