“Globally, there is no evidence that increased access to contraceptives makes adolescents more sexually active. Global research has in fact proven that abstinence as the only approach is not effective, and abstinence combined with sexual education wherein they would have proper access to information about contraceptive use is more successful,” UNFPA country representative Dr. Leila Joudane told a House committee on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2023.
—a troubling statistic that negates the reduction in pregnancies among 15- to 19-year-olds to 5.4% in 2022 from 8.5% in 2017. “These 1.1 million learners only account for 3.4% of 32 million learners aged five to 19 who need to have access to CSE now,” Joudane stressed.Joudane said there is also a need to ensure that adolescents have greater accessibility to sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning and contraceptives, even without parental consent.
This translates to a maternal mortality rate of 102 per 100,000 live births in the 15–19 age group, she added. “We need an adolescent-friendly environment so they can find help and have proper information on how to protect themselves from unintended pregnancies and, if they are already pregnant, to prevent repeated pregnancy [at a young age],” she added.
“That is why it is important to accelerate the CSE so that adolescents will have the correct information which would allow them to have informed and responsible decisions,” she added.