Jennifer McCleary-Sills

Girls and young women are more likely to be HIV-positive than their male peers, due in large part to an array of gender inequalities that negatively impact their mental and physical well- being. Vijana Tunaweza Newala, or Newala Youth Can, is a participatory research and action project in the Newala District of Tanzania, aimed at both understanding and responding to girls’ HIV-related vulnerabilities. The project’s overarching purpose was to design and qualitatively assess a pilot intervention model to address their most pressing needs.This report highlights the project’s four phases of action: formative research, intervention design, peer education program, and assessment.

Girls and young women are more likely to be HIV-positive than their male peers, due in large part to an array of gender inequalities that negatively impact their mental and physical well- being. Vijana Tunaweza Newala, or Newala Youth Can, is a participatory research and action project in the Newala District of Tanzania, aimed at both understanding and responding to girls’ HIV-related vulnerabilities. The project’s overarching purpose was to design and qualitatively assess a pilot intervention model to address their most pressing needs. This report provides details on the joint research and action process.

To protect and empower girls, programs must start with the girls themselves. This approach – one that meets girls where they are in their lives – was the foundation for an innovative participatory action research pilot project, which aimed to both understand and respond to girls’ HIV-related vulnerabilities. Working with older girls ages 12-17 and their communities in Newala District, one of the least developed and poorly resourced districts of Tanzania, the project's ultimate goal was to design and qualitatively assess a pilot intervention model to address the most pressing vulnerabilities of adolescent girls. This brief report summarizes the process and findings of the participatory action research with lessons for researchers, development practitioners and policymakers working with adolescent girls.