EngenderHealth Receives Major Grant for Teen Pregnancy Prevention in the United States

OCTOBER 1, 2010, NEW YORK—EngenderHealth has been awarded a major grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to implement a Teenage Pregnancy Prevention project, called Gender Matters, that will engage youth in Austin, Texas, home to one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the country. Gender Matters is an innovative, science-based intervention designed to address a critical gap in teen pregnancy prevention programming in the United States—the impact of gender norms on the sexual and reproductive health behaviors of youth.

“This award is an important milestone for EngenderHealth. For more than a decade, across 20 countries, the organization has been successfully implementing gender-based programs to improve sexual and reproductive health, especially among young people. This is an incredible opportunity to bring our experience, evidence, and knowledge to address a major public health issue in the United States,” said Pam Barnes, President of EngenderHealth.

Gender Matters will target hundreds of adolescent girls and boys ages 14–15 and comprises three components: a) intensive educational workshops, 2) social media activities, and 3) community-based educational events. The project goals include: reducing teenage pregnancy by delaying the onset of sex among those not sexually active; increasing contraceptive use among those who are sexually active; and increasing the number of youth who adopt health-seeking behaviors (e.g., health care visits). The project will be implemented for up to five years.

EngenderHealth has been widely recognized for its pioneering work to integrate gender issues into sexual and reproductive health programs, including its award-winning Men As Partners® approach. With this new award for Gender Matters, EngenderHealth has been asked to apply its innovative international expertise to the United States, where there is an urgent need for reproductive health interventions that address gender norms. Ultimately, EngenderHealth looks forward to showing that Gender Matters is a successful and replicable teenage pregnancy prevention model for others to follow—both domestically and globally.

Jointly funded by DHHS’s Office of Adolescent Health, Office of Public Health and Science, and Administration on Children, Youth and Families, EngenderHealth’s project partners include the Travis County Summer Youth Employment Program; SafePlace, a youth-serving prevention organization; and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.