In Africa, as in many parts of the world, adolescent reproductive health is a controversial issue for policy makers and programme planners. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to HIV and AIDS and to a host of other problems such as sexually transmitted infection, unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortions, sexual abuse, female genital mutilation and unsafe circumcision. Yet many countries do not have adolescent health policies in place and much remains to be done to ensure that adolescents can access appropriate sexual and reproductive health services. The authors of this volume present new perspectives and strategies to promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health. In particular, they make a unique attempt to bring together social and biomedical science and to disseminate concrete empirical evidence from existing programmes, carefully analysing what works and what does not at the local level.

This important book provides a critical examination of the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of young women and girls in Southern Africa, examining the ways in which current policies and programmes aimed at improving SRHR often fail to reach the most marginalised populations. Addressing key regional challenges such as high rates of HIV, unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and sexual and gender-based violence, the book highlights how health inequalities in the region are in fact increasing, despite the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of "leaving no one behind". The book draws on theoretical analysis and empirical data gathered from studies carried out in five Southern African countries (Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), arguing that a continued focus on HIV and interventions that target health in a narrow sense often fail to understand the wider socio-economic determinants of poor sexual and reproductive health and the ways in which girls and young women are made vulnerable. Written by leading scholars in the field, this will be essential reading for students and researchers in Global Health, International Development, Women’s Studies, and all related fields.