The main objective of this research project is to assess the extent of unmet need in reproductive health (RH) of adolescents and youth in Central Africa and to illustrate the links with poverty at various levels (micro-individual, micro-household, macro-city, macro-national). The study covers seven countries in Central Africa (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Chad) and relies on a complementary analysis of existing sociodemographic data and collection of original data including biographical, qualitative, and situational surveys. The analysis is based on a complementary combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. The quantitative approach based on a multilevel model to determine the share of each level in the total explanation of the observed differences in the occurrence of unmet needs of RH.

We also propose to assess the levels and socioeconomic differentials of unmet need in RH of adolescents and youth. The study will rely mainly on data from Demographic and Health Surveys. The following three dimensions of unmet need will be studied:
• Unmet need for family planning;
• Unmet educational needs on pregnancy complications during antenatal visits;
• Unmet educational needs on the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV and unwanted pregnancies.
These unmet needs will be analyzed in a descriptive approach, particularly regarding their levels and socioeconomic differentials.

Contact information:
Dr. Gervais Beninguisse, gbeninguisse@yahoo.fr or gbeninguisse@iford-cm.org, Institut de Formation et de Recherche Démographiques (IFORD)