African youth health rights held back by politics, restrictive laws, experts say

Barriers to youth access to health services in Africa, driven by restrictive laws and policy gaps. [iStockphoto]

Despite years of investment, many young people across Africa still face major barriers in accessing sexual and reproductive health services, leaving them vulnerable to HIV infection, unintended pregnancies and sexual and gender-based violence.

Experts recently warned that the challenge is no longer simply a lack of funding or health services, but political systems, laws and policies that continue to limit young people’s access to information and care.

The concerns were raised during the 9th Reproductive Health Network Kenya (RHNK) Pan African Adolescent and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (AYSRHR) Scientific Conference, which brought together governments, researchers, health professionals, civil society groups, development partners and young people from across the continent.

Speaking at the conference, Dr Musoba Kitui, Director at Ipas Africa Alliance, said many discussions around adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health focus too heavily on technical solutions while ignoring deeper structural problems.

“We need to stop treating Adolescent and Youth SRHR as a technical problem when it is, at its core, a political one,” said Dr Kitui.

According to him, progress is often slowed when personal beliefs and morality influence public policy.

“We named the conversion of private beliefs and morals into public policy as a systemic barrier. When personal faith is codified into law, we legislate morality and ignore evidence and science, which ultimately harms young people,” he said.

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Dr Kitui also argued that current financing systems are failing many young people, particularly those from poor backgrounds.

“Our current financing systems are often structurally ageist and colonial. They are not designed by, with, or for young people,” he said.

He noted that while young people from wealthy families can often pay for services privately or travel to places where care is easier to access, those from poorer households face far greater risks.

“Girls from poor families are paying with their bodies, education, lives or risking jail,” he said.

The conference identified what delegates called a “triple threat” facing young people across Africa: sexual and gender-based violence, HIV infection and adolescent pregnancies.

Participants warned that these challenges continue to undermine education, health, economic opportunities and the continent’s hopes of benefiting from its growing youth population.

Delegates further called for increased domestic financing for youth health programmes, warning that many countries remain heavily dependent on donor support. They also urged governments to invest in youth-friendly services, comprehensive sexuality education, mental health support and digital health innovations, including the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

Dr Kitui criticised policies that criminalise adolescent sexual activity and abortion, arguing that they do not stop young people from seeking these services.

“Evidence is clear, criminalising sexual activity does not stop it; it only makes it more dangerous,” he said. “Criminalising abortion does not stop it either; it just shifts adolescents and young people from safe, professional care to unsafe, life-threatening procedures.”

The conference concluded with a call for African governments to place adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health at the centre of national development plans, budgets and policies.

Delegates also urged leaders to move beyond consulting young people and instead give them meaningful influence in shaping laws, services and funding decisions that affect their lives.

Participants argued that investing in young people’s health, rights and participation is no longer optional but essential for the continent’s future, as Africa seeks to harness its demographic dividend.