By Alfred Koroma
In a bid to promote reproductive health and enhance family planning awareness, Health Alert, a health advocacy organisation has on the 17th October engaged youth, adolescents, health workers, religious and traditional leaders, and other stakeholders in Kambia, discussing issues around family planning in the District.
The Organization has continuously engaged young people and community stakeholders in Kambia, Port Loko and Western Area Rural Districts on family planning after it launched the ‘Youth for Health Sierra Leone’ initiative in 2022.
With support from Marie Stopes and EU, the initiative is aimed at improving access to family planning commodities by providing reproductive health information to stakeholders and empowering youth and adolescents to take control of their reproductive choices.
“As an organisation, we just want to see young people feel free to visit health centres and take family planning without going through stigma,” Health Alert Advocacy and Communication Officer, Mohamed Awuah Kamara said. “It’s their right to do so. We want the community to accept that.”
He said there have been success stories in the engagement which they often hold to ascertain the challenges adolescent and youth face in trying to access family planning commodities.
We have been able to train health workers on how to deal with adolescents when they go for the commodities, and engage traditional and religious leaders, he added, hoping those engaged are able to replicate and cascade all they have learned from the meetings.
Health workers in Kambia who spoke at the recent meeting said awareness about family planning is growing, but the major challenge has to do with convincing parents to allow their children take contraceptives.
They said most parents still have a negative view about contraceptive pills because of their religious and traditional background.
“We have a friendly adolescent corner, but there are challenges with the parents,”Alusine Mambu, a health worker at Rokupr and Chiefdom Supervisor said. “Some people believe their culture and religion doesn’t allow them to take family planning.”
“There are times when a young person visits our centre and takes contraceptives, the next day she comes back with her parents, saying remove what you implanted in my child,” Mambu explained.
The problem is not with the children but their parents, Isata Michela Conteh, a Nurse at Bamoi Luma said, recalling how she recently gave a 13 year old girl captain a band, but her mother furiously took her back to remove it.
Family planning had to involve everybody’s efforts. Awareness is still not enough, she said.
Way forward
The Youth for Health Sierra Leone initiative implemented by Health Alert is part of a larger effort in the fight against high rates of teenage pregnancy and maternal health challenges facing the country.
Concluding the daylong event on Thursday, the participants suggested some ways they think family planning can best work to tackle teenage pregnancy.
Pastor, Wesleyan Church of Sierra Leone, J.S Fofanah said the way forward is to encourage parents to allow their children join family planning once they realise they are sexually active.
“Family planning, according to scripture, is not bad, but sex outside marriage is sin,” he said.
Abdula K Kamara, a Civil Society Activist said parents need to monitor their children, tell them about sex and the importance of prevention and family planning. “Parents should have good communication about sexual reproductive health with their children.”
“Before you keep checking your child to know if she’s still a virgin, give her contraceptives,”Kadie Kanu, a health worker at Gbalamuya said.
