This story was originally published in The Guardian on March 10^th.

Every Saturday morning at Ussoke Health Centre in Tabora Region, something subtle but meaningful unfolds.

At the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) clinic, the youth-friendly corner feels different from the rest of the facility. The queue moves calmly, conversations are softer, and the nervousness that once defined adolescent visits is slowly fading.

Young people who once rushed in and out now linger longer. They ask questions. They listen. They return.

Sophia Mchilo, a nurse providing maternal and child health services at Ussoke Health Centre, has watched the transformation closely.

“Before, many adolescents were shy,” she says. “They would come quickly and leave quickly. We give them correct education, and we serve them with integrated services such as family planning, nutrition education, and support on issues of gender-based violence.”

The changes are part of the BRIGHT project—Building Rights for Improved Girls’ Health in Tanzania—which focuses on adolescents aged 10–19. Supported by the Government of Canada and implemented by Nutrition International in partnership with the government, the initiative works with organisations including EngenderHealth and the Tanzania Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA).

Its approach recognises that adolescents rarely face just one challenge at a time. Questions about sexual and reproductive health, nutrition and safety often overlap — and services need to reflect that reality.

For Tekra Stephano, the RCH unit in-charge at Ussoke Health Centre, the most important shift has been understanding adolescents themselves.

“Before the training, we did not understand how to serve adolescents’ specific needs,” she explains. “They were not given the special recognition their age requires.”

Today, services are organised differently. Dedicated days and time slots help ensure adolescents are seen in spaces designed specifically for them. Sessions are also structured by age group, allowing younger adolescents to learn comfortably while older ones can ask more sensitive questions openly.

Stephano says youth-friendly care is not a single service but a package.

Adolescents can access nutrition counselling, family planning information, pregnancy-related support and help in cases involving violence—all delivered with a focus on privacy, respect and confidentiality.

“They come and speak freely,” Mchilo says. “Not like before. Now they are free because of the training that reached them.”

Dr. Emiliana Maswi, BRIGHT Technical Director, says health providers have also received practical tools to support consistent service delivery. These include job aids such as BMI scale wheels and improved systems for tracking adolescent nutrition and health indicators.

“These tools help providers monitor progress and ensure the quality of care remains consistent,” she says.

Maswi notes that BRIGHT has contributed to the development and review of several key frameworks, including the National Comprehensive Family Planning training package, the postpartum family planning training guide, and the integration of an adolescent nutrition chapter into the Comprehensive Health Education Guidelines.

Together, these changes strengthen systems that support women and girls far beyond the project’s immediate sites.

Dr. George Mwita, Country Director for Nutrition International, says the project is working with local government authorities to improve privacy at health facilities—one of the most common barriers preventing adolescents from seeking care.

Plans are underway to strengthen existing infrastructure and construct new spaces in selected health centres where BRIGHT is implemented.

“The goal is to ensure adolescents can access services with greater privacy,” Mwita says, “in environments designed to be truly youth-friendly.”

While health facilities focus on service delivery, schools are emerging as centres of prevention and empowerment.

At a secondary school in Kaliua District, a small vegetable garden tells a bigger story.

Form four student Mange, a member of the school’s BRIGHT club, says the gardening skills he learned there helped him stay in school.

During the December holidays, he planted ten seedbeds of spinach at home. When the vegetables were ready, he sold them and used the money to buy school supplies.

“The money helped me buy the uniform I’m wearing today,” he says with a smile. “I even bought books.”

For BRIGHT club leaders Jenipher and Veronica, the programme goes far beyond farming.

The club also hosts sessions on nutrition, sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence prevention and self-confidence.

“We were taught how to avoid risky environments,” Jenipher explains, including staying away from unfamiliar adults and peer groups that pressure young people into harmful behaviour.

Veronica adds that students also learn where to report concerns — through school systems and trusted community channels.

The club’s motto captures the spirit of the initiative: “Afya bora na lishe bora ni haki yetu.” [“Good health and good nutrition are our rights.”]

Teachers have also translated project lessons into everyday practice. Educators decided to use bat manure as organic fertiliser for the school garden after learning about ecosystem protection and the use of local resources.

“We noticed there are many bats around us,” one teacher says. “Instead of chasing them away, we decided to let them stay. We collect their manure every two to three months for the garden.”

Beyond schools and clinics, the BRIGHT project is also reaching young people through community networks. In Uyui District, peer educator Saidi Thabiti, 24, has become a local advocate for youth health and protection. After completing BRIGHT training, he began by engaging village leaders before reaching out to young people.

“I started with the village leadership,” he explains. “When they supported the idea, it became easier for parents to trust the programme.”

Initially, some families hesitated to allow their children to attend youth sessions. But as trust grew, participation expanded. Today Saidi mentors about five youth groups involving roughly 100 young men. The groups discuss gender-based violence prevention, nutrition and responsible decision-making.

They have also established Village Community Banks—commonly known as VIKOBA—where members pool small savings and invest in income-generating activities such as poultry keeping, farming and goat rearing.

“Economic resilience can help young people avoid risky situations,” he says. “When they have options, they can make safer choices.”

From clinic consultation rooms to school gardens and village savings circles, the impact of youth-focused services is unfolding gradually.

Sometimes the evidence appears in quiet ways: a teenager returning for a second clinic visit, a student managing to stay in school, or a group of young men openly discussing respect and responsibility.

And in those moments, adolescents who once approached the health system with fear are discovering something new—that the door is open, their questions matter, and their wellbeing is worth protecting.

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