Building on our experience implementing Generation Dialogues (GD) in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, management4health AG is now partnering with GIZ in Zambia under the project “Strengthening Girls’ Rights! Reproductive Health and HIV Prevention for Young Women and Girls in Zambia II.” This new engagement draws on the lessons and methodologies developed through our work in the Horn of Africa, where GD has proven to be an effective tool for supporting communities in challenging harmful social norms and advancing gender equality.
Zambia, where nearly 45% of the population is under the age of 18 (UNFPA, 2017), faces persistent challenges related to adolescent sexual and reproductive health, including a 29% teenage pregnancy rate, 31% prevalence of child marriage, and high HIV incidence among youth. One in three girls becomes a mother by age 18 (UNFPA, 2022). These realities reflect deep-rooted social norms and limited access to youth-friendly services, similar drivers that underpin practices like FGM in other contexts.
Generation Dialogues are central to creating safe, inclusive spaces for communities to talk about sensitive social issues, such as harmful traditional practices, gender inequality, and young people’s health and rights. The approach enables community members to reflect on shared values, openly question harmful norms, and build collective momentum toward more supportive environments for girls and young women.
In Zambia, we have now begun the first step in the implementation of the GD cycle, starting with the training of high-level facilitators and partnering with local implementing partners. As with all GD-supported initiatives, this marks the beginning of a participatory process that not only supports locally driven change, but also contributes to a growing body of shared evidence across countries on how community dialogue can effectively support social norm transformation.
Input for the training participants based on the Generation Dialogues principles
Impressions from trainings for Generation Dialogues facilitators in Zambia:
