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The NeedTanzania has the second youngest population in East Africa, the median age of the population is 18 years. [1] By the age of 18, 2 in 5 girls are already married and over 50% are pregnant or already mothers. [2] There are a number of factors which have been linked to a high number of unplanned pregnancies. These are a legislative environment which permits girls to be married from the age of 15, 27.4% of contraceptive prevalence among females aged 15-19 [3] and when surveyed, less than 1 in 2 men aged 15-24 had used a condom in their last sexual encounter. [4] Females are often the greatest affected by sexual and reproductive health issues as early pregnancy leads to a lower proportion of females making it beyond secondary school education and HIV/AIDS statistics indicate that of the total population infected, 61% are female (2014). [5]
It has been shown that knowledge about sexual and reproductive health is generally high among the urban population who have attained secondary school level education but that other factors including stigma reduce the rates of people seeking sexual and reproductive health interventions [6]. Our WorkWorkshops
In 2019, the Health team put together a series of workshops targeting secondary school students aimed at addressing the issues within sexual and reproductive health. Over 80 students were reached through the workshops. The topics covered were sexually transmitted infections, early pregnancy, menstrual health management and sexual harassment. The content was produced by medical students volunteering on the project, the content was approved by qualified Tanzanian health professionals and community outreach nurses were present in the seminars to answer questions that the students had. Our workshops also incorporated 3D animations supplied by Tai Tanzania. The aim of the sessions was to destigmatise discussions around sexual and reproductive health. Given that one of the leading sources of sexual reproductive health in Tanzania, particularly among marginalised youth has been identified as peer educators, this was an element that we brought to our project. At the end of the summer, we launched Health clubs in the schools that hosted the workshops. These clubs have been provided with content, constitutions and were launched in the presence of organisations with a vested interest in the success of adolescent sexual reproductive health education. We aim for the clubs to run independently of CDI over the course of the year. Media Campaign Alongside the workshops in secondary schools, a sexual and reproductive health campaign was launched called “Tell-2-tell” again the aim was to destigmatise conversations around sexual and reproductive health. The campaign featured a website, social media pages including Facebook and WhatsApp group discussions and weekly appearances on radio and you run television station Mlimani TV. |
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