A Gamified Digital Mental Health Intervention Across Six Sub-Saharan African Countries: A Cross-Sectional Evaluation of a Large-Scale Implementation.

Mental health conditions affect many young people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where stigma is high and access to care is limited. Digital tools accessible on basic mobile phones offer a scalable way to promote mental health, but evidence on their effectiveness in SSA is limited. This study evaluated the reach, feasibility, acceptability, and knowledge outcomes of Digital MindSKILLZ, an interactive voice response (IVR) mental health intervention implemented in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.

Realising agency: insights from participatory research with learners in a South African sexual and reproductive health programme.

Background: Investing in the capabilities of adolescents is essential to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which focus on realising adolescent girls and young women's (AGYW) rights to education, health, bodily autonomy and integrity, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and well-being. Despite significant scientific and programmatic progress in understanding and responding to their unique and intersecting vulnerabilities, AGYW continue to face disproportionate risk of STIs, HIV and early pregnancy. Health promotion and preventative interventions stand to be improved by early and meaningful engagement of AGYW in intervention design and delivery.

Lessons Learned From the Implementation of a School-Based Sexual Health Education Program for Adolescent Girls in Cape Town, South Africa.

Comprehensive sexual education (CSE) is an important approach for health promotion dissemination in schools, particularly when delivered in participatory ways that are sport based, peer or near-peer led, and include concepts of gender and power dynamics. Sufficient attendance at CSE sessions is critical to ensure content exposure and build potential for impact. This article details implementation lessons from the delivery of an after-school, near-peer-led CSE program called SKILLZ during a cluster randomized controlled trial among 40 secondary schools in Cape Town, South Africa.