Youth shy away from reproductive health services over stigma

PIC: Youths posing with a frame at the Voice for Health Media dialogue at Serena Hotel Kampala on July 27th, 2016. Photos/Rachael Nassuuna.

Take a walk down memory lane to when you were a teenager curious about your sexual reproductive health. At the time, would you have walked into a health centre and asked for condoms or other sexual reproductive health products?

"The medical personnel are judgmental and ask you why you want to know about sex or why you need condoms," a teenager confided to New Vision yesterday, during a media dialogue in Kampala on reproductive health yesterday.

According to the teenager who preferred anonymity, the stigma that youth suffer while accessing services on sexual reproductive health, has made many adolescents shy away from asking questions about it.

The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) of 1994 define reproductive health as a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing in all matters related to the reproductive health system, its functions and processes.

Importantly, adolescent health is one of the key components of reproductive health as stipulated in the National Adolescent Health policy.

The policy explains the rationale for this by citing that adolescence is characterised by dramatic physical, psychological and social changes not well-understood by adults.

"During this transition, the adolescents face the dilemma of a desire to become socially acceptable adults; while adolescents feel capable of performing almost anything independently, adults still see them as children incapable of handling major responsibilities." The policy reads.

The policy further states that this makes it difficult for adolescents to confide in adults, especially service providers.

Youths discussing during the voices for health media dialogue

 
"The moment someone young finds it difficult to trust you, then they will look for information on Google or even their neighbours in class who are not really informed," Duncan Musumba, the communications manager at Uganda Health Marketing Group explains.

Speaking during a media dialogue at Serena on Wednesday, Musumba noted  youth find it hard to access sexual reproductive health services , which has fuelled  unplanned pregnancies and  sexually transmitted diseases.

The dialogue was running under the campaign Voices for Health, which aims at changing public opinion around adolescents accessing sexual reproductive health services and products.

Joy Asasira, the project manager at Centre for Human Rights and Development, said the youth will continue facing sexual reproductive health challenges as long as stigma is not dealt with.

"The Government allocates 7% of its budget to the health ministry and spends sh75b on treating unsafe abortions; it is like mopping water on the flow while the tap continues running," she explained.