Status of youth Sexual and Reproductive health Rights in Africa: What are the issues of concern.

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Status of youth Sexual and Reproductive health
Rights in Africa What are the issues of concern.

• Chioma Ekwo
• Program Officer
• WHARC

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Presentation outline

• Background
• Meaning of Reproductive Health.
• Meaning of Reproductive Rights.
• Reproductive Health Rights.
• Issues of concern in YSRHR
• Challenges in improving YSRHR.
• Approaches in improving YSRHR
• Recommendations
• Conclusion

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BACKGROUND

• Recent demographic data indicate that Africa is
  populated by 1,022,234,000 populace making it
  the second most populous continent in the planet
  after Asia.
• Most of the populace consist largely of youths.
• African youths continue to be weighed down with
  several challenges and difficulties
• illiteracy, unemployment, high rates of
  poverty,
• Violence, substance abuse and other abnormal
  social behaviors.

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Background continues

• Due to lack of investment in youth development by
  Africans to secure its growth and economic
  prosperity.
• It is therefore not surprising that African have
  adverse reproductive health outcomes.

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WHAT IS REPRODUTIVE HEALTH

• a state of complete physical, mental, and
  social well-being and not merely the absence of
  disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to
  the reproductive system and to its functions and
  processes.

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REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH continue

• Men and women should be able to enjoy a
  satisfying and safe sex life, have the capability
  to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when
  and how often to do so and this requires informed
  choice and access to safe, effective, affordable
  and acceptable health-care services.

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REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

• These are based on human rights recognised in
  international human rights declarations, treaties
  and other instruments.

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REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS INCLUDE

• The same right of men and women to marry only
  with their free and full consent.
• Right of access to information.
• Right to the highest attainable standard of
  health.
• Right to privacy.
• Right education

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REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS continues

• Right to freedom from discrimination (on the
  basis of gender, marital status, age,
• race and ethnicity, health status/disability).
  

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ISSUES OF CONCERN

• Denied assess to information on sexual and
  reproductive health.
• Gender inequality
• Child marriage
• Poor education and youth development.
• unwanted pregnancy
• Exposure to STI/ HIV

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ISSUES OF CONCERN Continues

• Unsafe Abortion Abortion is the termination of
  pregnancy before term.
• Maternal mortality death of a woman during
  pregnancy, childbirth or six weeks after
  childbirth.
• Female genital cutting is partial of complete
  removal of the female external genital and most
  times causes difficulties in childbirth
• Sexual violence

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CHALLENGES IN IMPROVING YSRHR

• Although there is growing willingness and
  commitment by both national and international
  bodies to establish the rights of youths to
  access sexual and reproductive health
  information, there are challenges in the
  implementation of policies and programs that
  address YSRH in Africa and these challenges
  include political, economic, religious and
  cultural barriers.

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APPROACHES IN IMPROVING YSRHR

• Challenge social stigmas that prevent services
  from meeting the needs of youth
• Expand access to quality information and engage
  in advocacy to advance youth SRHR
• Support education and policies to address gender
  and economic inequalities
• Improve girls health and development by
  significantly reducing child marriage

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APPROACHES IN IMPROVING YSRHR continues.

• Advocate for youth friendly services that provide
  an approachable, responsive environment and offer
  young people the information, skills and means to
  make safe choices regarding their reproductive
  health.

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RECOMMENDATION

• Sex and family life education for youths.
• We must develop the human capital of youths
  today and begin to hold government accountable.

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CONCLUSION

• Youth Sexual and Reproductive health is an
  indispensable accelerator of sustainable
  development

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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING