South Africa in 2025
147088
Total Lives Impacted
56251
Unintended Pregnancies Averted
56251
HIV Services
222122
Health and wellbeing service delivered
The need
South Africa as a whole is experiencing four colliding health epidemics: HIV and tuberculosis, chronic illness and mental health, injury and violence, and maternal, neonatal, and child mortality. For the country’s youth population, these challenges are heightened. 63% of youth are unemployed and a lack of opportunities exacerbate existing health, economic and well-being challenges.
In terms of sexual and reproductive health, South Africa experiences a high unmet need for services and products, which leads to high rates of unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion and school dropouts. 31% of all 15 to 24-year-olds have an unmet contraceptive need. The national adolescent pregnancy rate in South Africa is 6.8%, with 58% of all unwanted pregnancies ending in unsafe abortion. South Africa has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates globally with young women continuing to be disproportionately affected. Sexual and gender-based violence remains a concern in South Africa with 33.1% of women having experienced physical violence in their lifetime.
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Our work in South Africa
Tiko launched in South Africa in 2023 to respond to the growing health crisis facing adolescents and young people. Our country programme focuses on providing access to services across sexual and reproductive health, HIV treatment and prevention and mental health. In October 2023, we signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) to onboard their clinics as Tiko partnered service providers, and continue to engage with both regional and national government to advance access to care for adolescents and young people.
One of our key achievements in 2024 was our expansion of services in the City of Johannesburg and the consolidation and scale-up of services in Ekurhuleni. This entailed a shift in demand generation to include smaller grassroots-led CBOs, the inclusion of community health workers and diversifying service delivery to include community-based HIV testing partnerships and integrated mobile clinics. Our services focus on increasing the agency and resilience of adolescent young people by enhancing their choice and access to mental health and sexual and reproductive health services.
The Tiko ecosystem in South Africa
447
Mobilisers
95
Health Service
Providers
9
Local Retailers
Testimonial
Puleng
Johannesburg, South Africa
I experienced gender-based violence when I was young and suffered from depression to the point where I did not leave home for a long time. I was introduced to Tiko through a mobiliser and now I attend counselling and my mental health has improved so much that I recently represented my province in athletics.
Stories from South Africa
Sheron’s Voice : dedicated champions empowering girls in South Africa with access to vital healthcare services
Sheron, a mobiliser at Barcelona Clinic in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni is a healthcare champion connecting young people to vital sexual and reproductive health, HIV and mental health services. The challenges that…
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Nontokozo’s voice: resilience in Johannesburg
Johannesburg, South Africa – Nontokozo grew up in Langaville, on the outskirts of Johannesburg, in a traditional family where consulting a healer is first-choice before seeking medical intervention. By the…
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