Only 34.2% of adolescents in the Greater Banjul Area were aware of SRH rights, only 22.4% accessed SRH services, and public school students had significantly less access, emphasizing the need for age-appropriate SRH education, expanded youth-friendly services, and community engagement.
Only about one-third of adolescent participants were aware of their sexual and reproductive health rights.
Knowledge of specific SRH rights was very low among participants, particularly regarding contraception and consent.
Access to SRH services among adolescent participants was very low, with low satisfaction among those who did access services.
The primary barriers to accessing SRH services reported by adolescents were lack of information, cultural taboos, and fear of judgment.
Public school students had significantly less access to SRH services and reported fewer barriers compared to private school students.
This research examined how much adolescents in the Greater Banjul Area of the Gambia know about their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) rights and how often they are able to access related health services. The study surveyed 424 secondary school students aged 15 to 19. It found that most adolescents had very limited knowledge — only about 1 in 3 knew they had SRH rights at all, and fewer than 1 in 4 understood specific rights like the right to contraception or the right to give consent. Only about 1 in 8 had ever received any formal SRH training. The study also found that only about 1 in 5 adolescents had actually used SRH services, and among those who did, satisfaction was very low. The biggest obstacles teenagers reported were not having enough information, cultural taboos that make these topics difficult to discuss, and fear of being judged. Interestingly, students attending public schools were less likely to access SRH services than those in private schools, suggesting that the type of school attended plays a role in health equity. This research suggests that adolescents in the Gambia are largely unaware of their reproductive health rights and face multiple overlapping barriers — informational, cultural, and institutional — to getting care. The findings point to a need for better age-appropriate health education in schools, more youth-friendly health facilities, and community-level efforts to reduce the stigma around discussing sexual and reproductive health topics openly.
Jallow B, Awolude O, Bah H, Solomon M, Bampoque I, Nshimirimana I. (2025). Adolescents' knowledge and perceptions of sexual and reproductive health rights and access to services in the Greater Banjul Area, the Gambia.. The Pan African medical journal. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2025.51.2.47467