Between August and September 2025, SERAC-Bangladesh organized twenty networking meetings with 250 youth volunteers and general practitioners (GPs). The meetings were held in Ashkona, Mirhajibug, Rupnagar Tin Shed, Adarsha Palli, Ibrahimpur, and Sher-E-Bangla Nagar under Dhaka North and South City Corporations.
These meetings served as an important platform to build stronger coordination between community youth and healthcare providers engaged in SRHR initiatives. Discussions focused on clarifying the objectives of youth–GP collaboration, reviewing recent volunteer activities, planning future actions, and addressing community-level challenges in health service delivery.
Key issues explored included stigma and misinformation around SRHR, barriers to accessing contraception, awareness on safe MR and post-abortion care, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention, stigma reduction, and youth leadership development. Participants emphasized the need for quality improvements in SRH services and highlighted community awareness strategies to make services more accessible and youth-friendly.
The meetings were facilitated by youth mentors, community volunteers and SBCC officers. Their contributions made the discussions more reflective of grassroots realities and fostered meaningful collaboration between youth and healthcare providers.