By Sarah Reeves | Business Development Manager
GlobalGiving Report
Executive Summary
In the midst of global funding cuts, support from our incredible donors through the GlobalGiving platform has supported and supplemented Shout’s large-scale HIV prevention programs, ensuring all young people are empowered to make the best choices for their own health and wellbeing. We have been able to raise $8,046 in our first few months of fundraising, which in turn has ensured we can provide youth-friendly health services to over 300 vulnerable adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). This impact feeds into the organizations broader programming, which is highlighted in more detail in this report. Beyond direct service delivery, these funds have enabled continuity of care, digital engagement with hard-to-reach youth, and the strengthening of community-based referral networks during a period of extreme financial uncertainty. GlobalGiving donors have therefore played a catalytic role in sustaining essential services at a critical time.
1. Background and Context
South Africa faces extremely high rates of HIV, Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and teenage pregnancy. The HIV epidemic disproportionately affects young people, particularly young women aged 15-24, with HIV prevalence rates twice as high in young women compared to their male counterparts. Teenage pregnancy rates have also surged, with a 48.7% increase among girls aged 10-14, and a 17.9% increase among those aged 15-19 from 2017 to 2021. One in three South African women have experienced GBV, with 6 cases being reported every hour. Contributing factors include poverty, gender inequality, limited access to contraceptives, inadequate SRH information, and negative attitudes from healthcare workers.
The GlobalGiving platform and our donors have been pivotal in Shout-It-Now’s ability to navigate drastic funding cuts to youth and adolescent health. The organization has been primarily funded by the US-government, and has had to adapt to a new funding environment. Funding from GlobalGiving ensures Shout can continue working towards our vision of a world where all young people are empowered to make the best choices for their own health and wellbeing.
Importantly, flexible community-based funding such as GlobalGiving allows Shout to rapidly respond to emerging needs, pilot innovative digital tools, and ensure uninterrupted access to prevention, protection, and psychosocial support for vulnerable youth.
2. Objectives and Expected Outcomes
2.1. Our Aims and Objectives
Through GlobalGiving Support, we aimed to achieve the ambitious goal of reducing incidence of HIV, GBV and teenage pregnancy amongst adolescent girls and young women in South Africa. To achieve this aim with reduced bilateral donor support, Shout is leveraging technology and other community-based approaches to ensure a more cost-effective and impactful way forward in ending HIV, GBV and unplanned pregnancies. Our approach prioritises youth leadership, digital innovation, and differentiated service delivery models that meet young people where they are, both online and in their communities.
Key Objectives:
3. Results and Impact
Over the past 6 years, and will support from GlobalGiving donors, Shout has been able to achieve the following impact:
Through GlobalGiving contributions specifically, over 300 AGYW accessed youth-friendly HIV prevention, GBV response, counselling, and referral services within just a few months, demonstrating the high return on investment of small, flexible donor contributions. These results contribute directly to national HIV prevention targets and the South African National Strategic Plan on GBVF and HIV, reinforcing Shout’s role as a trusted implementing partner.
4. Impact Stories
A young women and Shout client from Mamelodi Tshwane Region in Gauteng attended the Girls Club Programme and SASA! The two interventions that have equipped her in realising her potential and standing up for women and children’s rights.
SASA! is an evidence-based community mobilization approach to prevent violence against women by addressing a core driver: the imbalance of power between women and men, girls and boys. SASA! means “now” in Kiswahili and is an acronym for the intervention’s four phases: Start, Awareness, Support and Action.
Through her participation in SASA! and subsequent linkages to employment opportunities by Shout, she had the opportunity to work with National Institute for Community Development and Management under the National Department of Social Development and the Health and Welfare SETA as a GBVF Ambassador. Our client and her GBVF Ambassador peers worked to raise awareness about GBVF and make a difference in their community. Mamelodi is a recognised hotspot for Gender Based Violence and Femicide cases in Tshwane. While fighting Gender Based Violence and Femicide and raising awareness, our client was receiving a stipend and was able to care for her son as well as assisting her sister and her children.
This journey highlights how integrated programming, combining prevention, psychosocial support, and economic strengthening, can break cycles of vulnerability and enable young women to become agents of change within their communities.
5. Lessons learned and next steps
As we continue to work towards cost-effective and sustainable health and wellness programming, we are hoping to connect with donors across the world to sponsor some of the incredible programs Shout implements.
One key lesson learned is that community trust, peer-led engagement, and digital innovation are essential to reaching young people effectively in resource-constrained settings. Moving forward, Shout plans to expand our digital health platforms, strengthen PrEP demand and retention strategies, and deepen linkages between GBV response, mental health support, and economic empowerment for AGYW.
GlobalGiving will remain a critical platform for mobilising flexible, community-driven funding to support these next phases of growth and impact.
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