youtube facebook Español

Adolescents must be able to get reproductive-health care if they are to protect their health and determine their futures.

Photo courtesy of Piers Benetar, Panos Pictures.

Today is United Nations' World Population Day, and this year’s observance sheds light on the special needs of young people.

U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) executive director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said in a press release: “Young people want to stay safe and healthy. They want a chance at a better future. About HIV prevention, they tell us: ‘Adults say we are too young to know; we say we are too young to die.’ About family planning, young people tell us: ‘Men should share responsibility with women.’ About sexual and reproductive health, they say: ‘Young people need this information. It shapes our lives and affects our future.’”

Yet even as youth raise their voices, their requests for better care often go unheard and their needs neglected.

Around the globe:

• People aged 15-24 make up 18 percent of the world’s population, and another 30 percent of global citizens are younger than 15. This demographic trend signals an impending explosion in the number of people of reproductive age worldwide — and that health-care systems, governments and non-governmental organizations must step forward to guarantee their rights, regardless of age.
• According to the UNFPA, more than a third of young women in the developing world give birth before they reach the age of 20. Early motherhood can have life-changing consequences for a young woman: inability to complete education or achieve personal goals; a greater likelihood that she will live in poverty; and health and psychological complications from giving birth too soon. 
• Though adolescent sexual activity is common in many societies, adolescent pregnancy is stigmatized to such an extent that young people are often the denied reproductive-health services that are so crucial to their well-being. As a result, it is estimated that as many as 4 million unsafe abortions occur to adolescents in the developing world, where laws often severely restrict abortion.

To address the needs of youth and the health-care workers who serve them, Ipas has:

• Developed the “Gender or sex: Who cares?” curriculum to train adolescent peer educators and adults who work with youth to discuss sexual violence, relationships and sexually transmitted infections;
• Conducted innovative research to gather information about youth’s sexual practices and knowledge, including two studies that used the Internet to connect with adolescents in Brazil and Kenya;
• Sponsored a meeting in Mexico where youth could build networks and articulate their visions of youth-friendly policy and health care;
• Encouraged legal reform that allows adolescents to take advantage of reproductive-health care. For instance, we support a change in the Ethiopian Criminal Code, which has broadened the circumstances in which women and girls can have abortions. Importantly, the reformed code permits abortions in cases when a minor is psychologically or physically unable to raise a child.

---

For more information, contact media@ipas.org