Summary box

• One of the obstacles to domesticating and operationalising continental commitments that promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the lack of stakeholder-driven research or inputs in setting the research agenda.

• This commentary describes a cocreation initiative that engaged strategic stakeholders to identify key policy goals and research priorities necessary to advance continental and subregional advocacy around adolescent SRHR in SSA.

• The development of the cocreated regional research agenda encompassed three phases: (1) a landscape analysis involving the mapping of existing research and research priorities on adolescent SRHR in SSA; (2) a 2-day cocreation workshop with regional and subregional SRHR policy, advocacy and research actors; and (3) a validation exercise where stakeholders reviewed and confirmed the research priorities.

• The emerging adolescent SRHR policy goals centered on policy and law reforms to end child marriage, implement sexuality education in and out of schools, and universal access to comprehensive and integrated sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services for adolescents.

• The main research priorities focused on understanding the needs and service access of vulnerable adolescent populations; implementation research on the delivery of comprehensive sexuality education and adolescent-friendly SRH services; understanding the impact of child marriage on health and well-being; and the analysis of legal and policy provisions addressing the age of consent to SRH services for adolescents.

• Various stakeholders, including funders and researchers, will find this research agenda useful in improving adolescent SRHR in SSA.