International Conference on Adolescent Health

The most serious mental and physical health problems of adolescents and the solutions to these challenges were discussed during the 21^st edition of the European Conference of the International Association for Adolescent Health, held for the first time in Republic of Moldova during 3-5 October. The event gathered over 500 young people and professionals in the field of adolescent health and development from over 30 countries, our country being the first in Eastern Europe to host this conference.

The participants discussed a number of topics related to adolescent health, including the access to health services, violence, harassment at school, etc. At the same time, proposals on how adolescents can participate more actively in promoting healthy lifestyles were made. In total, 13 workshops, 4 plenary sessions, 2 plenary discussion and debate sessions, 12 thematic symposia, including a forum of young leaders, were organised during the conference.

At the opening of the conference, Boris Gilca, Secretary General at the Ministry of Health, Social Protection and Family, mentioned that the event was an excellent opportunity for experience exchange, so that the participating countries could undertake more commitments to protect the health of young people.

‘Many years ago, together with other colleagues, we laid the foundation for the adolescent health strategy and the first youth-friendly clinic, here in Moldova. We’ve made a tremendous work over these years, and today we can say that it was and is extremely productive, since all these services are integrated into state services and budget, being funded from the social insurance fund. Now we can and want to hand this experience to other regions and countries’, Boris Gilca said.

UNICEF supported the setting up of youth-friendly centers

In her turn, Desiree Jongsma, UNICEF Representative in Moldova, said the institution she represents has assumed a long-term responsibility in relation to young people, namely to ensure their health and well-being. UNICEF supported the setting up of youth-friendly centers, which now cover 25% of 10-24-year-old adolescents and young people nationwide.

‘Services for the most vulnerable young people in the country will be further supported. These services must be provided as part of the healthcare system reform. Each physician needs to make sure that adolescent’s confidentiality, privacy and protection of the best interest are respected and guaranteed’, Desiree Jongsma mentioned.

Over 50,000 young people benefit from the services provided by the youth-friendly centers

Susan Sawyer, President of the International Association of Adolescent Health (IAAH), who came to the conference from Melbourne (Australia), said it was the first time this Conference was organised in Eastern Europe.

‘We are 500 participants coming from over 30 countries, and we believe it is the largest conference on adolescent health in Europe. Young people represent the future of our communities and we must take care of them’, the expert said.

According to Galina Lesco, Head of ‘Neovita’ Youth-Friendly Health Center, young people in Moldova are facing a number of issues, such as those related to their development, sexual and reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, as well as unintended pregnancies. ‘It’s paramount for us to have an individual approach, based on respect and understanding, in order to help the adolescents. As many as 41 youth-friendly health centers have been opened in the country over the last few years. Multidisciplinary teams work there in order to meet adolescents’ needs. Every year, 50,000 young people benefit from the services provided by these health centers, and more than 200,000 have returned in the last years for help’, the specialist added.

Lack of communication with adults – one of the problems young people struggle with

In their turn, the young participants in the conference listed on a sheet of paper all the problems they and their peers face. Since September, Neovita Expert Volunteer Group has conducted studies on seven problems young people face, including school bullying, domestic violence, stress, decreasing trust in parents, etc. The results of these studies were also presented during the conference. The authors claim that one third of the adolescents have a parent or both abroad, which would cause a problem of communication in family. The bullying, violence, unprotected sex, unintended pregnancies, etc. are other major problems the young people deal with.

One of the conference participants, Ecaterina Pitula, is 19 years old and is a student at ‘Alexe Mateevici’ Pedagogical College, and for almost half a year, she volunteers for ‘Neovita’ Youth-Friendly Health Center. As a volunteer, Ecaterina and her colleagues inform and try to help the young people to gain confidence in themselves, but also to motivate them to engage actively in the community life and promote healthy lifestyles. She believes that the lack of access to specialised psychological services is one of the key problems related to young people’s health. ‘Many young people have psychological problems, and in the Republic of Moldova this realm is far from being developed to the extent we’d like it to be, and this extremely necessary profession is not promoted enough’, she believes.

Sorin Cenusa, volunteer at the Youth-Friendly Center in Balti, believes that such events are an excellent opportunity to identify solutions to the problems the young generation face.‘In my opinion, violence, discrimination, communication issues and parent-child relationships are the most serious problems the young generation face.’As national trainer in the reproductive health of young people, Sorin conducted trainings in several districts of the country, e.g. Cantemir, Cahul, Drochia, Falesti, and states that many young people have no access to trainings in this field. ‘Because they don’t have access to accurate information, many young people cannot make responsible decisions about their health.’

At the end of the Conference, the participants signed a resolution they will submit to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection and which, as the organisers believe, should lay the foundation of the new adolescent development strategy and other documents to be developed for this realm.

The 21^st edition of the European Conference of the International Association for Adolescent Health was organised by the ‘Health for Youth’ NGO in the Republic of Moldova and the National Resource Center on Youth Friendly Health Services ‘Neovita’ in conjunction with the International Association for Adolescent Health, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection, Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, State University of Medicine and Pharmacy ‘Nicolae Testemitanu’ and EuTEACH. The conference was supported by the Swiss Cooperation in Moldova (SDC), World Health Organization, Country Office in Republic of Moldova, UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE) and UNICEF Moldova.