Out-of-School Youth: Often Forgotten in Reproductive Health Programs

October 24, 2016Social media is a powerful tool for engaging youth. But in Burkina Faso, young family planning advocates realize it can ' t be the only tool.The Family Planning Youth Ambassador Program in Burkina Faso focuses on raising awareness about family planning and reproductive health services among our country ’s youth. We’ve engaged a lot of young people on the topic, but, as this testimonial from a young woman named Chantal shows, we were unintentionally leaving out many young people, namely married adolescents and out-of-school youth. “We’ve been speaking more and more about the sexual lives of adolescents. A lot of societal institutions tackle the subject of unwanted pregnancy and illegal abortions with young people. But it is the students who always come to school who mostly benefit from this advice. Little is done to raise awareness among young women like me who didn’t have the opportunity to go to school or who had to drop out for one reason or another. "I  often wonder why we aren’t considered young people, just like those students. It gives me the impression that we are rejects. " I often wonder why we aren ’t considered young people, just like those students. It gives me the impression that we are rejects. In the fight against unwanted pregnancy, those who do not attend school are sometimes left to their own fate. I left school in Grade 7 after the death of my mother. I came back to Zorgho two years ago to help my aunt run her small restaura...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Source Type: news