Project YUVA

With the increasing rates of non-communicable diseases, suicides, substance abuse, road traffic injuries, sexual abuse, and mental health issues, there is notable demand in empowering the younger generation which will not only have an impact in reducing the disease burden but also will contribute positively to the country’s development.

In India, adolescents constitute about 1/5th of the country’s population. Adolescents are wrongly termed as healthy in today’s perception. They suffer from a lot of public health issues which needs to be prevented. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),1.1 million adolescents die each year, with primary causes including road traffic injury, suicides and interpersonal violence. The aim of Project YUVA is to create awareness among adolescents so they can make informed decisions regarding their health rather than being ignorant about it. A memorandum of understanding was signed in 2019 between the Adolescent Medicine Unit, Department of Paediatrics, CMC Vellore, The Hope House (THH) and CHILDLINE Foundation India (CIF) to initiate this project. ’YUVA’ means youth in Sanskrit. Here it stands for “Young people understanding and Verbalizing adolescence”.

Project YUVA’s VISION

To build an adolescent friendly community.

 Project YUVA’s MISSION

To Empower every adolescent in Vellore and Ranipet districts towards understanding and to practice their fundamental rights to good health, development, survival, safety and participation

Empowering the school students on various health topics

ACCOMPLISHMENTS THUS FAR

    Over the past year, the team conducted numerous health education sessions in government and private schools, children’s homes, and the community. They conducted 48 sessions for approximately 3,648 student heads in 12 schools and 23 sessions for 296 teenage heads in a children's home. Between April and July 2023, they collaborated with CIF staff to hold 56 community outreach sessions, with 4,061 participants, including 258 children and adolescents and 3,718 adults. Additionally, in partnership with DCPO, they conducted awareness sessions for 1,410 teenagers in and around Vellore district. They additionally conducted 12 health education sessions for the 25 inmates at the Place of Safety. Every November, Adolescent Health Week is celebrated under the auspices of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP). During this period, a team of doctors, nurses, pediatric and nursing trainees and health educators organize health education sessions through skits, talks followed by a Q&A session for students to clarify their doubts. This is conducted in government, government aided and private schools with the aim of empowering students.

    The team is also active on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn where they strive to address various queries posted by adolescents. Anonymity of the people posting queries is maintained.

Health Educators conducting sessions at the community level and in The Hope House.

TEENAGERS ARE EMPOWERED ON THESE TOPICS

1. Healthy Lifestyle
2. Injuries
3. Sexual and reproductive health
4. Substance abuse
5. Safety
6. Mental Health

WHAT’S AHEAD

   The team is preparing to launch a mobile app that will address adolescents' queries through a safe interactive platform. Additionally, they intend to establish a call center for Project YUVA, addressing real-time queries from adolescents and their parents, providing guidance and facilitating access to authentic health information. The goal is to expand this initiative to the state level and eventually nationwide.

Together we can strive to create a better world for the heroes of tomorrow