YOUTH DEVELOPMENT LABS INC
3130 SHATTUCK AVENUE, BERKELEY, CA 94705 www.y-labs.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: WE BUILD MEASURABLE AND MEANINGFUL SOLUTIONS THROUGH YOUTH-DRIVEN DESIGN.

CYBERRWANDA: IS AN INTERACTIVE DIGITAL APPLICATION THAT USES STORYTELLING TO SEAMLESSLY BLEND EMPLOYMENT SKILLS AND SEXUAL RIGHTS AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH (SRHR) WITH ON-DEMAND PRODUCTS FOR RWANDAN YOUTH. AS RATES OF INTERNET USAGE RISE DRAMATICALLY AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE AGES 12-19 IN URBAN AND PERI-URBAN SETTINGS, THE CYBERRWANDA WEB APPLICATION AND CORRESPONDING DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES WERE CREATED USING HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN PRINCIPLES TO CREATE A FUN, INTERACTIVE, AND INSPIRATIONAL DIRECT TO CONSUMER (DTC) PRODUCT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. PROJECT HISTORY: IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RWANDAN YOUTH, YLABS CREATED CYBERRWANDA TO IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS THREE MAIN CHALLENGES; YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT, A LACK OF ACCURATE SRHR INFORMATION, AND THAT LACK OF SRHR SERVICES DESIGNED FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS OF RWANDA (NISR), THE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN RWANDA IS 21 PERCENT. THE LACK OF FORMAL ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES PUT GIRLS AT A DISPROPORTIONAL RISK, AND 10 PERCENT OF GIRLS IN RWANDA HAVE REPORTED RECEIVING MONEY IN EXCHANGE FOR SEX. SINCE SRHR EDUCATION IS RARELY COMPREHENSIVE, ADOLESCENTS OFTEN TURN TO THE INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA FOR INFORMATION, MUCH OF WHICH IS INACCURATE, PRESCRIPTIVE, OR LACED IN HARMFUL GENDER NORMS. EVEN THOUGH RWANDAN LAW ALLOWS YOUTH ACCESS TO SRHR CARE, CONTRACEPTIVE USE AMONG ADOLESCENTS REMAINS HIGHLY STIGMATIZED. CULTURAL NORMS, PROVIDER BIAS, OR A LACK OF INFORMATION ABOUT A NEED FOR SRHR CARE MAKES FINDING YOUTH-FRIENDLY SERVICES DIFFICULT FOR UNMARRIED YOUNG PEOPLE.TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES, CYBERRWANDA WAS DEVELOPED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE DAVID AND LUCILE PACKARD FOUNDATION AND USAID. THE SOCIETY OF FAMILY PLANNING IN RWANDA IS OUR IMPLEMENTING PARTNER, AND YTH SERVED AS A DESIGN PARTNER DURING INITIAL DESIGN RESEARCH AND IDEATION. WE ARE NOW THRILLED TO WORKING WITH EVALUATION PARTNERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY AND THE UNIVERSITY OF RWANDA.

THE BEYOND BIAS: PROJECT DESIGNS AND TESTS SCALABLE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS PROVIDER BIAS TOWARD SERVING YOUTH AGES 15-24 WITH FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES IN BURKINA FASO, PAKISTAN, AND TANZANIA. A CONSORTIUM COMPRISED OF PATHFINDER INTERNATIONAL, YLABS, CAMBER COLLECTIVE, AND BERI SET OUT TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING CHALLENGES PROVIDER BIAS THAT CAN PREVENT YOUNG PEOPLE FROM ACCESSING CONTRACEPTIVE METHODS. ACCORDING TO GUTTMACHER, 28 MILLION SEXUALLY ACTIVE ADOLESCENTS IN DEVELOPING REGIONS DO NOT WANT A CHILD WITHIN TWO YEARS, BUT 60% OF THESE ADOLESCENTS HAVE AN UNMET NEED FOR CONTRACEPTION.THE USE OF MODERN CONTRACEPTION AMONG WOMEN AGES 15-19 IS LOW: 6% IN BURKINA FASO, 7% IN PAKISTAN, 8% IN TANZANIA. MULTIPLE BARRIERS PREVENT A YOUNG PERSON FROM ACCESSING A SAFE METHOD OF CONTRACEPTION OF THEIR CHOICE. BIAS OCCURS AT THESE STAGES DURING THE MOMENT OF CONSULTATION BETWEEN YOUTH AND PROVIDER - THE LAST METER OF CARE.BIASES THAT PROVIDERS MAY HAVE, SUCH AS A BELIEF THAT YOUNG, UNMARRIED PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE SEXUALLY ACTIVE OR THAT YOUNG, MARRIED WOMEN SHOULD PROVE THEIR FERTILITY BY HAVING A CHILD BEFORE THEY CONSIDER BIRTH SPACING - IS A DRIVER OF JUDGMENTAL AND POOR QUALITY SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE.THE PROGRAM IS COMPRISED OF THREE COMPONENTS AND CAN BE MODIFIED TO FIT THE NEEDS OF PROVIDERS AND KEY STAKEHOLDERS. THE FIRST COMPONENT IS SUMMIT, A STORY-DRIVEN EVENT WHERE PROVIDERS BUILD EMPATHY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE AND DEVELOP SELF-AWARENESS OF THEIR OWN BIASES. THE SECOND IS CONNECT, AN APPLIED LEARNING FORUM WHERE PROVIDERS PROBLEM-SOLVE TOGETHER TO PUT THE SIX PRINCIPLES OF UNBIASED CARE INTO PRACTICE. THIS 8-WEEK DIGITAL GROUP OR IN-PERSON FORUM IS LED BY TRAINED FACILITY LEADERS. THE THIRD COMPONENT IS REWARDS, A GROWTH-ORIENTED PERFORMANCE REWARDS SYSTEM. AFTER COLLECTING PATIENT FEEDBACK, FACILITIES RECEIVE REPORT CARDS ON HOW WELL THEY PUT THE SIX PRINCIPLES INTO PRACTICE AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT. HIGH-IMPROVEMENT FACILITIES GET PUBLIC RECOGNITION FOR THEIR PROGRESS. IN JULY 2019, WE LAUNCH THE PROGRAM IN 3 COUNTRIES WITH 261 FACILITIES, WITH A MIXED-METHODS RCT TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT ON PROVIDER BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDES OVER 12 MONTHS. IN SEPTEMBER, BEYOND BIAS WAS RECOGNIZED BY MELINDA GATES AT THE 2019 GOALKEEPERS MEETING.

SAFIRE: ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY AT RISK OF UNINTENDED PREGNANCY. GIRLS AGES 15-19 ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO HAVE AN UNMET NEED FOR CONTRACEPTION COMPARED TO WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES. UNSAFE ABORTION REMAINS A LEADING CAUSE OF MATERNAL MORTALITY WORLDWIDE BUT IS PARTICULARLY DEVASTATING IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. THIS REGION ACCOUNTS FOR 29% OF UNSAFE ABORTION WORLDWIDE, YET 62% OF ALL ABORTION-RELATED DEATHS. MATERNAL MORTALITY STANDS AT 520 DEATHS PER 100,000 UNSAFE ABORTIONS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, COMPARED TO 220 DEATHS PER 100,000 UNSAFE ABORTIONS ACROSS ALL DEVELOPING REGIONS. EARLY SEXUAL DEBUT INCREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF FORCED OR COERCED SEX, WHICH UNDERMINES ADOLESCENT GIRLS' ABILITY TO EXERT AUTONOMY OVER THEIR SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CHOICES AND FUTURES.FURTHERMORE, STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION REMAIN TREMENDOUS BARRIERS FOR ADOLESCENT GIRLS WHO WISH TO ACCESS SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH INFORMATION AND SERVICES. VERY LITTLE RESEARCH HAS BEEN CONDUCTED SPECIFICALLY ON THEIR PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF UNINTENDED PREGNANCIES AND ABORTION IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA IN GENERAL, AND IN KENYA, NIGERIA, AND SOUTH AFRICA SPECIFICALLY.YLABS UTILIZED A HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN APPROACH TO UNDERSTAND THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND STRUCTURAL DETERMINANTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO AN ADOLESCENT GIRL'S EXPERIENCE OF UNINTENDED PREGNANCY AND UNSAFE ABORTION. WE ARE WORKING WITH ADOLESCENT GIRLS TO CO-DESIGN AND PROTOTYPE USER-CENTERED SOLUTIONS THAT WILL BE INFORMED BY AND REFINED ACCORDING TO THEIR NEEDS, PERSPECTIVES, AND PREFERENCES IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THEIR PATHWAYS TO SAFE, HIGH-QUALITY CARE. IN COLLABORATION WITH OPTIONS, MARIE STOPES INTERNATIONAL, DKT INTERNATIONAL, THE CHILDREN'S INVESTMENT FUND FOUNDATION (CIFF), YLABS IS WORKING WITH LOCAL COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS TO DEVELOP A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF THE BARRIERS, STIGMA, AND INNOVATIONS NEEDED TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO NEEDED REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES FOR ADOLESCENT GIRLS.

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