Summer Holidays: Youth2Youth campaigns against teenage pregnancy, abortion in Bamenda

By Martial Gnoukapasir

Mr Ngong Justin talking to the press

The youth centered organization which focuses on the sexual reproductive health and rights of mostly teenagers and adolescents in Bamenda has started training youth champions who will via the media and other mediums, engage their peers on issues of reproductive health within this summer holiday period.

The campaign program titled;

"Abortion free summer holidays for teenagers and adolescents"

by the Youth2Youth organisation according to the project coordinator Mr Ngong Justin, has been motivated after disturbing statistics revealed by UNFPA for sub sharan Africa indicates that 50% of pregnancies amongst adolescents are unwanted and about 50% of these pregnancies end up in clandestine abortions.

SOGOC- ACAC statistics on abortion as presented

" We initiated this project because there's been an increase in teenage pregnancy as a result of the crisis and non effective running of schools. We're happy with the resources put at our disposal by our partner SOGOC, to run this program and we have as objectives to train in total, 100 youth champions with age ranging from 15-24 years. We also have as objective to train 10 media men and women on how to report topics relating to adolescent reproductive health and rights so they can accompany us to keep the conversation and sensitization needed by teenagers going" Mr Ngong Justin said

Dr Enow Awa Stevens lectures on sex education

On hand to facilitate the training of the media actors engaged by the project was Dr Enow Awa Stevens, a reproductive health technician and executive director of the organization for health and sustainable development who gave lectures on sex education, emphaszing on the need for not just the Media but parents and guardians as well, to not see the aspect of discussing sex at home with their children as a taboo subject.

"Many people shy away from talking about it with their children at home and in the community, which isn't correct. Humans are sexual being, so parents must develope the culture of talking about this to their kids and call some parts like the vagina, penis the way they are during such conversations. There are some words that must be spoken the way they are like I did in my presentation, take for example Abortion , it's not a bad thing to talk about it yet it's something that's not well received by the population" he said.

Media actors receiving lessons

He made mention of the fact that reproductive health has its language which must be spoken and their meaning understood by all, so people could master and be able to make informed decisions, especially teenagers and adolescents, on their reproductive health and rights.

Group picture of stakeholders