What This Means
This research suggests that the Journeys Plus curriculum, introduced by the Ugandan government in 2020 and implemented by AMREF Uganda across nine districts, had positive effects on young people aged 9 to 14 years. The study involved 360 young participants and 80 adults and used in-depth qualitative methods to understand how the program affected youth knowledge, behavior, and empowerment. Researchers found that young people gained improved knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and rights, developed practical vocational skills, built stronger peer relationships, and felt more empowered to recognize and resist gender-based violence.
This research suggests that structured, community-based educational curricula can address multiple dimensions of youth well-being simultaneously — including health knowledge, safety from violence, and life skills — rather than focusing on a single issue. The program's reach into homes, schools, health facilities, and communities may have contributed to creating supportive environments that reinforced what youth learned. These findings are relevant for policymakers and implementers considering how to design and scale adolescent health and empowerment programs in similar low-resource or rural settings across sub-Saharan Africa.
It is worth noting that this study used a qualitative, phenomenological design based on purposive sampling, meaning the findings reflect participants' reported experiences and perceptions rather than statistically measured outcomes from a controlled trial. The results therefore provide rich descriptive evidence of the curriculum's perceived impact, but further research using comparison groups or quantitative measures would help confirm and quantify these effects.