Cross-Sectoral Impact of PYD Programs
GAP: Only 18 percent of the evaluations identified in the systematic review provided rigorous evidence, generally within the health sector, limiting our knowledge of PYD effectiveness in other sectors.
In high-income countries, PYD is a proven strategy for building skills, fostering healthy relationships, and supporting youth to be active partners in their communities’ development, which can result in positive outcomes in health, education, sexual and reproductive health, HIV, and employment. Unfortunately, less is known about the short- and long-term effects of PYD programming in LMICs due to the lack of rigorous studies and the fact that most evaluations focus on sector-specific outcomes (e.g., HIV, family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH), workforce development) rather than outcomes across multiple sectors.
Evidence from the systematic review supports the effectiveness of the PYD approach in changing PYD and sector-specific outcomes in LMICs. There is also evidence that programs that combine FP/RH and HIV prevention with workforce readiness and violence reduction obtain results on positive outcomes of employment and reductions in gender-based violence, as well as health-risking behaviors. However, more research is needed to understand the short and long-term effects of PYD on cross-sectoral outcomes in LMICs. Tremendous opportunity exists to expand the evidence base on PYD programming in LMICs across sectors.
PYD is a holistic approach, the features of which include strengthening the environment (i.e., communities, schools, families) as well as the individual assets, agency, and contribution of young people. There is potential for such foundational supports to have positive impact on a broad range of outcomes with benefits lasting across a lifetime.
Key questions and illustrative sub-questions
1. Do PYD programs have significant positive effects on outcomes in multiple sectors?
- What are the barriers and opportunities to achieving cross-sectoral outcomes?
- How can we apply lessons learned in one sector to another sector?
- Can PYD strategies reduce costs and increase benefits by having impact on outcomes across multiple sectors?
2. What are the best ways to design and implement PYD programs with cross-sector outcomes in LMICs?
- Do programs with more PYD features have impact across more sectors?
- Do PYD programs which build general life skills (e.g., social, communication, problem solving) have impact across more sectors than programs primarily focused on specific skills (e.g., how to use a condom, job training)?
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