LUANDA, Angola - Committed to ‘Empowering young people to make informed and conscious decisions’, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), held the 5th National Conference on the Sexual and Reproductive Health of Adolescents and Young People on 31 May.

Dra Marina Coelho, UNFPA Assistant Representative, spoke on behalf of the UNFPA Angola Representative, Dr Mady Biaye. Referring to the importance of this Conference, she pointed out: ‘Since 65 per cent of the country's population is made up of people under the age of 25, all policies and strategies must be designed with a focus on this population of adolescents and young people, who in the future will make the necessary changes in the country, for the sustainable economic and social development that the country wants to achieve’.  However, he mentioned that one of the aspects that can hinder the development of adolescents and young people is centred on the challenges that adolescents and young people still face in terms of sexual health and reproductive rights.’

On the occasion, the Minister for Youth and Sports, Rui Falcão Pinto de Andrade, emphasised that: ‘despite the existing initiatives, issues related to the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, teenage pregnancy, sexual and reproductive rights, gender and equality all need to be given special attention by all the forces involved in the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases’.

The Secretary of State for the Family and the Promotion of Women, Alcina Cunha Kindanda, emphasised that the Social Action, Family and Gender Equality Offices have created mechanisms to respond to the needs of adolescents and young people. On the other hand, she mentioned that the challenges are great for the country's adolescents and young people to have access to adequate sexual and reproductive health information, without limitations. 

In his speech, the Secretary of State for Public Health, Dr Carlos Alberto Pinto de Sousa, said that between 2022 and 2023, the Ministry of Health, with the support of different partners, including UNFPA, reactivated and equipped 218 Adolescent and Youth Friendly Reproductive Health Services throughout the country, and in the same period trained 1557 health technicians in Family Planning.  He spoke of the challenges: ‘The Ministry of Health's main challenges in the context of sexual and reproductive health are to disseminate information to communities, reducing the number of early pregnancies and the number of unsafe abortions.’

The Minister of Education, Luísa Maria Alves Grilo, spoke about the consequences of a lack of information on sexual and reproductive health, especially the negative impact on the school performance of adolescents and young people. At another point, she emphasised the Ministry's actions on SRH issues, in particular PAT II and SYP, both implemented in partnership with UNFPA.

The event set aside a panel to discuss the Government's Programmes on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), with the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Health, Education, Social Action, Family and Women's Promotion, UNFPA and the National Youth Director.

Another panel discussed the engagement of UN agencies, namely UNICEF and UNDP, in the implementation of SRH programmes for adolescents and young people, including the SMS Jovem/UReport platform.

The panel on ‘The participation of Civil Society Organisations in promoting SRH education for adolescents and young people’ included representatives from the AfriYAN Angola Network, the Youth Support Centre (CAJ), the Angolan Network of HIV and AIDS Service Organisations (ANASO) and the Youth of the Angolan Council of Christian Churches (JUCICA).

(The activity was attended by members of the Government, Civil Society Organisations, the United Nations Agency and private entities)

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Dorivaldo Caetano | Social Media Associate