EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Youth participation — the meaningful engagement of young people in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of programmes that affect them — is a core principle of UNFPA's programming and a strategic priority in its work on adolescent SRHR. The world's 1.8 billion young people aged 10–24 represent the largest youth generation in history, with the majority living in LMICs. UNFPA recognises that SRHR programmes designed for young people without their input are less effective, less relevant, and less likely to achieve sustained behaviour change.
UNFPA's youth participation approaches span a continuum: from consultation (seeking young people's views) through collaboration (joint programme design) to youth-led action (young people designing and implementing their own initiatives). The organisation has invested in youth advisory panels, youth peer education programmes, youth-led advocacy platforms, and the My Body My Future initiative. UNFPA also supports national youth policies and youth representation in governance structures.
Evidence on the effectiveness of youth participation in SRHR is growing but still limited. The strongest evidence is for peer education programmes (modest positive effects on knowledge and attitudes, weaker effects on behaviour) and youth-friendly health services (improved service utilisation when young people are involved in design). The weakest evidence is for large-scale youth participation in governance — principally because it is difficult to measure the impact of policy advocacy on health outcomes.
KEY FACTS
- Global youth population: 1.8 billion aged 10–24 — the largest youth generation in history; over 85% in LMICs
- UNFPA Youth Advisory Panel: Established to provide youth input into UNFPA programming and governance
- Peer education: The most widely implemented youth participation model in SRHR; evidence shows modest effects on knowledge, mixed effects on behaviour
- Youth-friendly health services: WHO standards for adolescent-friendly services include youth involvement in service design; UNFPA supports implementation in many countries
- My Body My Future: UNFPA's youth engagement platform
- Meaningful participation: Defined as going beyond tokenism to genuine influence on decisions; the "ladder of participation" (Roger Hart, adapted) provides a framework
- Barriers: Adultism (dismissal of young people's capacity), cultural norms restricting adolescent SRHR discussion, lack of funding for youth-led initiatives, safety concerns for youth advocates in restrictive contexts
DETAIL
UNFPA's youth participation work includes youth advisory mechanisms at regional and country levels, peer education programmes for SRHR (particularly HIV prevention, FP awareness, and GBV prevention), support for comprehensive sexuality education with youth involvement in curriculum design, and capacity building for youth-led organisations working on SRHR advocacy.
The evidence base highlights that youth participation improves programme relevance, youth ownership, and cultural appropriateness. However, meaningful participation requires investment: training for young people, mentorship, safe spaces, funding for youth-led activities, and institutional willingness to share power. Token participation — inviting a young person to speak at a conference without giving them genuine influence — can be counterproductive.
SOURCES
- UNFPA: "The Power of 1.8 Billion" (State of World Population, 2014)
- WHO: "Global Standards for Quality Health Care Services for Adolescents" (2015)
- Chandra-Mouli, V. et al.: "What does not work in adolescent sexual and reproductive health" (Journal of Adolescent Health, 2015)
- Hart, Roger: "Children's Participation: From Tokenism to Citizenship" (UNICEF, 1992)
RELATED DOCUMENTS
- UNFPA-W-08 (Adolescent SRH)
- UNFPA-C-03 (CSE)
- UNFPA-S-05 (Male Engagement)
- UNFPA-D-03 (Demographic Dividend)
- UNFPA-H-01 (ICPD)