This mini review explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent sexual and reproductive health. We conducted a rapid review of the literature across three databases, with a particular focus on the African continent. Few studies have specifically focused on adolescents in Africa and this paper contributes to this paucity of research. Findings revealed the unintended consequences of the pandemic. Studies across several countries showed that the respective lockdown measures restricted adolescents' access to sexual and reproductive health services. The literature also showed increases in adolescent pregnancies during the lockdown, along with increases in reports of sexual violence against adolescents. We conclude this paper by offering recommendations to address these unintended consequences and potentially improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health in African communities.

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Availability of and access to services that promote sexual and reproductive health (SRH) amongst adolescent girls have become a global priority. Yet, while researchers have explored factors that influence the uptake of SRH services in low-and-middle income countries, the roles that “agency” and “hope” play in adolescent SRH is less understood. To study this, this mini review systematically reviewed the literature across three databases, EBSCO-host web, Pubmed and South Africa (SA) epublications, for the period of January 2012 to January 2022. Findings showed that a paucity of studies identified the link between agency, hope and adolescent SRH respectively. Our review included 12 articles and found no studies that focused on hope and its role in adolescent SRH or seeking SRH services. However, the literature revealed the complexities of adolescent SRH agency and autonomy where female adolescents had limited autonomy to make SRH decisions. Limited access to adolescent friendly SRH services was also found to restrict girls' agency to prevent unintended pregnancies or to take up SRH support. Given the paucity of research, empirical studies are needed to further understand the extent to which hope, agency and other subjective factors implicate adolescent SRH in the African context.

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