Increasing Adolescents' Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Services in Malawi: A Problem Driven Political Economy Analysis

Abstract

In 2020, the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) in Kenya conducted a problem-based political economy analysis (PB-PEA) focused on the access of adolescents to sexual and reproductive health information and services in Malawi. This work was done in close collaboration with the Health Economics and HIV and AIDS Research Division (HEARD) Institute at the University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, and the Department of Community and Environmental Health at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS) in Malawi. The overall goal of this PB-PEA was to understand the gaps between policy and regulatory commitments that relate to adolescent SRH on the one hand, and implementation on the other.Qualitative interviews with key stakeholders and a desktop review of the literature were conducted to assess relevant policies and the prevalent socioeconomic conditions affecting the delivery of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and broader sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to adolescents in the country. This study engaged key stakeholders in all three administrative regions of the country (South, Centre, and North) and those operating at the national level.