Greetings,
This is the last digest of the forum. We will distribute a final summary including a summary of the Web links mentioned during the forum, results from the evaluation, and some suggestions for ongoing discussions through this online community.
This last digest includes four posts, from the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, and Kenya. In two postings, Konjit Kifetew from Ethiopia first discusses how radio and TV need to work in conjunction with skills education in promoting condom use. Second, he focuses on the importance of youth centers. Vladimir Encarnacian Jaquez of the Dominican Republic speaks to the role of youth educators in providing reproductive and sexual health information to youth. Noting that many rural areas in Kenya lack youth centers, Mildred Anne Odhiambo discusses the difficulties in providing sexual information and resources to youth in these areas.
Best regards,
Ed Scholl, Forum Moderator
On behalf of YouthNet, The INFO Project, and the Implementing Best Practices in Reproductive Health Initiative/World Health Organization
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Forum Digest 18
- Radio/TV and Condom Promotion
- Add Services at Youth Centers
- Youth Need Information, Respect
- What About Rural Areas?
1. Radio/TV and Condom Promotion
First, I would like to express my appreciation for organizing such a forum to share ideas on the important issues of youth.
The media, particularly radio, is a powerful instrument to promote condom use, to reach youth (urban and rural) and bring about behavioral change. However, it should be integrated with skills education, covering how to use condoms correctly and consistently. Radio is not an interpersonal communication; it is one-way communication. Thus, condom promotion for youth should be side-by-side with interpersonal education and peer education programs.
In Ethiopia, condom use is promoted on radio and TV. The limitation, or harm, of condom promotion on radio/TV is that youth accept information on radio/TV most of the time and immediately go on to practice it, without challenging it.
Thus, if we do not have programs to teach youth about how to use condoms correctly and consistently, as well as to abstain or to be faithful, radio/TV alone will not be effective.
-- Konjit Kifetew, Youth BCC officer
2. Add Services at Youth Centers
I would like to say a few things on youth and pregnancy prevention. Due to lack of information, and a culture of silence surrounding sex, young people do not have accurate information on either family planning or sex. Family and teachers do not discuss sex and family planning, and so, youth face unplanned/unwanted pregnancies. Furthermore, they do not know where to go for FP/counseling services.
We need to strengthen youth centers to provide these services and to avail emergency contraceptives in family planning/sexual and reproductive health clinics. I found that youth-friendly clinics are the best places for youth to visit and get services without feeling embarrassed. In addition, training of service providers on youth sexual and reproductive health issues should also be taken into consideration in health service strategy.
-- Konjit Kifetew, Youth BCC officer
3. Youth Need Information, Respect
The most important thing is to promote abstinence and the use of condoms. We cannot ever denigrate or stigmatize condom use, especially if we're working on HIV/AIDS prevention. There are only two simple ways of preventing pregnancy or AIDS at the same time: abstinence and use of condoms.
If you work with young people, you should know that you can never tell us (I'm 22) what to do. Never. Our role as sexual and reproductive health educators is to help them find the way, to make them understand that there are a lot things to do, and it is better to wait. But, if they're having sex, we need to help them understand that they must be responsible, for themselves and for the people whom they are with — protect yourself and protect him or her.
-- Vladimir Encarnacian Jaquez, Youth Activist, PROFAMILIA's Youth Net Dominican Republic
4. What About Rural Areas?
I think that we forget the youth in rural areas that can't get the necessary information for prevention. Like in our community, a young girl does not know about contraceptives. How can we start empowering youth at the community level? African cultures are hampered in this era of AIDS. So, we lack centres for discussing sex in rural areas. I'm requesting help from the panel so that we in rural areas can be on the same level.
-- Mildred Anne Odhiambo, Morao women's group, Bondo District in Nyanza Province, Kenya
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