Reproductive Health, including Family Planning and Sexual Health

Adolescent reproductive health

Reducing maternal mortality

Reproductive Health in Emergency Situations

HIV/AIDS

Population and Development Strategies

Advocacy

The role of new technologies

Empowering women and eliminating violence against women

Reproductive health effects of gender-based violence

Male involment

These and many other concerns brought together some 60 experts and young people from around the world to New York to participate in a round-table meeting on adolescent reproductive health. The April meeting, which was sponsored by UNFPA and hosted by the Ford Foundation, focused on four main issues: promoting an enabling environment; health promotion; providing youth-friendly services; and innovative approaches to involve youth in programmes. The sessions combined presentations by leading experts in the field with ones by youth participants, who provided their personal perspectives on important issues.

The reproductive health of young people was also the focus of two events that took place in August in Portugal. Lisbon hosted the first-ever World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth, and Braga was the site of the World Youth Forum. UNFPA supported several of the delegations attending the forum. The Fund also provided expert assistance in the drafting of the "Braga Youth Plan of Action", which was endorsed by the United Nations Secretary-General and formed a major part of the ministers' Lisbon Declaration. The declaration invited UNFPA to give greater support to national youth policies and programmes within its country programmes.

UNFPA also worked to foster regional cooperation in the area of adolescent reproductive health. In the Caribbean, for example, UNFPA sponsored the Caribbean Youth Summit. The October summit provided an opportunity for young people to voice their concerns and priorities. In the Africa region, UNFPA organized, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), a discussion on the theme of "Africa's New Generation", bringing youth and adolescents to the ECA to present their views to the region's leaders. In Asia, two regional technical workshops were organized to help participants formulate policies and programme strategies on adolescent reproductive health. The South Asia Conference on Adolescents was staged in New Delhi, India, in July, and the Technical Seminar on Adolescent Reproductive Health was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in October. And in the Arab States region, the International Islamic Centre for Population Research organized the UNFPA-supported International Conference on Population and Reproductive Health in the Muslim World, which made significant recommendations on such issues as reproductive rights, women's issues, youth and the family.

The need to include young people in the design and implementation of adolescent health programmes was underscored by initiatives that took place during the year. The advantage of mobilizing young people to advocate for appropriate information and services was illustrated, as was the effectiveness of utilizing media favoured by youth. Also underlined was the importance of involving parents and the community and of fostering an "enabling" environment by equipping adults, through training and sensitization efforts, to help adolescents. Adult family members of both sexes have to be informed of the need and value of sexuality education for adolescents, and they need to be reassured that young people need their support. In addition, the religious community needs to know that the goals of sexuality education are not inimical to moral development. Rather, such education can help young people make responsible choices and decisions.

Country-level initiatives.
Adolescent reproductive health concerns were addressed in virtually all UNFPA country programmes in 1998. In Kenya, for example, UNFPA helped launch a compact disc (CD) entitled "I Need to Know" on World Population Day, 11 July. The CD, performed by young Kenyan artists, aimed to create awareness of youth reproductive health rights and responsible sexual behaviour. Produced in various versions, the song achieved a considerable amount of media attention, including in the international edition of Newsweek magazine. The song became the signature tune of the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation's Youth Variety Show, which is produced through a UNFPA-funded project executed by the Family Planning Association of Kenya.

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, UNFPA assisted the Ministry of Education in printing a booklet designed to involve parents in helping their children to understand population issues as well as their health. The booklet was distributed to teachers and parents through the national parent-teacher association. UNFPA also assisted the Family Planning Association of Iran in developing materials to educate young people on matters related to their reproductive health; the materials are being pilot-tested. In another pilot project, UNFPA is supporting reproductive health for young girls in one province. Under the project, per-sonnel from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education train women health volunteers, who then pass their knowledge on to mothers. The mothers, in turn, educate their daughters. If successful, the project will be extended nationwide.

The Programme for Enhancing Adolescent Reproductive Life (PEARL) in Uganda is another example of UNFPA-government collaboration. The community-based programme is aimed primarily at out-of-school youth aged 10-24. The approach is twofold: to create a safe environment where adolescents can engage in recreational activities; and to create awareness and provide reproductive health counselling and services. Although the programme is targeted mainly at adolescents, it also seeks to involve parents and religious and community leaders and to sensitize them to the importance of providing such counselling and services. In fact, the importance of involving parents has been one of the most valuable lessons learned during the course of the programme.

Several other initiatives are worth noting. In Nicaragua, the UNFPA country office supported national counterparts in the production of videos on adolescent pregnancy and helped create a nationwide network of youth theatre and puppet groups that address the concerns and problems of young people. In Algeria, UNFPA provided support to train the directors of 48 provincial youth centres in IEC techniques related to adolescent reproductive health, as well as in interpersonal communication skills with young people. In Tunisia, UNFPA worked with governmental and non-governmental organizations to train peer educators in adolescent reproductive health. In the Maldives, UNFPA helped carry out a workshop on adolescent reproductive health at the Malé Youth Centre. The workshop focused on reproductive and sexual health, communication skills, and smoking and drug abuse.