Christine Washington Davis of the Christian HIV and AIDS Network of Liberia and Seventh Day Adventist Church discusses the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and HIV infection among Liberian adolescents and how her organization is addressing the challenge.

1. ADOLESCENT SEXUAL & REPRODUCTIVE
HEALTH: REDUCING TEENAGE PREGNANCIES
AND STIS/HIV/AIDS AMONGST YOUNG
PEOPLE IN LIBERIA

2. MAP OF LIBERIA

3. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
Liberia’s overall maternal mortality rate is
994/100,000 live births, one of the highest in sub-
Saharan Africa.
Contributing factors are:
1. 1.High rates of unplanned pregnancies;10%
of children under 15 get pregnant(RECENT UNICEF
REPORT ON THE SITUTATION OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN
LIBERIA)
2. Induced unsafe abortions
3. Poor youth knowledge of sexual reproductive
health (SRH)
4. Lack of such services targeting young people

4. The Rapid Assessment Analysis and
Action planning (RAAAP), 2009
discovered that:
1. 50% of female youth surveyed had
already started child bearing, and
2. 52% of them reported a first choice for
child bearing during teenage years.
Early marriages with the resulting early
fertility are culturally motivated placing
young mothers and their children at
high risk of morbidity and mortality.
Based on these findings, our focus
was solely directed to the youth in
Liberia. Liberia have a youthful
population which is between the ages
of 10-35yr,it also make up 55.6% of the
total population.

5. Therefore, the program
decided to engages
Adolescents to promote their
own Reproductive and Sexual
Health Care.

6. Objectives:
 Youth friendly health facility established
established and ASRH counseling and
related services provided in four county by
by 2013
 36 county wide sensitization campaigns
campaigns concerning ASRH using drama
drama groups, radio, town hall meetings,
meetings, and stakeholder conferences
conducted in every districts by 2013
 80 Peer Educators selected from 40 newly
newly formed community action Groups (5
(5 members from each group) targeting
youth in and out of school trained by 2013
2013

7.  2 VCT (Voluntary HIV counseling
and testing Centers) specifically
targeting youths who are not being
tested established
 Community register for all
adolescent pregnancies set up by
2011
 Train 30 health professionals from
fifteen selected health facilities in
the provision of youth friendly
services trained by 2013.

8. The activities include:
Construction of youth-friendly reproductive
health units at existing health facilities to
ensure easy access to quality Sexual
Reproductive Health services.
 Build the capacity of community outreach
workers such as Traditional Trained Midwives
and county level certified midwives to increase
provider competence in reproductive health
care services in selected facilities.
Train health care workers in the provision of
youth friendly services.

9. Provide in-service training for health facility
staff on STIs and proper use of contraceptive
devices.
Train, engage, and equip a cadre of youth
peer educators in and out of school to carry
out awareness raising amongst their peer,
distribute RH IEC materials and Condoms.

10. Process and Results:
 An enabling environment for boy and girls of
12-14 years by engaging them and ensuring
universal access to quality youth-friendly sexual
and reproductive health services.
 Community-based Adolescent Sexual &
Reproductive Health services engaged on
educating boys and girls of 12-17 years on their
sexuality and reproduction and assisting them in
developing their life skills needed to address their
sexual and reproductive health issues.

11. Reproductive health education campaigns
were through community radios and
community based drama groups in local
languages widely spoken in Liberia.
 Awareness raising campaigns were
complemented by billboards, cell phone text
messages, many other IEC/BCC materials
and condom distribution among youth and
general population.

12. The open air street-to-street and door –to
door encounters with local staff in the
communities to promote RH
awareness, engaged on distribution of condoms
and IEC materials has proven worthwhile.
B.) Established youth –friendly reproductive
health units at existing health facilities in
targeted districts to ensure easy access to
quality sexual Reproductive Health Services.

13. C.) The capacity of community outreach
workers such as Traditional Trained
Midwives (TTMs), and county level certified
midwives to increase provider ability in
reproductive health care services in selected
facilities.
D.) Established organizations such as the
youth assembly of the Federation of Liberian
Youth (FLY),which are already servicing
young people in it awareness raising efforts
were used.

14. Lessons from experience
The project has built a long term and
intense relationship with the youth and
allowed us to work on the basic of
trust with them.
 This provided us the real opportunity
engage community leaders in
youth in their reproductive needs.
Community participation generated a
sense of ownership and helps to sustain
services at community level. The
of a cross-section of the community (
women, teachers, parents etc.)

15. Group meetings and
discussions, training and engaging
community action groups, exchange
visits and youth-media participation
influenced social/traditional norms to
become more open to healthy behavior
choices.
The use of members of County level
youth assemblies promoted ownership
for sustaining youth-friendly RH services
in various districts.
There are visible evidences sexual
behavior change among youth men and
women.

16. All is not lost: from teenage pregnancy and
. back to school
Miatta Karnley, a pregnant teenage girl who
once had a dream of going to school to
become a successful future leader
Miatta, a 17 year old pregnant girl who is faced
with the harsh realities of early teenage
pregnancy

17. Miatta had a baby girl, but she is clouded
with mountain financial and social
pressures
Miatta is now in the 9th grade back to school
and standing at the door of her classroom.