The DRC is shaping adolescent health services with young people, not just for them

Young people understand the challenges they face better than anyone else. They know how hard it can be to work out which health information to trust, find a place where they feel comfortable seeking care, or tell someone when they are struggling with their mental health. Yet policies and programmes intended to support them are still too often shaped without giving them a meaningful role in their design.  

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), young people account for around a third of the population, and access to care remains limited. In 2021, only 17% of adolescents accessed healthcare services. Few mental health services are available in only a small number of facilities and are not well integrated into primary care, while only a limited number of youth centres are functioning nationally, leaving many adolescents – particularly those outside school – with few safe spaces to access information and support.  

The system also lacks a consistent picture of who needs what. Health data is not consistently broken down by age, making it difficult to assess the needs of younger adolescents and target services effectively. Many programmes rely heavily on donor funding, making it difficult to sustain services over time and plan for the long term, particularly given the volatile global health funding environment.  

The DRC government has demonstrated a strong policy commitment to addressing these issues. The challenge is turning that commitment into accessible, consistent and sustainable services across a vast and complex country. 

These were among the issues examined through a national scoping exercise conducted by Amp Health, with support from the Vitol Foundation. Amp Health worked with the Ministry of Health’s National Adolescent Health Programme and other partners to bring evidence together, take stock of progress, and identify the issues still standing in the way of better adolescent health and wellbeing.  

In April 2026, government representatives, technical partners, civil society organisations (CSOs), and young people met in Kinshasa for a three-day workshop to review the findings and decide what should happen next. Discussions focused on practical questions:  

• How can ministries coordinate more effectively?  

• What will it take to make youth-friendly health services easier to access?  

• How can mental health support be better integrated into adolescent care? 

• How can young people continue to shape implementation? 

• How can data support better decisions?  

Moving beyond consultation

Young people are often invited into conversations once the important decisions have already been made. They are asked to validate ideas rather than help shape them. The workshop in Kinshasa took a different approach. 

Throughout the three days, adolescents worked alongside representatives from the Ministries of Health, Education and Youth, national health programmes, development partners, and CSOs. Together, participants reviewed the findings of the scoping exercise, tested the evidence against lived experience and worked towards a shared view of what should happen next. 

Dedicated youth caucuses created space for young participants to speak openly before bringing their perspectives into the wider discussion. They described the difficulties of navigating health services, the importance of trusted community networks as sources of reliable information, and the particular challenges facing young people who are out of school or living in remote communities.  

These perspectives went beyond adding colour to the findings of the scoping exercise. They challenged assumptions, exposed gaps in the evidence and helped shape the priorities for the proposed roadmap. 

Turning evidence into action

Improving adolescent health takes more than better health services. Education, mental health, nutrition, social support, and community engagement all affect whether young people can find information, seek care and get the support they need.  

The workshop reflected that reality by bringing together voices from across sectors. Just as importantly, it treated young people not simply as service users, but as participants in how the system learns, decides and improves. 

The workshop did not try to solve every challenge in three days. Instead, it focused on identifying the priorities that would create the strongest foundation for long-term change. By the end, participants had identified a shared set of priorities to inform a national roadmap for adolescent health and wellbeing. 

That does not mean every recommendation will be implemented overnight, or that every challenge has been solved. But it does mean that the next phase of work begins with a stronger foundation: one built through dialogue, shared ownership, and a commitment to keeping young people at the centre of the conversation.