Prevention of Adolescent Reproductive Health Related Problems

Prevention of alcoholism

As it has been discussed under substance abuse session, alcohol exposes individuals to different grave health consequences. Therefore, specific preventive measures have to be designed to avert these effects in the community.

Measures to prevent alcoholism

• Educate students in schools in the kebele on the consequences of alcoholic drinks on their health;
• Disseminate adequate information and education to raise the awareness of communities to enable them to participate in sustained efforts to prevent the youth from alcoholism and its adverse consequences on health;
• Provide adequate information and education to raise the awareness of communities on alcoholism to help them grow their children with care, to be responsible citizens;
• Some young farmers travel to nearby towns and get drunk and are triggered to fight between themselves or some of them practice sex that may result in the infection of HIV/AIDS and other STIs. Therefore, the young farmers have to be made aware of these negative consequences.

Prevention of use of highly addictive substances and drugs

Khat, hashish and cannabis are the major known addictive substances that cause different health and related problems. Specific intervention strategies have to be practised to combat the health and social problems associated with these substances.

Measures to prevent health and related problems caused by addictive substances and drugs

• Provide planned health education to communities in kebeles and nearby schools.
• Provide adequate information and education focused on the grave consequences of khat and other addictive substances to communities in general and the youth in particular. These activities should take place in youth forums in the form of dramas, discussions, etc. by elderly and religious people.
• The health extension workers in collaboration with the agriculture extension workers should make continuous efforts to convince and influence the youth and adult farmers to acquire their income by harvesting other cash crops such as coffee, fruits, vegetables, etc. instead of the harmful khat and other addiction substances.
• Provide planned and continuous health education to the rural population only to use drugs officially prescribed by health workers.

Prevention of youth social problems

Social problems that affect the youth also have an effect on their health. Some of the major anticipated social problems include the following:

• The act of sex harassment, abduction and rape on female youth.
• Assaulting and harming female youth.
• Attacking & abducting female youth for marriage.
• Migrating to cities in search of employment.
• Due to divorce and attraction by city-life, female youth migrates to cities and become commercial sex workers.
• The absence of legal premises to allow female youth to have the right to equally access to decision over properties and /or wealth common to husband and wife.
• The female youth is forced by parents to be out of school either to serve at home or to get married at early age.

Interventions needed to prevent social problems

The activities of a health extension worker mainly focus on the prevention and control of diseases. It is essential, however, that the health extension worker clearly understands and keeps a record of the social problems of the youth, their causes and contributing factors and their health impact. The prevention of social problems of the youth can be realised only if relevant measures are applied with the full and active participation of communities. Creating enabling environment for their implementation is an important asset. In addition, the following activities need to be undertaken:

• Create a mechanism for the sustained provision of adequate information to raise the awareness and bring concrete behavioural changes in communities to reduce and/or eliminate rape; abduction forced marriage and assault.
• To organise the youth and communities at large to fight and prevent the abduction and raping of females, adequate information and intensive education need to be given on social and related health problems.
• Create an enabling environment and establish adolescent reproductive health centres where the youth can easily discuss among themselves about adolescent reproductive health and youth-focused social problems.
• Organise in the youth centre, meetings of professionals, elderly persons, development workers, religious and tribal leaders to exchange their experiences on youth health and social issues.