By Ndefru Melanie in Bamenda
Reproductive health for adolescent and youths is of great concern to medics, organizations working on sexual reproductive health for adolescent girls and young women. Reasons why, through the regional delegation of Public Health, Northwest, CAMNAFAW thinks it is ideal to create a working platform with CSOs, stakeholders dwelling on issues of Sexual Reproductive health.
Discussing during a meeting with these CSOs on Friday, February 17, 2023, the representative of the Regional Delegate of Public Health NW, Ambe Lionel Neba believes that if parents can allow and practice sex education in homes, this can reduce maternal deaths and sexual reproductive health problems.
It is believed that parents are still shy of giving sexual education to their kids, that is why looking at the situation analysis of sexual reproductive health in the Northwest region, by Dr. Ambe Lionel Neba, focal point for SRH in the Northwest region, reveals that health personnel will continue to face difficulties if adolescents and youths are not sensitized or educated on SRH.
As far as the Northwest region is concerned, CAMNAFAW is targeting Bamenda 1, 2, 3 and the Bamenda health district, Tubah, Santa and Akum.
At a time when the Northwest region has been in crisis for over six years, adolescents, young women, youths are being exposed to reproductive health problems; early pregnancies leading to abortions, high morbidity and mortality.
This prompted the Cameroon National Association for Familly Welfare-CAMNAFAW, to bring together some organisations, CSOs concerned with Sexual Reproductive Health, to familiarize themselves and create a working platform to share reports and expertise on the subject matter.
To address maternal mortality in the Northwest region, actors have been identified to address the problem of sexual reproductive health. This was within the framework of the Project Ado Avance Ensemble, sponsored by the European Union, promoting sexual reproductive health of adolescent youths.
The project creates access to reproductive health to the target population, especially to out-of- school girls.
Ekoume Ndema Irene is Regional Coordinator CAMNAFAW Northwest. She says adolescent youths are CAMNAFAW’s main target;these are adolescents between the ages of 10-19years and 20-24 years.
“It’s important for information related to their sexuality and reproductive health to be made accessible. Response so far is positive and it is important to have a safe and friendly space where they can open up. There is need for such arena to be available in all services and institutions providing information on sexual reproductive health.
Lum Priscilia, focal point for Health Commission, SRH officer noted that “We do alot of activities around this; sensitisation on family planning, safe deliveries, STIs/AIDs…. We face challenges mitigating in SRH. We look at those who have not benefitted and try to give them help, looking at what other organizations have done”.
Awa Fanny working with the Cameroon Baptist Convention health services said as a program manager for the children momentum project that seeks to address issues on SRH for adolescent girls and young women.
“Bringing together SRH service providers in the region, is a wonderful idea. Through the Regional delegation of public health, it will be possible to know other stakeholders providing SRH services in the region. For us implementers, it comes with alot of difficulties, giving room for capacity building. We will now be able to refer beneficiaries to different organisations”.
Access to quality information on SRH without restriction is one of the major resolutions arrived at, in the briefing, including the need to adopt policies that will allow a look into issues of sexual reproductive health.