Power to You(th) is a 5-year international partnership between consortium partners Amref Flying Doctors Netherlands (in collaboration with AMREF Health Africa), Rutgers and Sonke Gender Justice, technical partners Choice for Youth and Sexuality and the Dutch Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and Country Management Teams in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Ghana, Senegal, and Indonesia. The programme is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and focuses on eradication of harmful practices, such as Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and unintended pregnancies. The partnership believes change starts in communities. To trigger this change, Power to You(th) will strengthen civil society organisations (CSOs) to empower and increase the voice of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). The Consortium fosters ownership at the country level, with locally formed coalitions and representation of beneficiaries in our governance. The Power to You(th) Consortium will support AGYW to increase their agency, claim their rights, address gender inequalities, challenge gender norms and advocate for inclusive decision-making.
The Power to You(th) partnership contributes to more adolescent girls and young women from underserved communities being meaningfully included in decision-making regarding harmful practices, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and unintended pregnancies. The programme has partners in Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, Uganda, South Africa and The Netherlands. The partnership aims to raise public support, advocate for improved policies and laws, and strengthen civil society to amplify young people’s voices to claim, protect and expand civic space. To do so, PtY engages an innovative gender-transformative strategy that equips youth leaders and civil society organisations (CSOs) to address the key issues. Next to a gender-transformative approach, the PtY partnership has fully embraced the principle of meaningful and inclusive youth participation. Our theory of change is based on four key outcomes:
- Young people demand accountability and responsiveness on harmful practices, SGBV and unintended pregnancies
- CSOs amplify young people’s voices to claim, protect and expand civic space.
- Societal actors support and promote youth rights and progressive social norms.
- State actors improve policymaking, budgeting and implementation at the local, national, regional and global levels on harmful practices, SGBV and unintended pregnancies.
