By Dr. Nowiah Gorpudolo-Dennis Director of Family Health Division, Ministry of Health, Republic of Liberia
We cannot talk about universal health coverage or reproductive justice without talking about young people. Adolescents and youth make up the largest population group in many of our developing countries—but they remain the least served when it comes to accessing family planning information, and care. In too many settings, health systems are not designed with young people in mind. Providers are not trained to support adolescents without judgment, and the voices of youth are still excluded from the rooms where decisions are made.
Across Liberia, nearly 13% of our population is between the ages of 10 and 19. And yet, access to adolescent- and youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services remains far too limited. Teenage pregnancy remains alarmingly high, with a birth rate of 127 per 1,000 girls aged 15–19. Girls are disproportionately affected by barriers to care, stigma, and silence.
In our efforts to end preventable maternal deaths, and protect young people’s right to thrive, we need structures that support—not silence them. We must act now, and alongside them to build more inclusive health systems, remove stigma around family planning and invest in youth leadership.
Build Health Systems Designed for Youth Needs
Youth health services must be embedded across our system—not reserved for pilot projects or urban clinics. Health providers should be trained to listen and to support adolescents, while guaranteeing confidentiality. This includes designing services based on young people’s needs without bias or assumptions.
In Liberia, promising steps are already underway. Youth-friendly corners where adolescents and young people access services, including family planning, treatment of STIs, HIV counseling and testing, and post-abortion care are being implemented. We encourage menstrual health initiatives through the Family Health Division of the Liberia Ministry of Healthand proudly join in celebrating World Menstrual Hygiene Day to advocate for access to safe and hygienic menstrual products, as well as to promote education about menstrual health in schools.
In all these initiatives, youth peer advocates are seminal in making a difference—but need skills and sustained funding. With nearly 41% of young girls aged 15–24 not in education, employment, or training, the health system is often the first and only safe space they can turn to. That space must be ready to welcome them.
Remove Legal and Social Barriers That Keep Youth from Family Planning Care
One of the biggest reasons young people don’t use family planning isn’t lack of interest—it’s fear. —fear of stigma, of being denied services, or of being judged. These barriers are not abstract. They are written into policy, reinforced by silence, and rarely challenged.
We must act on both levels. At the policy level, this includes eliminating parental consent laws that prevent adolescents from accessing contraception and ensuring that commodities are available in schools and community centers. At the community level, we need to normalize conversations about reproductive health—led by and for youth.
Liberia’s commitment to increase contraceptive prevalence by 25% by 2030 is within reach. But to achieve that target, we must ensure adolescents can access these services without delay, shame, or denial. The fact that 130,000 unintended pregnancies and 46,000 unsafe abortions were prevented in Liberia in 2023 through modern contraception shows what is possible when access works.
Invest in Youth-Led Advocacy
Young people are not just beneficiaries—they are experts in their own experience and agents of change in their communities. They are organizing, educating, and advocating. Across Liberia and West Africa, youth-led organizations are pushing for access to family planning, demanding better data, and shaping more inclusive services. But most operate on little to no funding, and with limited space at the decision making table.
To ensure results beyond symbolic engagement, youth advocacy needs to move from consultation to co leadership. It means seats on national reproductive health platforms, dedicated funding streams for youth-led advocacy, peer education, and innovation. However, these opportunities for leadership and representation can only be sustained in real partnerships, where advocacy is embedded in political commitment.
The Global Leaders Network (GLN), a Global-South led health initiative mobilizing heads of state, which includes His Excellency Joseph Boakai, recognizes that adolescent well-being must be at the heart of national health planning. As part of Liberia’s roadmap under the GLN,we have the opportunity to embed youth leadership in how we advance sexual and reproductive health—and how we monitor progress. Ministries of Health and national reproductive health programs can build formal youth advisory boards, include young people in monitoring and evaluation, and open space for their voices at national and regional health summits. We have to seize this moment and capitalize on this opportunity.
A Health System That Works for Youth, Works for All
Providing care to adolescents and vulnerable youth reduces maternal mortality, prevents HIV, keeps girls in school and supports young people to take charge of their futures.
Op-ed by Dr. Nowiah Gorpudolo-Dennis Director of Family Health Division, Ministry of Health, Republic of Liberia “It Starts with the Youth: Leveraging Youth-Led Solutions to Expand Access to Family Planning Services”
We call on advocates and leaders to remember that investing in youth-friendly health services and youth-led advocacy is a foundational step toward sustainable development.
When young people lead, change follows. A health system that works for youth is a health system that works for all.
———-
Dr. Nowiah Gorpudolo-Dennisis an obstetrician gynecologist and a fertility, sexual reproductive health specialist, with a master degree in healthcare policy & management. She is the Director for Family Health Division of the Ministry of Health in Liberia. She has worked across sectors to advance youth friendly health services, champion comprehensive sexuality education, and support youth-led advocacy for family planning access. Dr. Nowiah plays a key role in national health policy engagement and has been an active voice in shaping Liberia’s commitments under the Global Leaders Network (GLN)for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (WCAH). Her work centers on creating inclusive, rights based health systems that respond to the realities of young people across Liberia and the region.
