Dr. Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli

The state of adolescent menstrual health in low- and middle-income countries and suggestions for future action and research

This paper is a report of a global meeting convened by WHO. At the meeting experts considered nine domains of menstrual health – awareness and understanding; stigma, norms, and socio-cultural practices; menstrual products; water and sanitation; disposal; empathy and support; clinical care; integration with other programmes; and financing – and answered the following five questions:

1. What is the current situation?
2. What are the factors contributing to this situation?
3. What should the status of this domain of adolescent menstrual health be in 10 years?
4. What actions are needed to achieve these goals?
5. What research is needed to achieve these goals? Read More…

Trends in adolescent first births in sub-Saharan Africa: a tale of increasing inequity?

Neal S, Channon A A, Chandra-Mouli V, Madise N. Trends in adolescent first births in sub-Saharan Africa: a tale of increasing inequity? International Journal for Equity in Health, 2020, 19, 151

Two key messages from the paper are: “ Adolescent first births are more common among women who are poorer, and live in rural areas; early adolescent first births before 16 years of age are particularly concentrated in these disadvantaged groups. Progress in reducing adolescent first births has also been particularly poor amongst these vulnerable groups, leading to increasing inequity.”

This paper builds on similar studies in Asia and Latin America.

Five key messages emanating from this body of work are:

1. In the 25 years since the International Conference on Population and Development, the level of adolescent child bearing has shown an impressive decline.
2. The decline in adolescent child bearing has been uneven across continents, across countries, within countries, and within communities. In some countries, the rate has remained unchanged or has even increased.
3. In all countries, some groups of adolescents are being left behind. While some attributes of those who are left behind are similar across countries, others are not. What this means is that some of the factors contributing to adolescents being left behind are situation specific.
4. National averages mask these disparities. Data collection, analysis and use should move from the national to the subnational level, to identify which groups are being left behind and why.
5. In terms of what needs to be done, it is not about doing more of the same. It is about addressing the differing needs and problems of different groups of adolescents with approaches tailored to their needs. Read More…

Systematic review on peer education on sexual and reproductive health directed at young people in India

In May 2020, the Journal of Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters published our systematic review titled: A systematic review of the evidence on peer education programmes for promoting the sexual and reproductive health of young people in India.

The key messages of our review are that both the content and the delivery of peer education on sexual and reproductive health directed at young people in India vary greatly; there is little attention to quality in designing and delivering peer education; and the outcomes of peer education initiatives are mixed. Read More…