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Transforming Parents from Barriers to Allies

“In Tanzania, our research showed cultural norms and stigma paint parents as barriers, rather than allies. So behavior change among adolescent girls required behavior change among parents” —Arnold Kabahaula, A360 Learning Coordinator, PSI Tanzania

What is it?

This presentation, first delivered at the International Conference on Family Planning in November 2018, details how we support parents to create pathways to adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health in urban and peri-urban settings of Tanzania.

How did we use it?

To bring to life our approach for engaging a critical population of influencers in Tanzania, based on our formative research findings. Rather than applying the same approach to parental engagement for all girls, we listened for differences.  While some girls desired our assurance of full anonymity in accessing our events, others told us they wanted our help to bring about their parents’ support. In response, we created the option of a pathway for parents to transition to allies, helping them to find their own motivation to support girls in making sexual and reproductive health decisions.

Consider using it to:

Explore our Tanzania team’s targeted engagement with parents of adolescents, including key results and takeaways.