Youth advocacy in Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) aims to address the systematic barriers faced by young people when seeking reproductive healthcare. In self-managed medical abortion care, youth advocacy is an essential movement that aims to empower young people to take charge of their reproductive health and make informed decisions about their bodies. With the rising challenges and limitations surrounding access to safe and legal abortion services, particularly in restrictive settings, it is crucial to ensure that young people have the correct information, necessary resources and support to access self-managed medical abortion care safely and effectively. Self-managed medical abortion allows individuals to have more control over their reproductive choices, provided they have access to accurate information, support, and quality medication.

Understanding the importance of self-managed medical abortion care in addressing maternal morbidity and deaths arising from unsafe abortions, Self-Managed Medical Abortion Advocacy (SMMAA) project integrated youth advocacy to enhance awareness and provide accurate and evidence-based information about self-managed medical abortion care, emphasizing its safety and effectiveness. In addition, youth advocacy aims to dispel myths and misconceptions surrounding self-managed medical abortion, and enable young people to make informed decisions about their reproductive health based on scientific evidence-based facts rather than barriers such as stigma or fear.

During the last quarter, ZAGO conducted training on self-managed medical abortion care for 22 youth advocates drawn from all the 10 districts where the project is implemented. Integrating the youth in SMMAA project implementation is key to raising awareness and provide accurate and evidence-based information about self-managed medical abortion care, its safety and effectiveness. The youth were taken through VCAT sessions aimed at positive mind-set change, equip them with necessary tools to use to dispel myths, misconceptions, and disinformation surrounding self-managed medical abortion, and also to enable them to make informed decisions about their reproductive health.

ZAGO’s work with young people is to challenge any barriers or potential barriers to ensure that they have the autonomy over their reproductive decisions and can access the resources they need without unnecessary obstacles. The advocacy with young people also focuses on providing emotional and practical support to individuals going through self-managed medical abortion process. This involves creating groups, and virtual communities where young people share their experiences, ask questions, and receive support from trained peers and healthcare professionals. By fostering a safe and non-judgmental space, ZAGO youth advocates ensure that individuals feel empowered and informed throughout their self-managed medical abortion journey.

The youth were encouraged to challenge any barriers or potential barriers to ensure autonomy over their reproductive decisions and access to safe abortion care service. The youth were further tasked to conduct sensitisation activities in their respective communities and ZAGO is monitoring their activities. At the end of the training, youth agreed to:

1. Intensify community sensitizations to raise awareness
2. Utilise social media and share messages on SMMA and safe abortion in general
3. ZAGO to train more youths in order to cover more people with messages in all the districts and health facilities
4. ZAGO to consider providing T-Shirts, caps, bungles and IDs for the youth advocates
5. ZAGO to develop and print IEC materials on SMMA and distribute to all target health facilities
6. ZAGO to support initiatives from the youth on increased sensitizations such as support during youth day commemorations.

ZAGO do understand that self-managed medical abortion care is an integral part of the broader reproductive justice program – recognizing that reproductive decisions should be made autonomously, irrespective of age, socioeconomic status, or geographical location. The organization underscores the importance of youth voices in shaping policy and tackling pervasive societal stigma related to abortion.