Youth and Children with Health Options Involving Community Engagement Strategies  (Y-CHOICES)

Youth and Children with Health Options Involving Community Engagement Strategies - (Y-CHOICES)

Name: Youth and Children with Health Options Involving Community Engagement Strategies - (Y-CHOICES)
Duration: September 2005- September 2009
Donors: USAID

Y-Choices is an innovative approach to behavior change that utilizes community involvement to help children and youth make educated choices about behaviors that affect their health. The project's goal is to strengthen local organizations' knowledge, skills and capacity to promote delayed sexual activities among youth; to expand community programs in communication strategies, behavior change and reduction of HIV transmission among youth; and to improve the environment for social and family dialogue by youth and their families on social issues critical to HIV prevention. Pact works with local partner organizations (30% of which are faith-based organizations) to develop organizational and institutional capacities and technical skills to create youth-appropriate programs that emphasize abstinence, fidelity and healthy life styles. The project currently reaches over 1.5 million youth in nine regions of Ethiopia. Y-CHOICES is a President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) initiative and operates in Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Oromia, SNNPR, Somali, and Tigray, as well as Harari and Addis Ababa city administrations.

Partners

24 local partners

Staff contacts

Leslie Mitchell Leslie Mitchell
Country Representative
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
leslie@pactet.org
Priscilla Ndlovu Priscilla Ndlovu
Program Assistant
Washington, D. C. USA