Breaking Silence

Breaking Silence: Why AGYW Deserve Youth-Friendly HIV, TB and SRHR Services

Silence has become a dangerous norm for many adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) when it comes to their health. Across communities, young women are expected to seek HIV, TB and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services quietly, endure judgment, and accept systems that were not designed with them in mind. This silence does not protect AGYW  it puts their lives and futures at risk.

Many AGYW delay or avoid visiting health facilities because of fear of stigma, lack of confidentiality, and dismissive attitudes from health providers. Instead of support, they are often met with questions that blame, shame, or invalidate their experiences. These barriers do not only affect individual health outcomes; they weaken the entire public health system by allowing preventable infections and complications to go undetected and untreated.

Youth-friendly services are essential to changing this reality. These services prioritize privacy, respect, accurate information, and non-judgmental care. They ensure that AGYW can access HIV testing and treatment, TB screening, contraception, and SRHR information without fear. A youth-friendly system recognizes that young women are not problems to be managed, but individuals with rights, agency, and the power to make informed decisions about their bodies and futures.

At Open Heart, we are committed to breaking this silence by centering the voices of AGYW in health advocacy and service design. Through sustained community engagement, policy dialogue and digital campaigns, we work to ensure that health systems become more responsive, inclusive and accountable to young women’s needs. AGYW are no longer positioned as passive recipients of services but as leaders shaping safer, more accessible health pathways for their peers.

Breaking silence is not optional. It is the foundation for dignity, access, and justice in healthcare for AGYW.