Eswatini has the highest HIV incidence in the world and women disproportionately face nearly double the HIV incidence as men. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Eswatini’s healthcare system was already failing girls and young women, and with resources being redirected to COVID-19, the situation for girls’ sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is even direr.

Through this project, co-designed by PSI, adolescent girls and young women in Eswatini will feel empowered to use products that put the power to prevent pregnancy and HIV in their hands. Using digital tools and self-administered drugs and diagnostics, girls’ sexual and reproductive healthcare needs will no longer be dependent on fragile and overburdened public health facilities. These interventions will give girls the flexibility, privacy, and self-efficacy needed to comfortably protect their health and future.

Meet Siphosethu Thobeka Langwenya

Siphosethu is a student and member of the Girl Power Ambassador Program, an initiative co-created through the Maverick Collective project in Eswatini. A community “s-hero,” she is inspiring change through advocacy and by using her voice to encourage other girls to protect themselves from HIV and unintended pregnancies. “As a role model, I also use contraceptives to prevent pregnancy until I am ready to have children,” she said.

Coming from a poverty-stricken community, Siphosethu is dedicated to joining initiatives that help young people be resilient, resourceful, and safe to become the best version of themselves. Through the project in Eswatini, Siphosethu is powering vulnerable girls to amplify their voices. This is achieved through her leadership in organizing SRH and HIV related dialogues with youth in her local Church group to help them make informed decisions about their lives. She is also using digital technology to reach over 1,900 people on Facebook; a platform she uses to upload content and share health-related information as part of the Girl Power Eswatini project.

Siphosethu believes that self-confidence, cultural diversity, honesty, and love can lead to success. Being an active youth leader in one of the local Christian churches, she aspires to, “create and support an enabling environment for young girls to share their experiences and support one another,” and believes that “We can all be everyday heroes!”