The regional Adolescent Reproductive Health (ARH) Project is a regional initiative in response to the emerging reproductive health issues of young people in the Pacific region.

The sexual and reproductive health of these adolescents and youngsters has been deteriorating in the South Pacific region. Youth issues are becoming a great area of concern to the communities in the region. Statistics indicate a trend of increasing rates of STIs and HIV among young people, and an increasing trend in adolescent pregnancies reaching 20% of total births in some countries (such as in Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia). Increasing number of young individuals are becoming infected with and it reflects unsafe sexual practices and risk taking behavior among this age group.

In addition, emerging social problems also impact negatively on the reproductive behavior of young people. The common social problems include substance abuse, especially alcohol and illegal drug use; sexual assault including rape and incest; increasing practice of casual sex and commercial sex; and increasing numbers of street children. These factors contribute to the problems mentioned and also include, changing social norms as countries move from traditional subsistence economies to modern ones, breakdown of extended family structures, misconceptions about sex, inadequate sexual health education and lack of culturally sensitive and appropriate ARSH information and services.

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