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Young people make up the , with more than one-third of the population between the ages of 10 and 24. With this growth, there is an opportunity to reap an unprecedented demographic dividend if they are educated, healthy and employed.

Through its flagship programme, Our rights, Our lives, Our future (O3), UNESCO supported member state countries to provide good quality education for health and wellbeing that empowers adolescents and young people while developing the skills, knowledge and attitudes they need to prevent HIV infections, reduce early and unintended pregnancies, and eliminate gender-based violence. It also focused on building safe learning environments for learners by preventing all forms of violence, including bullying, in and out of schools.

Leveraging on the successes and lessons learned from Phase I, the second phase of the programme commenced in July 2023 with a focus on,

1) Supporting an enabling policy and institutional environment for implementation of health education and prevention of school violence and bullying

2) Scaling up and strengthen the delivery of accurate, rights-based, and good quality teaching and learning on education for health and wellbeing 

3) Empowering adolescents and young people to respect their right to make decisions and drive change in their lives and communities using digital innovations

4) Promoting the creation of safer, healthier, and inclusive schools and community environments

5) Strengthening programme implementation through evidence generated from monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning

It is often assumed that students in tertiary levels of education, have already received knowledge and education that equips them to avoid adverse health outcomes as they transition from childhood to adulthood, however, evidence has shown that this is often not true. As young people in higher and tertiary education institutes continue to be exposed to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)-related concerns and risks such as unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, and gender-based violence (GBV), the O3 Plus project aims to bridge this gap by focusing on these education institutions. 

To address this, the O3 Plus programme was created as an extension to the O3 programme. This programme is designed to support learners in higher education institutions to achieve positive outcomes in education, health and gender equality, through access to CSE and sexual and reproductive health services.

Through the generous support of the Governments of Switzerland, Sweden, France and Norway, the O3 Plus Programme is rolled out in six countries – Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia and Uganda.