August 10, 2007

Adolescents from Malawi to SC, the same

The Guttmacher Institute and nine partner organizations asked “more than 20,000 adolescents in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda to describe their lives, their worries, their sources of information about pregnancy and HIV prevention, and how they access health care services”.
They found that:
• Adolescents’ knowledge is broad but not deep. The vast majority of young people have heard about HIV, but many lack in-depth knowledge of how the disease is spread, which they need to protect themselves.
• Young people trust the formal sector. Overwhelmingly, young Africans said their preferred sources of information were doctors, nurses and teachers, and they wanted to receive health services from clinics and health centers. However, they also said a key reason why they did not seek care was that they were embarrassed and ashamed to do so; and we know that much more needs to be done to provide adequate and accessible services for young people.
• The very young are not naive. While most younger adolescents have not yet had sex, by the age of 15, nearly all are aware of it, some have sexually experienced friends and many have experimented with kissing and fondling. Many young adolescents said they want to learn about sex in schools, from sources they can trust.
The adolescents in Africa seem to have the same level of knowledge and needs as our own SC teens. Improving reproductive health education and awareness for our young people is so important. As Guttmacher stated in their press release today, “we should…listen to what young people are telling us. They look forward to brighter futures and want to stay safe from disease and early pregnancy. Let us honor their request by providing them the sexual and reproductive health information and services they need to live out their dreams and help build stronger societies.”
To read more about Guttmacher’s work with adolescents, click here.