Promoting community based interventions for adolescent reproductive health in India

The term adolescent is as invisible in India as the age group it represents, those in their "second decade" or those between the ages of 10-19 years. For a group that makes up one fifth to one third (10-19 and 10-24 years, respectively) of India's population we know surprisingly little beyond the numbers. While initial research indicates the importance of addressing adolescent sexual and reproductive health issues, most community based interventions address adolescent health needs within the broader framework of existing social, cultural and economic conditions. The data clearly indicate that there is a marked gender difference in the experiences, perceptions and behaviour of adolescent girls and boys which needs to be considered in programme design and implementation. This paper highlights the status of adolescents in India as evidenced by the available data and examines some community based interventions that address adolescent needs through a number of activities. The paper also attempts to address some broad lessons for programming in adolescent reproductive health care in India within the context of existing information on community based interventions for adolescent girls and boys.