ABSTRACT
School-based adolescent education programs, especially those that combine comprehensive reproductive health education and life-skills-based education, hold great promise in promoting health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors for in-school adolescents. Udaan exemplifies collaboration across the sectors and this multistakeholder model underscores government–NGO partnership to empower adolescents through the school system. Udaan alumni also demonstrated correct knowledge of sexual harassment by identifying correct descriptions of sexual harassment, the legal age of marriage for boys as 21 and 18 for girls, and ways to handle negative peer pressure and show gender-equitable views. Udaan is an example of how an intersectoral health program is institutionalized and led successfully by the Department of Education. An age-appropriate and state-specific sexual and reproductive health curricula, sustained advocacy, quality training, and convergence between line departments have made it a sustainable program that reaches 1,100,000 students during the program life course.
