SHINE

Sexual and Reproductive Health Innovation N Empowerment (SHINE)

According to the 2023 Population and Housing Census, adolescents and young people represent a significant share of Ghana’s population (30%), positioning them as a vital demographic for the country’s socioeconomic development. However, they face persistent sexual and reproductive health (SRHR) challenges, including rising cases of HIV and STIs, mental health concerns, nutritional deficiencies, teenage pregnancy, and various forms of sexual and gender-based violence, such as child marriage and female genital mutilation (GSS, 2022; GDHS, 2014). These challenges threaten their well-being and undermine Ghana’s ability to harness the demographic dividend.

The Sexual and Reproductive Health Innovation and Empowerment (SHINE) project seeks to reinforce healthy SRHR behaviours and improve young people’s access to quality, contextual reproductive education and information. To achieve this, the project will implement three-years of innovative strategies.

SHINE will also create an enabling environment that supports reproductive health education (RHE). This will be achieved by addressing harmful social and cultural norms, shifting negative attitudes and building community support for young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

By leveraging technology, creativity, and popular youth culture, SHINE introduces innovative approaches to scale up RHE by using digital and social media platforms to demystify SRHR topics and make them more accessible and engaging.