Youth Friendly Centers: Liberia's Lifeline Keeping Teen Girls in School

be artsy's Rato Baltin project uses culturally relevant education, menstrual kit distribution, and engages religious leaders to challenge discriminatory practices against those who menstruate. Since launching in 2017, the group has reached 80,000 people and distributed over 5,500 menstrual cups, while simultaneously helping shift perspectives around menstruating.

A business in Panaji is helping to decrease the stigma around sexual health in India by selling products such as condoms and encouraging customers to ask questions. While stigma still persists throughout the region, the store has expanded to two other locations and has seen a varied customer base including "college girls and boys, housewives, people above 50."

Village Health Teams are groups of community health workers helping rural women access family planning services. They travel from home to home offering counseling, education and connection to the resources women need but struggle to access, including condoms and pills, often all without having to visit a health facility. VHTs have reached several thousand residents, both with short and long-term contraceptive methods.

Health centers like Barjobi Health Center III offer youth and teens judgment and stigma-free sexual and reproductive healthcare services, as well as opportunities to connect with each other over games and activities. However, these youth-centric health centers are facing closures and significant budget cuts as the biggest funding provider, USAID, has phased out.

She Deserves Uganda provides menstrual hygiene education to young girls and an organic aromatherapy solution to pain from period cramps they call The Cramp Relief Droppers, as a safer and more affordable alternative to traditional over-the-counter painkillers. The group has provided menstrual health education to over 10,000 girls across 50 schools and has distributed over 1,540 units of The Cramp Relief Droppers.

The Urukundo Life Skills Board Game is an educational tool created by four medical school graduates to address widespread gaps in sexual and reproductive health knowledge among young people. The game creates a relaxed, peer-driven environment where teenagers can openly discuss topics like menstruation, pregnancy and relationships that are typically considered taboo. Since its pilot in 2022, the game has reached over 10,000 adolescents across all 30 Rwandan districts and four refugee camps.

The Inspire Women, Men and Children (IWMC) youth empowerment group is teaching women and young girls how to construct reusable sanitary pads in an effort to address period poverty and prevent them from missing school and work during menstruation. The group follows up with students to ensure they’ve properly constructed pads with safe materials and also further educates teachers on how to provide support to students who menstruate.

Brencare Foundation’s Safe Space Project meets once a week within local schools to provide menstrual health, hygiene, sexual and gender-based violence education to girls in need. So far, the Foundation has reached about 5,000 women and girls across several communities with its education efforts.

The Balm in the Gilead Foundation (BIGIF) gathers survivors of female genital mutilation to become advocates in their community for the end of the practice. BIGIF has over 300 volunteers across the country and has reached over 100 women and girls with its messaging. BIGIF visits schools and churches, go door-to-door, hosts walks and even runs a 30-minute radio program to raise awareness and educate community members.

Girls&More educates girls on menstruation, puberty and menstrual hygiene. The group travels to schools and throughout rural communities to talk to girls and provide them with sanitary pads and other resources they may struggle to access.