Improving adolescent health
Promoting better services and responses to adolescent health
Challenges
Adolescents are often neglected in health policies and experience many barriers in accessing friendly health services and information especially on sexual and reproductive health (SHR), HIV prevention, treatment, and care.
Despite strong national progress in reducing overall HIV prevalence, adolescent girls remain at risk of HIV transmission.
There is high levels of knowledge and awareness of HIV among the population including adolescents. However, adolescents continue to engage in risky sexual practices, with young women aged 15–24 most at risk of HIV infection.
Many of these young women, find it difficult to have access to adolescent friendly sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services such as family planning and HIV testing and treatment.
Namibia has a population of 2.3 million of which 1.8 million is adolescents
Solutions
Adolescents experience greater expectations surrounding their role in society and more significant peer relationships as they transition from a situation of dependency to one of greater autonomy.
To assist them during this transition UNICEF Namibia is working with the Government of Namibia and various partners to provide an integrated, adolescent-friendly sexual reproductive health programme. The programme includes HIV prevention, treatment and care especially for adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV); support of menstrual health and hygiene interventions, with a special focus on adolescent girls and young women.
Our overall goal is to:
- improving the level of implementation of Adolescent Friendly Health Services (AFHS).
- ensure universal access to appropriate primary health care and health-oriented counseling and advisory support.
- and creating timely evidence to inform adolescent policy and service responses.