Tanya Marlo improves access to SRHR info for young people in Indonesia
Tanya Marlo improves access to SRHR info for young people in Indonesia
The Tanya Marlo online platforms work to reach young people in Indonesia with quality HIV information and guides them to tailored advice and services, such as HIV self-testing and PrEP. In 2022, its chatbot was improved to better serve young people. In the first 8 months the revised chatbot provided 1086 counseling messages and this number keeps growing every month.
Consulted by young people
The other platforms under the Tanya Marlo brand – website and multiple social media channels - are increasingly consulted by young people. Furthermore, by applying the stepped care model approach, additional content on sexual and reproductive health has been added to the platforms. To turn the tide on the alarmingly rising numbers of AIDS-related deaths in lndonesia, it is crucial that young people’s needs are met.
The stepped care approach
Tanya Marlo (‘Ask Marlo’) was developed by Indonesian NGO Yayasan Kasih Suwitno in co-creation with UNAIDS between 2018 and 2020. In 2021 Aidsfonds stepped in with technical expertise on chatbots and the stepped care approach, grateful for the generous co-funding from Elsevier Foundation.
Sexual health care in clinics is often denied to young people and members of the LGBTQI+ community. By applying the stepped care approach, we aim to:
- deliver non-judgemental, sex-positive HIV and SRHR information and services online and promote self-care products
- empower youth to claim their rights to get services and treatment in a health facility
- establish and find more youth- and LGBTQI+-friendly health facilities to refer to.
Tanya Marlo in 2023
In 2023, planned activities to further develop Tanya Marlo are, among others, to conduct a survey related to the effectiveness of Tanya Marlo campaigns; to redevelop the website to accommodate the needs of the audience; to expand the work area to Greater Jakarta (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang dan Bekasi) with a total population of almost 30 million and to map potential partners in the expansion area.
Indonesia & HIV
More than half of the about 32,000 new HIV infections registered in Indonesia in 2019, occurred among young people aged 15-24 years. Due to conservative beliefs, young people in Indonesia have difficulties accessing sexual health information and services. At the same time, a large number of Indonesian youth have access to internet and smartphones. They know how to search for information, which opens up opportunities for reaching young people with SRHR and HIV information and services.