Adolescents are uniquely positioned to contribute to the design and delivery of effective programs and services. Policymakers, program managers, and service providers need to include adolescents as much as possible when designing, planning, implementing, delivering, and monitoring youth-responsive nutrition programs and services. If you have examples of policies, programs, services, guidance, evidence, and tools related to the engagement of adolescents in the design, implementation, delivery or evaluation of nutrition programs and services, please send them to info@advancingnutrition.org.
Advocacy is an important tool to gain political commitment and stakeholder support, and secure resources for adolescent nutrition programming. The Adolescent Nutrition Resource Bank includes documents used to advocate for adolescent nutrition programs and services. If you have relevant advocacy materials or tools, please send them to info@advancingnutrition.org.
Policymakers, program managers, and service providers—teachers, health care providers, extension agents, religious and community leaders—need the competencies (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) to serve and support adolescent boys and girls in accordance with global recommendations and national policies and protocols. This will require clear job descriptions, training (pre-service or in-service, offsite or on-the-job), mentorship, and supportive supervision, along with access to effective strategies, tools, and resources. Adolescents and their families also need competencies to support, adopt
Formative research helps us understand the challenges and opportunities that adolescents face, as well as barriers and enablers to behavior change. Routine monitoring is needed to assess progress toward program goals and national targets. Implementation research and evaluations are needed to identify effective approaches. The Adolescent Nutrition Resource Bank includes a variety of protocols and tools for monitoring, evaluating, and researching adolescent nutrition. If you have relevant monitoring, evaluation, or research resources, please send them to info@advancingnutrition.org.
Nutrition services typically do not prioritize adolescents and adolescent-friendly health services rarely include nutrition. Nutrition services need to be responsive to adolescents’ unique needs and priorities and address the barriers they face in accessing services. Programs must consider the diversity of adolescents’ situations and experiences, as well as the varied social norms and expectations of adolescents in the family and community. The Adolescent Nutrition Resource Bank includes guidelines and tools used in nutrition services for adolescents.If you have relevant service delivery
Improving adolescent nutrition depends heavily on behaviors such as diet and eating practices, exercise, lifestyle, and use of health services. Social and behavior change (SBC) strategies must consider how unique structural and environmental factors that affect adolescents’ access to services and adoption of priority behaviors. Formative research, concept testing, and pre-testing of materials and approaches are needed to identify barriers and enablers to behavior change and to better understand how adolescents engage with family members, friends, teachers, health care providers, religious
Strong systems are important for implementing nutrition services and programs. Adolescents have unique nutritional needs, depending on and affected by their physical, social, and emotional development. Programs and services to support adolescents must be reflected in policies, protocols, strategies, and guidance. Policymakers and program managers need to strengthen the human resource, information, and financial systems to provide or expand nutrition services and programs in locations where adolescents are best reached. The Adolescent Nutrition Resource Bank includes examples of policies and