The Relationship between Sexual and Reproductive Health and Mental Health for Young People: Technical Brief

In East and Southern Africa, the population of adolescents and young people aged 10 to 24 was estimated at 220 million in 2024; their proportion of the overall population is 32 per cent (UNFPA, 2024). Improving the health and well-being, including the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), of young people is critical for harnessing demographic, economic, education, gender and climate dividends in the ESA region and on the African continent at large. 

There is increasing awareness of the significance of mental health, with mental health conditions increasing in prevalence among young people across ESA, affecting their health and well-being (UNICEF, 2021). The purpose of this technical brief is to consider the bidirectional nature of these two health dimensions and how they affect the life and potential of adolescents and young people in the region. This brief will provide recommendations on ways to integrate and harmonize policy and programmatic interventions on SRHR and mental health to improve the health and well-being of adolescents and young people (defined herein as persons between the ages of 10 and 24) in order to address this interdependence.