Ideas Help No One on a Shelf. Take Them to the World.

Research has shown that when young people have their basic needs met and feel positive about their futures, they are less likely to engage in risky behaviors. The Carrera Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program has reduced pregnancy rates by 40 percent in New York by meeting teens educational, emotional, and employment needs.

Uganda has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in Africa, but a unique mobile health clinic is helping to reduce the rates of conception. Marie Stopes’ tuk tuks brings health care, sexual education and contraceptives to women in poor communities.

Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU) Clinic is taking a youth centered approach towards teaching reproductive health. Their methods, which include having youth days, hiring youth peer counselors, and providing private rooms for youth to discuss their sexual health, allow them to reach teenagers. “As a result, their uptake of contraception has increased.”

Research, and the evidence from global development campaigns in multiple countries, shows that cash transfers to women can help women to gain more freedom in choosing sexual partners, decrease HIV transmission, and decrease domestic violence. However, the short term cash transfers show proof of short term impact -- for longer term success, greater amounts that allow for greater investment might be necessary.

Uganda’s education ministry requires all schools to have incinerators to burn used sanitary pads. Lack of funding limits schools’ ability to comply. Even when incinerators exist, girls don’t necessarily use them. Educating both girls and boys about menstruation reduces stigma and increases the likelihood that girls feel comfortable enough to collect pads instead of throwing them in pit latrines.

People with HIV/AIDS don't always know where to go for help or don't feel empowered to return when psychiatrists or doctors seem unwelcoming. Organizations throughout Washington, D.C. are working against perception by providing comprehensive approaches to health care services.

Two of America’s largest cities, New York City and San Francisco, are working to reduce HIV rates by bringing better health care options closer to the communities and connecting individuals with resources such as insurance and payment methods. Although the two cities are using different approaches, both are seeing early success in fighting against the epidemic.

The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program in Alamosa, Colorado, gives police officers the option of sending people to substance abuse treatment rather than straight into the criminal justice system. Used in non-violent cases, the diversion program is based on a harm-reduction model that uses a health-care approach rather than a punitive approach to address the underlying issues when a crime is committed. Some police officers object to the program's mission, but proponents say that forcing compliance would be counterproductive.

Fifty years on, America's war on drugs has failed at its principal goals: to eradicate illicit drug use and sales, to repair communities damaged by the drug trade, and to prevent drug-related deaths. Despite massive amounts spent on law enforcement, which has created great social harms and fueled incarceration, drug use has rebounded to 40-year highs, drug overdose deaths are peaking, and supply of illegal drugs is abundant. Policy advocates say a combination of legalization and public-health approaches to the problems would accomplish more than the wasteful, ineffective "war" mentality used to date.

The Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team (APAIT) works to positively impact the quality of life for medically underserved communities — particularly people of color within the LGBTQ+ community. APAIT’s primary focus is helping those with behavioral health challenges, housing insecurity, and who are at risk for HIV/AIDS, but has recently expanded its services to include helping those who are victims of sex trafficking.