adminSome of them are drug and alcohol abuse, which results, among other things, in early indulgence in sex and teenage pregnancy and early motherhood.
Young people between the ages of 10 and 19, mainly in high school are often thought to be healthy yet many of them die prematurely due to accidents, suicide, violence, pregnancy-related complications and other illnesses that are either preventable or treatable. Many suffer chronic ill health and disability.
In addition, it has been proved that many diseases that manifest in adulthood have their roots in adolescence as some defects are linked to practices and behaviours during teenage life. Drug abuse is one of the activities that result in future health complications alongside sexually transmitted infections including HIV and Aids, poor eating and exercise habits. All these can lead to illness or premature death later in life.
The World Health Organisation Report for May 2012, states that about 16 million adolescent girls every year fall pregnant in developing countries. About three million of these undergo unsafe abortion every year. Youths therefore subject themselves, or are subjected to, dangerous life because of early indulgence in sexual activities. As a result, complications from pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death among girls between 15 and 19. Stillbirths and newborn deaths are 50 percent higher among infants of adolescent mothers than among infants of women aged 20-29.
There are several factors that contribute to adolescent births, that is, peer pressure to marry and bear children early; many have limited education and employment prospects. About 30 percent of these girls marry before they are 15 years old.
Education can be a protective factor from early pregnancy — the more the years of schooling, the fewer the chances of early pregnancy. Birth rates among women with low education are higher than for those with secondary or tertiary education.
Some adolescents do not know how to avoid becoming pregnant or are unable to obtain contraceptives because health institutions are sometimes inaccessible to them. Some youths end up shunning these places and resorting to unprotected sex, oblivious of the danger they put themselves in. However, even where contraceptives are available, sexually active adolescents engage in sex more than adults. In Africa, only between three and 49 percent of adolescents who are in relationship use contraceptives while the majority do not.
Vagrants either do not know where to get contraceptives or no one considers them for such programming, a reason why there are scores of children born on the streets by street mothers and fathers.
Schoolchildren, despite being sexually active, are afraid of visiting health centres to seek advice on contraceptives for fear the adult society would know they are misbehaving. But alas, it is safe to be safe.
There has been a heated debate on whether to introduce condoms to schools with some sections of the society believing it would promote delinquency in schools. However, health experts should, as policy makers and decision makers, take it upon themselves to decide on what is best for youths, especially in schools because they are better placed to tell the dangers that lie ahead in instances of sexual activity. They are better placed than a parent at home whose argument against distributing condoms in schools revolves around cultural and societal values based on beliefs.
This is however, not to say that parents have no role to play in educating and preparing youths for a healthy future.
There is a lack of sexuality education in most instances and as a result many girls are unable to refuse sex.
Sexual violence is widespread with, according to reports, a third of youths reporting that their first encounter was violent. Adolescent pregnancy is a major contributor to maternal and child mortality and to the vicious cycle of ill-health. The country seeks to achieve a number of Millenn-ium Development Goals with the target being 2015 when Zimbabwe hopes to have reduced to manageable levels, child mortality and improving maternal health.
All institutions including the family should adopt the World Health Organisation statute of May 2011 which seeks to accelerate action and revise policies to protect young people from early child bearing.
The statute also seeks to provide access to contraception and reproductive health care service and promoting access to accurate information on sexual and reproductive health.
Promoting healthy practices during adolescence and protecting young people from health risks is critical to the future of countries’ health and social infrastructure and to the prevention of health problems in adulthood.
Millennium Development Goal Number 5 calls for universal access to reproductive health while Goal Number 6 seeks to halt the spread of HIV and Aids among people including the young.
To young girls and boys out there, school life is not a platform to showcase how delinquent you are but to shape your future. Lest we forget, it is today’s behaviour that determines the kind of person one would be in future.
Online Reporter