Marie Stopes Sierra Leone (MSSL) will train and support 60 youth peer educators to inform their peers about reproductive health and where to access services. MSSL seeks to support young people to speak with other youth about family planning and sexually transmitted infections to break down myths, provide accurate information in a confidential way, and show youth where they can access youth-friendly, non-judgmental services should they want them.
Teenage pregnancy is a significant issue in Sierra Leone, with 1 in every 2.5 teenage girls having a child before they reach the age of 20. There are many factors that contribute to such a high fertility rate among teenagers, including the challenges teens face in trying to access family planning education and contraceptives, health services that are not particularly easy for youth to navigate, and societal structures that can impede youth from seeking needed health services.
Marie Stopes Sierra Leone wants to change this phenomenon by training young people from Freetown to become peer educators and supporting them as they share their newly gained knowledge with other youth. To further facilitate access to services, sliding scale payments will be put in place for young people who cannot afford to pay; and, if needed, they will be able to receive free services at a Marie Stopes Sierra Leone clinic or at a participating private provider through our BlueStar network.
Better educated Freetown youth, who can make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and access youth-friendly contraceptive service delivery points should they choose to access them. Our aim is to: Train and support 60 youth peer educators Identify and cultivate 6 lead youth peer educators Refer 4,000 young people for desired services Provide 3,000 young people with free or subsided services
