Empowering Youth for a Healthier Future
On June 11th at the Bintumani Hotel in Freetown, Solthis proudly launched the SHAPE Project (Sexual and Reproductive Health Access and Promotion of Empowerment), a transformative initiative designed to improve the lives of adolescents and young people in Sierra Leone.
Generously supported by the French Development Agency (AFD) and implemented in partnership with CAWeC and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation this ambitious project aims to increase access to quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and to promote the realization of SRH rights, especially for adolescent girls and young women aged 10 to 24 in the Western Area Urban and Rural districts.
The launch pulled over 65 people from various institutions including representatives from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Ministry of basic, secondary and senior education, WHO, UNFPA, midwives, healthcare workers, INGOs and civil society organizations, Solthis staff and the media. The huge attendance of all project stakeholders is a testament of the value accorded to SRH and the fight against maternal and neonatal death which is the overall objective of the SHAPE project. The launch marked a bold step in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights for young people across Sierra Leone.
SHAPE aims to:
- Empower young people to understand and claim their SRH rights
- Strengthen youth-friendly, respectful, and quality healthcare systems
- Promote sustainable change through advocacy, evidence, and collaboration
In his welcome address, Mr. Maurice Kwite, Country Director for Solthis in Sierra Leone, emphasized the importance of partnership and youth leadership, calling on all stakeholders to come together to build a respectful, equitable, and rights-based healthcare system.
Goodwill messages were presented from the Program Manager of the Quality-of-Care Management of the Ministry of Health, from the RMNCAH Team Lead of WHO, from CAWEC and from Action Against Hunger talking on behalf of INGOs implementing SRH projects. The WHO representative speaking on behalf of UN agencies remarked that “ I love the name of the project, ‘SHAPE’ because indeed it will shape the future of SRH and the destinies of adolescents and young people in Sierra Leone.’ Each of the speakers highlighted the importance of the SHAPE project in a context where teenage pregnancies and maternal mortality is still significantly high and urged the project team to work closely with the existing structures in place to ensure sustainability of the project’s impact.
Mrs. Busi Anissette, SHAPE Project Coordinator for Solthis, and Mr. Mohammed Alpha Umar, Program Manager for CAWeC, provided a comprehensive overview of the project and its vision for impact.
Dr. Francis Moses, Director of Reproductive and Child Health at the Ministry of Health, in his speech at the official launch, started by exhorting the audience to be excited saying “we should be excited based on the presentations we have just seen, it looks like we have exciting times ahead”. He expressed that the Empowerment aspect in the SHAPE project caught his attention as empowerment is very vital in bringing sustainable change. He commended Solthis for this innovative project that will contribute to reducing inequalities in sexual and reproductive health among youth by strengthening access to tailored services, education, and the empowerment of adolescents and young girls. He commended the meaningful collaboration which exists between the project team and the MOH and reiterated the importance of the SHAPE project in the districts of implementation as he remarked that those two districts contribute greatly to high numbers of maternal and neonatal mortality in the country. He ended by expressing good wishes to the project and envisioned a positive change in the lives of the adolescents by the end of the project.
Together, we’re shaping a future of dignity, health, and empowerment for Sierra Leone’s youth.
