Title: Advocating for sexual reproductive health rights for adolescents’ girls in Africa and Mena

Abstract:

 Africa is experiencing the largest youth population ever in its history entering child bearing age of 14 or less, with adolescents constituting more than one quarter of the total population. Teenage pregnancy rate stands at 28% and about 42% of girls are married by age 16; while an estimated 30% of maternal deaths are a result of unsafe abortions, of which 80% are among adolescent girls. Due weak supportive legal policy and less accountability by most government at local or district level on sexual and reproductive health rights for adolescents’ girls and young women has caused above problems. During my research, I noted that 80% of the district development plans do not have the plan in place at district -grass root level .The paper will provide information and recommendation how to improve accountability and awareness of sexual and reproductive health rights for adolescents’ girls at district level. The paper will recommend the promotion and distribution of male and female condoms targeting adolescents and young people, through social marketing, social media platforms and mass media. The parents especially mother will be trained to have Franky talk with their adolescent’s girls to spread messages on reproductive health rights to young girls so that they can demand for their rights promoting accountability from their leaders and prevent early baby like me. During my research I noted that the evidence-based approach can influence, facilitate and promote social accountability to achieve health outcomes among the adolescent’s girls. They is a need for African national to build capacity of peer educators to demand for accountability and improved supply of family planning services in established youth friendly centres in rural areas and district levels. To increase the awareness of sexual and reproductive health rights to millions of adolescents through sex education should be introduced in schools at early age, which recently was denied by Zambian community due past culture believe. Parents should look at education as the only weapon to fight future poverty for their families especially girl child. Through this paper will be will lobby and advocating to all African government to ensure that budget spending towards education of poor girl child is reasonable

 

Biography:

Natasha Precious Kabonde is a young Zambian lady aged 21, medical doctor by profession.She is encouraging all adolescents’ girls who are having babies to go back to school and continue their studies. She is a testimony to the adolescents’ girls who have passed through the problem of human rights abuse thus lack of sexual and reproductive health education which nearly costed my life.