Making Youth Programming Fit-for-Purpose in Mozambique

By Shazia Jodá, Communications Assistant, PSI Mozambique 

From its start in 2016, PSI’s flagship youth-powered sexual and reproductive health (SRH) project Adolescents 360 (A360) has committed to sharing its learnings as the project strives to change the conversation around contraception, with and for young people. Herein lies the heart of A360’s Open Source – a treasure chest of applicable resources to support us all in driving adolescent and youth SRH breakthroughs. 

The toolkit covers four phases: Inquiry (getting to know the subject), Insight Synthesis (analyzing and understanding gathered information), Prototyping (creating and testing different design ideas), and Adaptive Implementation (adapting interventions in real-time as projects pursue impact at scale). 

We – PSI Mozambique’s Vale-a-Pena (VAP), a youth-powered SRH project funded by UK Aid – turned to Open Source to develop intervention components aimed at engaging adolescent girls to make healthy and smart decisions about their futures, and promote discussion around the benefits of contraceptive use. 

The result? Four tools adapted for purpose.  

Tool #1: Videos Responding to Questions and Concerns about Contraception

We began our research with inquiries, led by the VAP team alongside a storyteller; we drafted and used questionnaires that sought to get as much information as possible from our subjects using an HCD approach.

Our insights were then gathered though the use of tools such as downloading learnings, journey maps, how might we and insight statements with the purpose of better sharing gathered information; identifying and strategizing for key moments; transforming problems into opportunities and getting information prototype ready. This was where the VAP team noticed the need for audiovisual tools to better resonate messages with girls and women – since our subject relies mostly on sound and images to understand whatever messages are being transmitted. Though immersive research we created fictional animated personas for each segment we wanted to target.

When we got to the Prototyping phase, we developed communication tools that would be based on the stories of our personas, creating audiovisuals, such as explanatory and motivational videos. We opted for tools that allowed us to brainstorm, bundle ideas, rapidly prototype and determine what will be used. The team created a video that addresses SRH in general and parents’ will, focusing on the issues girls have told them they face when their parents force them to marry too early. These include leaving school due to pregnancy, less access to economic opportunities, increased risk of domestic violence and the risk of early, frequent, and very high-risk pregnancies.

After running low, medium, and high-fidelity tests, VAP quickly understood two things that led to the first Adaptive Implementation phase:

  • Girls reacted differently to the video depending on where they were from; some couldn’t understand the messaging around contraception because they didn’t relate to the context of early marriage – because getting married at a young age was something seen as normal by them – or because since they were already married, it was too late for them to avoid child marriage.
  • Not every parent or husband would allow VAP promoters to show these videos to the girls or women in their homes, either because they didn’t understand who the promoters were, or they didn’t understand the importance of family planning—and sometimes both.

After discovering these insights, the VAP team took the original video out of circulation and went back to Prototyping and created two new videos in response to the issues that blocked girls, parents and husbands from understanding their messaging around contraception. Through these videos, the team tailored the information presented to serve each situation the promoter might encounter. These are videos that introduce the Promoter and Nurse in a standardized way as well as give a detailed explanation of what contraceptives and how they work:

  • “The VAP Promoter:” a video that responded to questions and concerns about who the VAP promoters were, what they were doing and why they existed.
  • “The VAP Nurse’s news:” a video showcasing a nurse, who responds to questions about contraception.

Tool #2: Behavior Change Videos

We had a second round of inquiries that led us to gather more insights – where were able to understand that most girls and women rely on parents, partners, and their community; they are influenced by and easily accept advice from other women/friends.  So, the VAP team went back to Prototyping and created behavior change videos, tailoring the information included to serve the different archetypes the promoter could encounter and allowing girls to relate to the context of the video more easily. These videos are almost inspirational and aim to motivate the girl/woman to seek for SRH services:

  • “Rosinhas´ decision:” a video that portrays friends advising each other on planning their future, targeted at adolescent girls that already have children.
  • Our best:” a video that portrays young girls deciding to prioritize their dreams and aspirations.

So how did VAP adapt not only the messaging it presented to girls, but also how it was presented? They involved the entire family unit—including husbands.

Tool #3: The Your Future Tool

In another round of Adaptive Implementation, the VAP team wanted to build on another successful program, A360 Ethiopia’s Smart Start. Initially, the team wanted to explore whether the Smart Start approach, which leads with financial planning, would be more relevant for rural, married couples than the VAP messages about pursuing goals and succeeding in school. As they tested the approach, a new opportunity became obvious—to speak with husbands directly. The team took note that husbands would not give the promoter permission to speak with their wives alone – which is often due to myths, taboos, misconceptions related to contraceptives or even not being certain that the promoter will safeguard their family’s health. VAP saw that they could use financial planning messages to assuage husbands’ fears and supported them to use the Your Future tool – which makes use of simple conversations around saving and resources to encourage men to discuss family planning and the benefits of using contraceptives with their wives. We began using the tool in January 2020.

Tool #4: Community Dialogues

We also made sure girls didn’t feel alone when their parents or guardians created a barrier to SRH information and services by inviting them to participate in community dialogues. At these sessions, we create safe spaces to create discussion and engagement around any misconceptions girls and their families might have around contraception until they feel comfortable and confident that these methods will not harm the girls’ health, but instead will help her to reach her dreams.

An adaptive learning workshop was conducted in October 2019 to help VAP promoters to transition from decision making—i.e., deciding which tools best fit each client – to problem solving so that they can easily adjust to challenges, notice, and take advantage of opportunities or respond to negative reactions from parents, husbands, and adolescents themselves.

In a nutshell, working with Open Source and its inclusive co-design engagement process enables teams to implement projects, services, or products more assuredly. The inclusive co-design process provides a firm foundation for the whole project to stand on, allowing them to immerse with the community/people they are working with, appropriately select their intervention methods and apply the tools.

This piece is a part of A360’s replication series on the UK Aid-funded Vale-a-Pena project. With and for young people, Vale-a-Pena is proving the power in applying A360’s youth-powered approach to determine what it takes to enact effective, resonant and ultimately lasting adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH) behavior change in Mozambique – and beyond. 

Sign up to
Receive Updates

Donate to
Support Our Work

Related

OUR COMMITMENTS

The Future of Work

With overarching commitments to flexibility in our work, and greater wellbeing for our employees, we want to ensure PSI is positioned for success with a global and holistic view of talent. Under our new “work from (almost) anywhere,” or “WFAA” philosophy, we are making the necessary investments to be an employer of record in more than half of U.S. states, and consider the U.S. as one single labor market for salary purposes. Globally, we recognize the need to compete for talent everywhere; we maintain a talent center in Nairobi and a mini-hub in Abidjan. PSI also already works with our Dutch-based European partner, PSI Europe, and we’re creating a virtual talent center in the UK.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Meaningful Youth Engagement

PSI is firmly committed to the meaningful engagement of young people in our work. As signatories of the Global Consensus Statement on Meaningful Adolescent & Youth Engagement, PSI affirms that young people have a fundamental right to actively and meaningfully engage in all matters that affect their lives. PSI’s commitments aim to serve and partner with diverse young people from 10-24 years, and we have prioritized ethics and integrity in our approach. Read more about our commitments to the three core principles of respect, justice and Do No Harm in the Commitment to Ethics in Youth-Powered Design. And read more about how we are bringing our words to action in our ICPD+25 commitment, Elevating Youth Voices, Building Youth Skills for Health Design.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Zero Tolerance for Modern-Day Slavery and Human Trafficking

PSI works to ensure that its operations and supply chains are free from slavery and human trafficking. Read more about this commitment in our policy statement, endorsed by the PSI Board of Directors.

OUR COMMITMENTS

UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT

Since 2017, PSI has been a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, a commitment to align strategies and operations with universal principles of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Read about PSI’s commitment to the UN Global Compact here.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Environmental Sustainability

The health of PSI’s consumers is inextricably linked to the health of our planet. That’s why we’ve joined the Climate Accountability in Development as part of our commitment to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Read about our commitment to environmental sustainability.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity

PSI does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability, protected veteran status or any other classification protected by applicable federal, state or local law. Read our full affirmative action and equal employment opportunity policy here.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Zero Tolerance for Discrimination and Harassment

PSI is committed to establishing and maintaining a work environment that fosters harmonious, productive working relationships and encourages mutual respect among team members. Read our policy against discrimination and harassment here.

PSI is committed to serving all health consumers with respect, and strives for the highest standards of ethical behavior. PSI is dedicated to complying with the letter and spirit of all laws, regulations and contractual obligations to which it is subject, and to ensuring that all funds with which it is entrusted are used to achieve maximum impact on its programs. PSI provides exceptionally strong financial, operational and program management systems to ensure rigorous internal controls are in place to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse and ensure compliance with the highest standards. Essential to this commitment is protecting the safety and well-being of our program consumers, including the most vulnerable, such as women and children. PSI maintains zero tolerance for child abuse, sexual abuse, or exploitative acts or threats by our employees, consultants, volunteers or anyone associated with the delivery of our programs and services, and takes seriously all complaints of misconduct brought to our attention.

OUR FOCUS

Diversity and Inclusion

PSI affirms its commitment to diversity and believes that when people feel respected and included they can be more honest, collaborative and successful. We believe that everyone deserves respect and equal treatment regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, cultural background or religious beliefs. Read our commitment to diversity and inclusion here. Plus, we’ve signed the CREED Pledge for Racial and Ethnic Equity. Learn more.

OUR COMMITMENTS

Gender Equality

PSI affirms gender equality is a universal human right and the achievement of it is essential to PSI’s mission. Read about our commitment to gender equality here.

Cover

01 #PeoplePowered

02 Breaking Taboos

03 Moving Care Closer to Consumers

04 Innovating on Investments

ICFP Q&A:
Let's Talk About Sex

icons8-linkedin-circled-240
icons8-twitter-circled-240