The Reproductive Health Programme currently comprises the Building Bridges and Sexual and Reproductive Health initiatives.

Building Bridges

ARYI and Americans for UNFPA (with the endorsement of UNFPA) established a program entitled “Building Bridges” that develops youth group partnerships in which college campus groups in the US partner with youth groups in an African country working in conjunction with a UNFPA sponsored program in their area.  For example, ARYI’s youth program in Rwanda partners with Americans for UNFPA’s group at Arizona State University (ASU).  Using their firsthand knowledge of the UNFPA program in Rwanda, the ASU students communicated and worked in direct contact with their peers in Rwanda to raise awareness on youth and women’s health issues as addressed by UNFPA.  Partnerships addressed communication, community awareness, advocacy and fundraising. 

Sexual and Reproductive Health Program

Noting a lack of youth participation at the policy level with regard to sexual and reproductive health programs, and policy development, ARYI created a Sexual and Reproductive Health Program that builds the capacity of youth to engage in advocating for the creation, implementation, and monitoring of reproductive health programs and policies. In addition to working at the national level to coordinate workshops on reproductive health policies, ARYI builds youth policy groups and supports their collaboration with policy makers through national advisory committees comprised of youth, women, representatives from the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders.

Since its creation in 2004, the program formed youth policy groups in countries such as Ghana, Liberia (where a media campaign is ready to be launched), Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. 

In February 2005, ARYI was represented at a conference on the Repositioning of Family Planning, through which young people became part of the process in developing national strategies on family planning in their countries.  ARYI also presented the model used in this program in June of 2005 at the Forum on Youth and Reproductive Health.  Coordinated by YouthNet, Sara Project, USAID, and Cerpod (a research center based in Senegal), ARYI was recognized as an official partner at this meeting.