Page 27 - IJPS-10-1

International Journal of

Population Studies

REVIEW ARTICLE
Demand and supply of adolescent and young

adult’s sexual and reproductive health services
during COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa: A

scoping review

1
Olutoyin O. Ikuteyijo *, Taofeek K. Aliyu , Akanni I. Akinyemi , Lanre O. Ikuteyijo ,
2,3
2
2
Oladimeji R. Ogunoye , Oluwaseun I. Obasola , John O. Abe , Jacob W. Mobolaji ,
2
4
2
2
Opeyemi O. Ekundayo , Ojo M. Agunbiade , and Sonja Merten 1
2
2
1 Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
2 Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile Ife, Osun, Nigeria
3 Department of Sociology, and Center for Demography and Aging Research (CEDAR), Umea
University, Umea, Sweden
4 Kenneth-Dike Library, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
(This article belongs to Special Issue: Population and Reproductive Health Dynamics under
Covid-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa)
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated containment strategies have significantly
impacted the logistics of supplying sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services to
adolescents and young adults (AYA) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Studies conducted
*Corresponding author: in the region indicate an increase in sexual activity, particularly among young people,
Olutoyin O. Ikuteyijo
(toyin.ikuteyijo@swisstph.ch) during the pandemic. However, the impact of these changes on their utilization of SRH
services remains unclear. This scoping review aims to synthesize the available evidence
Citation: Ikuteyijo, O.O., Aliyu, T.K., on the impact of COVID-19 on the SRH behavior and service utilization of AYA. This
Akinyemi, A.I., Ikuteyijo, L.O.,
Ogunoye, O.R., Obasola, O.I., review focuses on examining the demand and supply of SRH for AYA during the COVID-
et al. (2024). Demand and supply 19 lockdown period (January 2020 – December 2021). Following the Arksey & O’Malley
of adolescent and young adult’s (2005) procedure and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Reviewer’s Manual (2020), the
sexual and reproductive health
services during COVID-19 in sub- review encompasses comprehensive search strategies, analysis, and reporting of results.
Saharan Africa: A scoping review. The search for relevant articles was conducted across various databases, including
International Journal of Population Medline Complete, Africa-Wide, SocINDEX, Academic Search Complete (all through
Studies, 10(1):21-33.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.366 EBSCOhost), Public Health, Social Science & Sociology databases, the Middle East &
Africa Database (all through ProQuest), and Web of Science. Articles published between
Received: September 19, 2022
January 2020 and December 2021 were included in this review. The studies discussed in
Accepted: December 1, 2023 this review shed light on the discrepancies in the demand for and supply of SRH services
Published Online: December 29, 2023 during the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing a substantial gap in addressing the specific
SRH needs of AYA. This review also examines the strategies adopted by countries in SSA
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article to mitigate these effects. Several countries in SSA demonstrated resilience as health
distributed under the terms of the providers fulfilled their role, while AYA sought alternatives to mitigate the shortage in the
Creative Commons Attribution supply chain for SRH services and commodities, often resorting to alternative medicine.
License, permitting distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, which The findings underscore the urgency of further research to address the risks imposed
provided that the original work is by COVID-19 on the utilization of SRH services by AYA in SSA. The evidence presented in
properly cited. this review can inform strategic efforts to ensure the availability and accessibility of SRH
Publisher’s Note: AccScience services for AYA during any unforeseen emergency or future pandemic.
Publishing remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Keywords: COVID-19; Adolescents and young adults; Sexual and reproductive health
affiliations. service; Demand and supply; sub-Saharan Africa

Volume 10 Issue 1 (2024) 21 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.366