Angolan Celebrities Join Together on the World Day for Contraception and Prevention of Pregnancy in Adolescence
Contraception allows women to realize their right to decide if and when to have children and how many children they want to have. Worldwide, 218 million women of childbearing age want to avoid pregnancy, yet do not use a contraceptive method, nor do they have access to voluntary family planning. We need to change this paradigm.
Luanda, September 26, 2021 – Today is the World Day for Contraception and Prevention of Pregnancy in Adolescence. The UNPFA, in partnership with several public figures, recorded an advertising spot that calls for the use of contraceptives so that all women realize that it is their right to have children or not and that teenage pregnancy is one of the main causes of school dropout and maintenance of the cycle of poverty between future generations.
Dinamene Cruz, Zuleica Wilson, Igor Benza, Elizete Vasco and Geovany Comandala (TV presenters), Mell Chaves (Marketing Consultant), HoChi Fu (Director) and writers Helena Dias and Adão Zina are the public figures who embraced the challenge to appeal to people for the voluntary use of contraceptive methods to be promoted, for the message to reach everyone, so that we have fewer teenage mothers, less school dropouts and less poverty.
For Mell Chaves Marketing Consultant and mother of a teenager, Contraception is an important point of conversation between parents and children. “I make my daughter realize that all women have the right to decide if and when to have children, and how many she wants to have. Unfortunately, we have seen many teenage mothers, which demonstrates the lack of knowledge of prevention methods. It is a civic duty to help spread this appeal.”
“ 218 million women of childbearing age want to avoid pregnancy but do not use modern contraceptive methods or even have access to free voluntary family planning? We need to spread the message, we need people to realize that not using contraceptives has consequences such as unwanted pregnancies and dropping out of school. Dreams are postponed”, said Elizete Vasco.
For Dinamene Cruz, it was with pleasure that she accepted UNFPA's request, “it is always good to be able to help spread messages like these, which help, appeal and above all empower women to be women”, says the presenter.
Nowadays, there are a multitude of contraceptive methods that allow a better quality of life and choose whether or not to get pregnant. The choice of a contraceptive method that the woman likes, the dissemination of information about preventive and educational measures on sexuality and reproductive health, help to prevent teenage pregnancy.
For Igor Benza and Zuleica Wilson, this was not the first time they support UNFPA causes and want to continue spreading messages. “Unfortunately, every day we hear about teenage mothers who have dropped out of school because they need to be mothers. They abandoned their dreams and projects because they didn't know where and how to do family planning” says Zuleica Wilson.
World Contraception Day is celebrated from 2007 to September 26 worldwide. The date was created with the aim of highlighting the importance of informing the population about the different types of contraception that exist and the advantages of family planning.
Health and education are the main pillars for a healthy, responsible and happy society. This date helped people to reflect on the importance of physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health.
Worldwide, more than 41% of pregnancies that occur each year are unplanned. According to data released by the World Health Organization (WHO), around 16 million girls under 18 years of age give birth annually and in this age group there are 28% more changes in dying from childbirth than in young women. 20 to 24 years old.
The 26th of September, World Day for Contraception and Prevention of Pregnancy in Adolescence, is an initiative of non-governmental organizations and international societies, with worldwide support from Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals and takes place in about 70 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America . A way to bring more information to young people, educate about sexual health and contraceptive methods to prevent an unplanned pregnancy.
To access the advertising spot and other matters, access the UNFPA Angola page: