Peer-reviewed article
The Political, Research, Programmatic, and Social Responses to Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the 25 Years Since the International Conference on Population and Development.
Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli, B Jane Ferguson, Marina Plesons, Mandira Paul, Satvika Chalasani et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This review examines progress in adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights across low- and middle-income countries over 25 years since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. It covers six key areas: adolescent pregnancy, HIV, child marriage, violence against women and girls, female genital mutilation, and menstrual hygiene and health. The article finds significant progress globally and regionally in placing adolescent health higher on policy agendas, increasing investment, and building evidence, though progress has been uneven across issues and geographies. The ICPD's 1994 call to action provided a lasting foundation for advocacy and research that continues to shape the field.
Key points
- The ICPD in 1994 was groundbreaking in placing adolescent sexual and reproductive health on global health and development agendas
- Progress over 25 years has been made at global, regional, and national levels in laws, policies, strategies, programs, and community engagement
- Progress has been uneven across the six health topics examined and across different geographic regions
- Investment in adolescent sexual and reproductive health has increased and the evidence base has been strengthened
- The ICPD's Plan of Action continued to provide a springboard for advocacy, investment, action, and research beyond its initial 1994 call
Limitations
This is a high-level review article that synthesizes progress across multiple issues and countries but does not provide detailed quantitative data on specific outcomes for each topic or region. The document does not evaluate the effectiveness of specific interventions with control groups, so it cannot identify which particular strategies work best.
Abstract
Among the ground-breaking achievements of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) was its call to place adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) on global health and development agendas. This article reviews progress made in low- and middle-income countries in the 25 years since the ICPD in six areas central to ASRH-adolescent pregnancy, HIV, child marriage, violence against women and girls, female genital mutilation, and menstrual hygiene and health. It also examines the ICPD's contribution to the progress made. The article presents epidemiologic levels and trends; political, research, programmatic and social responses; and factors that helped or hindered progress. To do so, it draws on research evidence and programmatic experience and the expertise and experiences of a wide number of individuals, including youth leaders, in numerous countries and organizations. Overall, looking across the six health topics over a 25-year trajectory, there has been great progress at the global and regional levels in putting adolescent health, and especially adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, higher on the agenda, raising investment in this area, building the epidemiologic and evidence-base, and setting norms to guide investment and action. At the national level, too, there has been progress in formulating laws and policies, developing strategies and programs and executing them, and engaging communities and societies in moving the agenda forward. Still, progress has been uneven across issues and geography. Furthermore, it has raced ahead sometimes and has stalled at others. The ICPD's Plan of Action contributed to the progress made in ASRH not just because of its bold call in 1994 but also because it provided a springboard for advocacy, investment, action, and research that remains important to this day.