Twenty Years After International Conference on Population and Development: Where Are We With Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights?

Abstract

The International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 laid out a bold, clear, and comprehensive definition of reproductive health and called for nations to meet the educational and service needs of adolescents to enable them to deal in a positive and responsible way with their sexuality. In the context of the ongoing review of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action and the considerations for a post-2015 development agenda, this article summarizes the findings of the articles presented in this volume and identifies key challenges and critical answers that need to be tackled in addressing adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights. The key recommendations are to link the provision of sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services; build awareness, acceptance, and support for youth-friendly SRH education and services; address gender inequality in terms of beliefs, attitudes, and norms; and target the early adolescent period (10-14 years). The many knowledge gaps, however, point to the pressing need for further research on how to best design effective adolescent SRH intervention packages and how best to deliver them.

Opinions of Health Professionals on Tailoring Reproductive Health Services to the Needs of Adolescents

“…Our study results are similar to that of Bankole et al, (2010) which found that access to sexual and reproductive health services including sexual education was still a challenge, worldwide [13]. A recent review of progress with adolescent sexual and reproductive health over the past twenty years showed a chronic lack of access to sexual and reproductive health information and services [15]. Some other studies have reported similar findings [14, 16, 17].…”

Knowledge, Experiences and Beliefs in the Sexual Field: A Study of 1st and 2nd Year High School Students From Different Socioeconomic Backgrounds

“…Mas, ainda que se considere essa possível limitação, estudos revelam alto nível de desconhecimento dos adolescentes sobre as partes, as funções e mudanças do corpo, sobre menstruação, contracepção e a sexualidade de modo geral. 5,24,25 Retomando as possíveis limitações quanto ao desenho utilizado para a identificação das estruturas dos genitais externos masculino e feminino, cabe ressaltar que os alunos da escola A apresentaram percentual de acerto acima de 75% para todas as estruturas. Além disso, na aplicação do teste-piloto não houve qualquer relato quanto à dificuldade de entendimento do desenho e da associação com a fisiologia de cada estrutura.…”

“…O que a literatura enfatiza é que tanto os professores quanto familiares não se sentem preparados ou capacitados para assumirem o papel de orientadores 7,25 e que é premente a busca por alternativas investigativas e interventivas que deem amplitude às discussões sobre sexualidade com os adolescentes, 25 incluindo abordagens como sexo, geração, violência nas relações de intimidade, direitos sexuais e reprodutivos e acessibilidade aos serviços de saúde e o protagonismo dos adolescentes em sua forma de ser e viver sua sexualidade.…”

Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Birinci Sınıftaki Kız Öğrencilerin Genital Hijyen Uygulamaları

“…Bu öncelikli gruplardan birisi adölesanlar ve gençlerdir [2,3]. Dünya Sağlık Örgütüne (DSÖ)'ne göre 15-24 yaş arası olarak tanımlanan gençlik dönemi çocukluk ile erişkinlik arasında yaşanan, gencin toplumsal yerini araştırdığı; fiziksel, psikolojik ve sosyal olgunluğa erişmeye çalıştığı uzun ve riskli bir dönemdir [4][5][6][7].…”