📋 Tender Overview
HAWA – Co-creation and evaluation of an AI-powered chatbot to promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Côte d’Ivoire
PROJECT ID
110938
TOTAL FUNDING
CAD 700,000.00
PROJECT STATUS
Active
DURATION
33 months
In Côte d’Ivoire, adolescents face many challenges related to reproductive health, a situation that particularly affects girls. They are especially vulnerable to early pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and gender-based violence: 31% of girls under the age of 18 have already given birth. The low rate of modern contraceptive use (13%) and the criminalization of abortion are factors that exacerbate the situation. An estimated 21,000 adolescents are living with HIV, including nearly 1,000 new infections in 2023 among 15- to 19-year-olds, the majority of whom are girls. These challenges can be attributed in part to a lack of access to comprehensive sex education — particularly for adolescents who are not enrolled in school — in a sociocultural context marked by significant gender inequalities and substantial sociodemographic disparities. This situation has significant repercussions on their physical and mental health, limits their potential for development and poses a major public health challenge.
The project aims to empower adolescents with respect to reproductive health, encourage responsible behaviour and promote gender equality. It will help improve access to information through the use of an AI-powered digital chatbot, while also providing a better understanding of adolescent needs, concerns and expectations through their interactions with the tool. Ultimately, the project will make recommendations for public health policies and strategies aimed at improving the reproductive health of adolescents in Côte d’Ivoire.
This project is financed through the African Adolescents Bolstered through Local Evidence (AABLE) initiative. Funded by the IDRC and the World Bank’s Global Financing Facility (GFF) for a three-year period, Élan aims to improve adolescent reproductive health by drawing on locally led research and digital interventions that take gender issues into account.
