By Hajaratu Kalokoh
Teenagers from across the country have held a dialogue session on sexual education and family planning. The dialogue which was held on Tuesday at the British Council auditorium seeks to address contemporary issues surrounding contraception, teenage pregnancy, girls’ education, sexual and reproductive health education and maternal mobility.
The conference was an initiative by the campaign group Health Alert, which organized it in partnership with Youth Action Movement (YAM) with funding from the Family Planning 2020.
Health Alert is a civil society and human rights advocacy group established in 2009 to educate the public on health issues and to advocate for health care services delivery in Sierra Leone. Its Executive Director, Victor Lansana Koroma, told Politico that family planning is a topical issue among youths which requires providing them the necessary information they need.
“Youths are demanding accountability, information sharing and rights in family planning. The youths are also asking for a free service for family planning because most times they have been charged to access these services. Religious and traditional barrier are impeding the use of family planning. They want to see these barriers are addressed. They are also concerned about policies that are affecting the utilization of family planning,” he said.
Health Specialist, United State Agency for International Development (USAID), Cynthia Macauley, said as part of the session that adequate access to voluntary family planning is one of the most effective interventions to decrease maternal deaths, and it is also important to prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
“This conference will kick start important discussions to brainstorm solutions on how best to engage the youth and adolescent population,” she said.
The consumption rate of contraceptives in Sierra Leone is very low, largely due to misconceptions in the public. There are also religious factors.
The Family Planning 2020 is a consortium of organizations working on reproductive health issues globally. According to information on its website, more than 86% of girls ages 15 to 19 have never used contraceptives in Sierra Leone and 30% of these girls will have given birth by the time they are 19.
Statistics Sierra Leone’s 2015 Thematic Report on Elderly Population shows that 53% of the country’s population are below the age of 19.
Koroma said the negative perceptions of contraceptive is as a result of unprofessional medical practitioners who offer these services secretly.
“If they (girls) go through hospital, the professionals who are the health workers will screen and examine them before they introduce the product on them. These health workers will advise them that this is what is good for you after examination. At the end of the day they won’t end up having complications like breast cancer, etc.,” he said.
He added: “It is also imperative and important that our youths need to have the correct information, right services and right professionals to render these services.”
Nancy Kamanda, an 18-year old girl from Kono District, told Politico that she wanted the government to consider reducing the age of girls who should get access to contraceptives.
“My recommendation to government and policy makers is for them to address the age gap. In my district if you are not 18 you won’t have access to contraceptives and some children have already started having sex at age 12. So, if they do not have access to these contraceptives because of the age gap how will teenage pregnancy be minimized?’ she asked.
© 2019 Politico Online
