Population Council Research that makes a difference

The aim of this leadership project is to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding sexual and reproductive health (SRH), gender equity, and cross-cultural sensitivity among indigenous young women from ten communities in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The Population Council is collaborating with a local implementing partner (Grupo de Estudios sobre la Mujer Rosario Castellanos, "El Grupo," an NGO based in Oaxaca City) that conducts projects on SRH, gender equity, and cross-cultural sensitivity. The organizations are implementing and evaluating the leadership project, which is intended to improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices of youth leaders, their peers, and the communities in which they conduct educational activities.

The youth leaders are participating in 24 week-long seminars over the project period and are responsible for conducting educational activities in their communities.

Each leader has five "allies" (peers) who work with the leader as a team to carry out educational activities. The Council’s primary role is to perform a diagnostic of the SRH situation among indigenous communities and implement the monitoring and evaluation of the planned project. As of June 2009, all leaders were recruited, and the first training seminar took place at the beginning of August 2009.

Researchers have finalized the diagnostic, monitoring, and evaluation plans with El Grupo and completed baseline data collection, which included interviews with youth leaders, key informants, and a companion study of youth SRH needs in 3 of 12 communities prior to the intervention. Currently, Council staff are in the process of finishing a report on baseline data evaluation findings and have recently completed data collection for the midline evaluation.  They will collect endline evaluation data in 2011.