The Service, Education, and Empowerment (SEE) project was a three-year project funded by UK Aid which aimed to improve the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of young people in Ethiopia. The project targeted young people age 10-29 years old in North Shewa and was implemented from November 2015 to October 2018.
Young people were at the centre of the programme; meaningful youth participation was a prerequisite in the project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation to ensure their needs and realities were reflected in the project activities. Over 85 youth representatives were critical stakeholders in pushing the project forward.
In collaboration with local key stakeholders, the project aimed to: increase access, availability and quality of SRHR information and SRH services for young people; create a supportive environment for young people to exercise their SRHR; and empower out-of-school youth through income generating activities (IGA).
SEE reached over 230,000 young people between the age of 10-29 years old to increase their capacity to make safe and informed decisions on sexual and reproductive health and rights issues. Through the support of DfiD, SEE created supportive environments for young people to utilize SRHR services, and empowered youth to engage in income generating activities. SEE was implemented in 24 districts in the North Shoa Zone in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Over three years, SEE trained more than 800 out of school youth on entrepreneurship, business development, financial management, and life skills; granted seed money to over 300 young people to start-up small business ventures, of which 90% had already set-up their own business before project close out; constructed and equipped five youth-friendly service rooms in five health centres; and trained nearly 1,500 health professionals on the provision of SRH services for young people.
Rahel Mengesha is one of the tens of thousands of health extension workers (HEWs) the Government of Ethiopia has trained and deployed all over the country. Based at Asfachew kebele
A lack of economic opportunities for young people is one of the main driving factors of poor sexual reproductive health (SRH) outcomes in Ethiopia’s young population. In North Shewa, exponential
Haimanot Yirsaw, 22, lives in Debrebirhan of North Shoa in the Amhara Regional State. She heads Meskerem, Mekides and Her Friends Partnership Enterprise, a small-scale brick production business established by
Amref Health Africa
