Ibis Reproductive Health is a global research organisation that promotes change through in-depth research and principled partnerships that advance sexual and reproductive autonomy, choices and health worldwide.
In August 2022, their South African office announced a partnership with AMAZE.org, a project of Advocates For Youth. AMAZE.org uses the power of digital media to provide adolescents and youth globally with free medically accurate, age-appropriate, affirming and honest comprehensive sexuality education. They also provide free resources to teachers, parents and even health care professionals.
AMAZE is a digital platform with the aim of providing comprehensive sexual education to youth between the ages of 10-15 years old through education and research-based animated videos. These videos are created with the intention of teaching adolescents that they are experiencing normal processes that are part of growing up.
Sexual taboos are a large part of many cultures, including many South African cultures. However, research has shown that children who do not receive sexual education are more likely to engage in early sexual behaviour, placing them at a higher risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
According to Stats SA, more than 45 000 births that took place in 2021 were from mothers aged 17 or younger. Further, in 2021 the Department of Basic Education revealed that 1 300 young girls were infected with HIV on a weekly basis. This is why providing early interventions in the form of age-appropriate sexual information is crucial.
AMAZE acknowledges the fact that many parents may feel uncomfortable approaching the topic of sexuality and puberty with their children, which is why they provide free resources for parents and educators to help them better explain these processes to the youth.
AMAZE has resources available on multiple social media platforms, including Facebook and Youtube. They have two Facebook pages, one catered to adolescents and the other catered to parents.
Their Youtube channel has accumulated almost six million views with over 500 videos. These videos cover various topics such as healthy relationships, puberty, sexual violence and pregnancy. At this stage, approximately 55 videos have been adapted and translated into 10 African languages.
Language and context play a big role in access to comprehensive sexuality education resources in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in communities where English is not the first or national language. With this partnership, we hope to support organisations across the region to integrate, subtitle, dub and adapt existing AMAZE videos, as well as develop new videos on topics that are of particular relevance to the region.
States Pearl Gahwera, AMAZE Global Partnerships Fellow at Advocates for Youth. She continues, “We also understand that barriers to access to the internet and technology might make it difficult to access AMAZE resources on YouTube or in video format so we are keen to explore offline and non-video formats like comic books and posters, that AMAZE videos can be adapted into. We are delighted to welcome Ibis to the AMAZE family.”
The main aim of this partnership is to expand access to these videos as technology and data are privileges for many South Africans.
To achieve this, Ibis Reproductive Health is partnering with schools and NGOs to amplify their voice and provide African youth with the education they need to better understand their own bodies and sexual processes.