SCENE: Three women in their early 20s meet at the food court of a shopping mall. The woman who organized the gathering clearly has something on her mind. It’s her boyfriend, Rob. He doesn’t want to use a condom. “But...he takes care of me,” the young woman says sheepishly in his defense. Her friends are clearly apoplectic at the notion. They pounce. “But nothing! Aren’t you still studying?” one friend asks.

Geneviève Doukoya, a 22-year-old student at the University of Maroua, Cameroon, started on the road to a healthier life four years ago when she picked up an issue of 100%Jeune, a magazine created by youth for youth, addressing sexual and reproductive health issues.

One Saturday a couple of years ago, 16-year-old Edgar Anibal Miranda sat in his bedroom in Guatemala City, listening to the radio. He was surprised to hear a group of young people talking openly about sexual health issues.

“It was strange,” he now says. “I’d never heard anyone talk about these topics – not my parents, not even my school.”