ACTIONS, PAST AND PRESENT

ADOLESCENT
REPRODUCTIVE AND SEXUAL HEALTH

Situation Adolescents constitute a distinct population group with particular needs and capacities. Their numbers have been steadily increasing. More than 1 billion young people are between the ages of 15 to 24 years and most of them are in the developing countries.

One of the most sensitive issues associated with adolescence is sexuality. Due to this, adolescents receive inadequate education, guidance and services that help them make the transition to adulthood. Often, however, they are denied complete access to reproductive health information and services. With their limited knowledge about their bodies and their sexuality, adolescents find themselves vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases and infections, including HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and violence. Girls are further vulnerable and face higher risks due to their lower educational status and inability to negotiate on issues related to reproductive and sexual health.

Thus, it is not surprising when one encounters these facts:

• One in every 10 births world-wide is to teenage mothers. In least developed countries, 1 in every 6 births is to young women aged 15 to 19.
• Pregnancy before age 18 has many health risks. Girls 10 to 14 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than women aged 20 to 24.
• At least 1 in 10 abortions world-wide occurs to women aged 15 to 19 years. More than 4.4 million young women in this age group have an abortion every year, 40 per cent of which are performed under unsafe conditions.
• Everyday, 500,000 young people are infected with an STD, most in the 20 to 24 years group, followed by those in 15 to 19 age group.

Actions To enable adolescents to enjoy their reproductive and sexual rights, including their rights to information, education and services; to ensure that young girls gain self-esteem and confidence and young boys are respectful of young girls as well as older women, UNFPA has supported the appropriate services to meet these needs. Such services include:

• generating an awareness and appreciation of crucial skills which help adolescents negotiate life's more difficult passages;
• supporting youth groups to allow them to participate in political decisions which affect their lives;
• strengthening networks among adolescents to encourage working together and sharing experiences; and
• providing information and services on promoting safe sexual behaviour including abstinence, delayed age of onset of sexual intercourse, preventing unwanted and early pregnancies, and preventing STDs, including HIV/AIDS.

Throughout the world, UNFPA has been involved with adolescents, ensuring that its programmes are sensitive and responsive to their needs.

In Sri Lanka, a survey found that only half of 15-29 year-olds were aware that condoms protected against HIV/AIDS and other diseases. A UNFPA-funded project that began in October 1998 has provided more than 100,000 young people with reproductive and sexual health information and 32,000 have received specific counselling.

In Sudan, where armed conflict has forced thousands of young people from their homes, the "In-and-Out of School Youth" project has educated young people about reproductive health issues through a mobile exhibit that travelled to youth camps in over 12 states.

In Viet Nam, a UNFPA-supported project in Hanoi and Ninh Binh renovated and equipped 18 commune health centres in the year 2000. This project also distributed 8,000 parent bags with the attached label "It's No Secret" materials to encourage better communication between parents and adolescents about reproductive health.

In Nairobi, Kenya, a UNFPA-supported project turned 11 health clinics into youth-friendly facilities by expanding working hours and providing separate rooms for youth counselling. Twenty-one educators and 206 service providers were trained in adolescent reproductive health in year 2000.