Regular and late breaker abstract submission have now closed. All authors should expect a communication on the result of the abstract review by December 4, 2015. 

The African Federation for Sexual Health and Rights (AFSHR) and the Scientific Committee of the 7th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights are pleased to invite abstracts (oral presentations and posters) exploring the overall theme of the conference, “Realizing Demographic Dividend in Africa: the Critical Importance of Adolescents and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights” and through the following sub-themes:

  • Population and Development
  • Policy and Legal Instruments and Issues
  • Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Services
  • Social-Cultural, Historic, Economic, Political and Religious Issues
  • Research, Knowledge Management and Skills Building
  • Innovations, Creativity and Technology
  • Investments and Financing
  • Participation, Leadership, Equity and Accountability

A small number of late breaker abstracts will be accepted to be presented orally or as posters at the conference. The late breaker abstract is not an extension of the deadline to submit a regular abstract, but rather reserved for data that was not available before the regular abstract deadline of September 30, 2015. The selection criteria will be more rigorous than for regular abstracts. The late breaker abstract submission will be open from October 1 – November 30, 2015.

Late Breaker Abstract Submission Guidelines

Please read the following guidelines carefully before submitting your late breaker abstract:

  • Abstracts can only be submitted online via the conference website www.africasexuality.org/abstract/openconf.php. Submissions by any other method will be rejected. Persons wishing to submit a late breaker abstract should send an email to webmaster@africasexuality.org.
  • All abstract authors are requested to choose a sub-theme(s) for their abstract during the submission process.
  • The preferred language is English, but we also welcome abstracts in French and Portuguese.
  • The author(s) has full responsibility to submit a correct abstract. Any errors in spelling, grammar or scientific fact in the abstract text will be reproduced as typed by the author.
Choosing an Abstract Sub-theme

The sub-theme is the general category under which the abstract will be reviewed and published in the conference proceedings, if accepted. The following descriptions are a guide to choose the sub-theme that best matches your abstract. You can select multiple sub-themes for your abstract.

  • Population and Development

Population Dynamics, Demographic Transition and Demographic Dividend

  • Policy and Legal Instruments and Issues

Analyze existing policies at global, continental, regional, national and community level that affect sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and youth. Explore and share promising and best practices in policy and legal frameworks for the promotion, protection and provision of adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health.

  • Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Services

Share best practices in the provision of information including comprehensive sexuality education, life skills education, peer education, and adolescents/youth friendly services as well as integration of sexual and reproductive health and HIV services. Special attention will be paid to programmes and interventions targeting excluded populations including early adolescents and out-of-school adolescent girls.

  • Social-Cultural, Historic, Economic, Political and Religious Issues

Discuss barriers that prevent adolescents and youth from attaining fully their sexual and reproductive health capacities and agency. Identify existing opportunities and programmes within social-cultural constructs that can be leveraged to promote the agency of adolescents and youth.

  • Research, Knowledge Management and Skills Building

Provide updates on research evidence, programming lessons, and capacity building for enhancing the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and youth.

  • Innovations, Creativity and Technology

Explore use of innovation, creative approaches and new technologies in securing the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and youth.

  • Investments and Financing

Explore investment and financing mechanisms for advancing adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health.

  • Participation, Leadership, Equity and Accountability

Explore various modalities of youth participation and leadership in policy development, programme implementation as well as monitoring and evaluation.

Abstract Structure

Abstracts should be structured in one of the following formats:

  • Standard Format: Introduction and objectives, Method(s), Results and Conclusion.
  • Qualitative Research Studies: Introduction, Method(s), Findings and discussion, Recommendations and References.
  • Experiential & Practice Samples: Introduction, Action. Outcome, Discussion, Recommendations and References.
  • Historical Survey: Introduction, Approach, Findings and Discussions and References.
Formatting & Word Limit

Arial 12 pt., double-line spacing should be used when formatting the text. The abstract summary is limited to 250 words. An extended abstract of up to 1,000 words should also be submitted as an attachment. Titles are limited to 30 words. A maximum of three tables and three graphs/images may be included. Tables and graphs/images do not count toward the word limit.  The extended abstract should not include the name or affiliation of the author.

Submission Deadline

The deadline to submit late breaker abstracts is November 30, 2015.

Submission Confirmation

A confirmation email will be sent to the corresponding author after an abstract has been successfully submitted. In order to receive this important communication, please ensure that emails sent from webmaster@africasexuality.org are not considered as spam by your email provider.

Policies for Abstract Submission

Resubmission Policy

Generally, abstracts that have been previously published or presented at a national, regional or international conference are not eligible for submission.  Such abstracts will only be considered provided that the author shows there are new methods, new findings, or substantially updated information since the previous presentation. The author is required to indicate the details of the previous publication or presentation as well as the reasons for submitting the abstract to the conference. The Scientific Committee will consider this information when making final decisions. The abstract will be rejected if the author neglects to indicate the details of when and where the preliminary or partial data has been published or presented and the reasons for resubmitting, and if evidence of previous publication or presentation is found.

Plagiarism

AFSHR regards plagiarism as serious ethical misconduct. All abstracts are screened for plagiarism and when identified, the abstract and any other abstracts submitted by the same author are rejected. In addition, the author(s) will be barred from attending the conference or future conferences organized by AFHSR and its affiliates.

Presenter Limit

Each presenting author may present a maximum of two abstracts at the conference. The number of submissions is however not limited. Should an author have more than two abstracts accepted for presentation, a co-author must be named as presenting author for the other abstracts.

Abstract Review & Selection

All submitted abstracts will go through a blind peer-review process carried out by an international reviewing committee. Each abstract will be reviewed by at least three reviewers.

Abstract Selection

The Scientific Committee makes the final selection of abstracts to be included in the conference programme. Abstracts can be selected for oral presentation in Oral Abstract Sessions or to be presented as a poster. A small number of highest-scoring posters will selected for presentation in Oral Poster Discussion Sessions, whereas majority of the posters will be displayed in the Poster Exhibition.

Notification of Acceptance or Rejection to Corresponding Author

Notification of acceptance or rejection will be sent to the corresponding author in early December 2015. Please note that only the corresponding author will receive mail concerning the abstract and is responsible for informing all co-authors of the status of the abstract. Authors whose abstracts have been accepted will receive instructions for the presentation of their abstract. In order to receive these important communications, please ensure that your email provider does not consider emails from webmaster@africasexuality.org as spam.

Publication of Accepted Abstracts

All accepted abstract will appear in the conference proceedings and on the conference website.

Questions?