In Ethiopia, 4 in 5 girls will have a baby by age 20, often before considering the financial implications of having a baby before they are ready.

In rural Ethiopia, home to three in four of Ethiopian girls aged 15-19, girls often take up their first method of contraception at age 24, well after giving birth to three or more children.

The financial and health implications of too early and too frequent births ripple across families and among communities.

Smart Start, awarded in 2019 as a Goalkeepers Accelerator, supports young rural couples to identify the resources they’ll need to achieve their life goals, including a family when they are ready. And it equips community-based Health Extension Workers with a tool that speaks directly to girls’ self-defined dreams, with an understanding of how contraception can help girls to achieve their life plans.

A360 is the origin project from which Smart Start – A360’s project in Ethiopia – was born. RISE is the next phase, aimed at scaling Smart Start across six regions of Ethiopia.

RISE is much more than a youth contraceptive program; it is a movement designed to support young married women identify their life goals, plan for the families they desire and take charge of their lives. At the same time, it underscores PSI’s global commitment to innovation, to foster partnerships with health systems and diverse actors and to deliver client-centered care.

Influencers who can influence government decision makers across levels and departments is key (which, in Ethiopia, included embedding a PSI point person in the Ministry of Health). Young designers are powerful advocates in bringing government representatives along on the journey, too.