Shristee “Pudki” Lamichhane is a student of Social Work. Her interest in the field of HIV/AIDS has inspired her to work with people living with HIV and AIDS. Shristee has worked in a rehabilitation center for HIV-infected women and children for a year. She is also a member of the Family Planning Association of Nepal and has worked with other awareness programs regarding HIV/AIDS.

Avash K.C. is a student at St.Xavier’s school. Despite his young age he also works as a reporter and marketing representative to a magazine called “Today’s Youth”, that deals with serious teen issues such as HIV/AIDS and STIs.

Avash is also a coordinator in a Youth Forum where youth discuss important topics and find solutions as a group. In between school and working at the magazine he also finds time to work as a volunteer at Aama Milan Kendra, a health organization.

Nepal, one of the poorest countries in Asia, has an estimated gross domestic product of $220 per person. Adolescents comprise 23 per cent of the population. The Population Policy of Nepal has been an integral part of national development planning since the 1970s, and has been a main thrust of the various Five-Year Development Plans of His Majesty’s Government (HMG) of Nepal. The Government’s current long-term health plan and reproductive health policy emphasize developing special programmes for population and reproductive health, including adolescent reproductive health.

The health-sector strategy focuses on ways the sector can help reduce poverty and improve health among the poor and those living in remote areas. It is noteworthy that the National Adolescent Health and Development Strategy endorses distribution of contraceptives to unmarried adolescents.

Nepal’s bilateral and multilateral external development partners currently contribute an estimated 60 per cent of total expenditures for health. This assistance contributes to the progress being made in such areas as reproductive health commodity security; the implementation of a National Adolescent Health and Development Strategy emphasizing services, advocacy and information, education and communication; the expansion of the Millennium Joint Initiative Against Trafficking in Women and Girls; the promotion of child survival and safe motherhood initiatives; the reduction of fertility and population growth rates; and programmes addressing population aging and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

Nepal, among seven South and South-East Asian countries, belongs to the European Union/UNFPA Reproductive Health Initiative for Youth in Asia (RHIYA). The EC/UNFPA Initiative is working with 19 European NGOs and more than 60 local partners to improve reproductive and sexual health in these countries.
HIV prevention is a priority in all programmes. Examples of activities include training for NGOs, media outreach through a radio soap opera, training of Buddhist monks in HIV/AIDS education and prevention, creation of referral networks, and a youth camp on RH issues.

Another example includes the Child Welfare Scheme, which works in the slum areas of Pokhara and provides street youth with a health clinic and a vocational training and reintegration center. It started in 2002 with former drug addicts and trafficked girls. Students receive three years of vocational training, and also study mathematics, science, English and Nepali. The programme builds self-esteem, offers training in first aid and social welfare to make street youth independent, and provides ongoing counselling for youth with psychological scars.

Sources: State of World Population 2003: Investing in Adolescents’ Health and Rights, UNFPA 2003; http://www.unfpa.org/hiv/2003/3b.htm