Review of lessons learned from costing, budgeting and financing for adolescents and youth sexual and reproductive health within the national development context.

Sierra Leone has a young population – 33.5 per cent is within 10- 24 years and 39.4 per cent is between the ages of 15 – 35 years. The country faces a host of development challenges. Pregnancy rates are high among adolescents; according to the Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey approximately 28 per cent of adolescents aged 15 -19 years old have begun childbearing, this is higher in rural areas than urban areas (34 per cent versus 19 per cent). An estimated 30 per cent of currently married or in union adolescents aged 15-19 years have unmet need for family planning. Furthermore, among all sexually active females aged 15-19, nearly 80 percent are not using any form of contraction.

UNFPA plans support the Government of Sierra Leone, with DFID funding, to develop and roll out a national mobile health (mHealth) application to connect young people in Sierra Leone with interactive family planning information as one component of broader efforts to reduce unmet need for family planning. The proposed intervention is intended to be implemented primarily through mobile phones and will target young people in urban and rural areas of Sierra Leone.

Aim – An international individual consultant is required to support the development and implementation of an mHealth solution to equip young people with the information they need to make informed choices about family planning in Sierra Leone.