Empowerment and independence: In pursuit of adolescent-friendly mental health

A wide-reaching programme in Bangladesh tackles mental health and social taboos around adolescent development.

By age 17, Alia* had already experienced significant loss and instability in her life.

When she was 9, her mother died, and her father remarried. When she was 16, her father died, leaving Alia to care for her younger sister.

Determined to continue her studies, Alia worked as a household helper. And she found guidance and information at a local Adolescent Friendly Health Services (AFHS) centre in the Mirpur neighbourhood of Dhaka. 

Her dream – and the dream of her dying mother – was that she would be able to live an independent life.

“The AFHS programme taught me how to speak, to address my struggles, reach out,” Alia said. “No matter how grave the crisis seems, by sharing, anything can be resolved given the proper attention.’’

The AFHS programme was founded by the Directorate General of Family Planning and UNICEF with the support of Bangladesh Association for Prevention of Septic Abortion (BAPSA). Throughout Bangladesh, AFHS functions at scale with support from the country’s Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, with about 1,240 programmes run through health facilities. In Dhaka, UNICEF and BAPSA provide support for six AFHS programmes, though others are supported by non-governmental organizations in Dhaka and throughout Bangladesh.

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