.png?sfvrsn=6d0e27cd_1 "Partnership for Change - v7 (1)")
The prevention of pregnancy in adolescents has become a challenge for the public health systems of the SICA Member States and South America, therefore, for the Executive Secretariat of the Council of Ministers of Health of Central America and the Dominican Republic ( SE-COMISCA) and for the Andean Health Organization-Hipólito Unanue Agreement (ORAS-CONHU) it is necessary to explore the causes, effects and mechanisms of promotion, prevention and improvement of reproductive health, sexual rights and quality of life of adolescents and families facing a pregnancy with economic difficulties, access to health and social integration, with the goal of building safe spaces for comprehensive family development and consolidating a more equitable, just and inclusive society on the continent.
In general, it could be mentioned that the majority of unwanted pregnancies occur in asymmetrical power relations, with negative effects both on individuals and on the closest family circles, and with negative impacts on schooling and on the comprehensive development of families. . At the same time, young people with diminished hopes who require state attention to continue with the pregnancy and childbirth process, in addition to subsequent processes of accompaniment and social assistance to complement development.
With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on the health and social systems of most countries, it is mandatory to resume attention to issues as relevant as the prevention of adolescent pregnancy. The Regional Study on Adolescent Equity and Fertility (EREFA), carried out by COMISCA, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in 2019 concludes that, although there has been a rate of decrease in pregnancy in adolescents in recent years, the rate is not enough, since in 2018 the Latin American and Caribbean region had the second highest fertility rate in women aged 15 to 19 in the world , second only to Sub-Saharan Africa.
The pandemic made it difficult to access contraceptive methods and medical care in sexual and reproductive health services, according to a study carried out by UNFPA in conjunction with John Hopkins University in 2020 entitled: " Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family planning and the elimination of gender violence, female genital mutilation and child marriage" conclude that the longer the period of confinement will multiply the number of pregnancies in the population, making estimates of 3 months of confinement could be equivalent to 325 thousand pregnancies, a period of 6 months would become 2 million pregnancies worldwide.
It is in these contexts of economic inequality, asymmetrical power relations, difficult access to contraceptive methods and gender violence towards adolescents under 15 years of age, that we must reflect on a multi-causal social phenomenon that affects young men and women and that hinders the educational processes and integral and social growth.
PMNCH Board Chair, Helen Clark will be speaking at the event.