Engaging Communities in Youth Reproductive Health and HIV Projects: A Guide to Participatory Assessments

A participatory assessment process is a valuable starting point for involving all community members, including young people, in YRH and HIV/AIDS program development. YRH and HIV/AIDS program workers need skills in facilitating participatory assessments, especially when youth involvement is a key component. Supporting facilitators to learn by doing is an effective strategy to build skills in using participatory learning and action (PLA) approaches and tools during participatory assessment and throughout the project cycle. This guide aims to provide easy-to-follow guidelines for carrying out a participatory assessment with young and adult community members, and to outline how these tools and methods can be applied throughout the project cycle. [author’s description]