A simple but effective intervention has shown that modest resources can go a long way to improve the well-being of young migrants navigating life in urban areas of South Africa and Uganda.
A low-cost peer support programme has helped hundreds of young migrants in South Africa and Uganda access vital health and social services, build confidence, and navigate the challenges of urban life – demonstrating that modest interventions can have a powerful impact.
Known as Lending a Hand, the initiative supported around 500 adolescents and young adults between 2021 and 2023 in KwaZulu-Natal’s uMkhanyakude District and Uganda’s Kalungu District. The project, funded by the UK’s Medical Research Council, FCDO, and NIHR, trained local young people with lived experience of migration to act as ‘peer navigators’. These peer navigators offered emotional support, practical advice, and facilitated referrals to clinics, counsellors, and social services.
Young migrants who participated described the experience as transformative. “It felt like a weight was being lifted off my shoulders,” said one participant.
The intervention was originally designed to include physical hubs, but due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was adapted for remote delivery. Call centres were set up in both countries, where young people could speak with nurses and counsellors. Peer navigators also met individuals one-on-one and provided referral slips with information on available services.
Common issues included mental health concerns, access to healthcare, confusion around documentation for employment or residency, and isolation. The peer-led model proved critical in breaking down barriers. Health workers in participating clinics were sensitised to young migrants’ needs, which helped ease fears around seeking care.
Peer navigators themselves gained skills in counselling, communication, and referrals and were supported with supervision and counselling when needed.
AHRI faculty member Professor Janet Seeley, who led the project, says its success highlights the importance of low-cost, community-based interventions in supporting mobile young people. “This relatively low-cost model was successful in ‘lending a hand’ to young migrants who are too often overlooked by mainstream services,” she noted.
The findings have been widely published, with papers exploring gendered risk, access to sexual and reproductive health services, and the emotional resilience of migrant youth in journals such as Global Public Health, BMC Public Health, Frontiers in Reproductive Health and the International Journal of Adolescence and Youth.