It is a taboo subject that we tend to steer clear of to save ourselves embarrassment.
Today, Dr. Lawrence Zessler, representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) office in the Pacific, spoke about the issues surrounding the area and the importance of using education to get through to youth.
“Our mission is clear. We try to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe and every young person – you – has the possibility to fulfill your full potential.”
UNFPA’s work includes promoting gender equality, the empowerment of women, supporting adolescent and youth and responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“You have to make informed choices about sexuality and reproduction,” Lawrence said.
In regards to young people he says there is no debate about the fact that adolescents have earlier, pre-marital sex.
Young people may have less access to contraceptives and are, as well as adults, exposed to sexually transmitted infections such as HIV.
Lawrence said there are key issues that need to be addressed such as unwanted pregnancies that lead to unsafe abortions practices.
Our countries have sex workers who are often quite young and facing difficulties. We see cases of violence and rape and need to support sexual identity and preference. Alcohol and drugs are also a reality, especially among the youth scene, which affects their decisions regarding sex.
There are also issues regarding the availability or presence of health care professionals during birth.
“Women here should go safely through their pregnancy and on to safe childbirth. If a woman is able to deliver with the help of a healthcare professional she is less likely to die at the delivery of her child.”
Lawrence explained that in Papua New Guinea, only 47 per cent of the births have a health care provider present. This results in a higher death rate than countries such as Solomon Islands and Fiji where, respectively, 72 per cent and 100 per cent of births have a health care professional, reducing the death rate of mothers and babies.
“Unfortunately in the Pacific we have a very high rate of teenage pregnancies. Approximately 30,000 teenage pregnancies occur each year in the Pacific.”
Countries that have been recorded as having the highest rates of teenage pregnancy are Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
“Teenage pregnancies are fortunately coming down, but are still very high on some islands. Youth do have access to contraception and information at health care centres, but sometimes the embarrassment is enough to stop them.
“You can go to the health centre but sometimes people are too proud to buy because people are going to look at you. And the smaller the island is, the more they know you.”
Lawrence also said that it is difficult to collect data about contraception, as people do not want to discuss the taboo topic.
“It means that young girls are getting pregnant because they are not aware. They are not informed.
“This is where education comes into the picture. When you go to school, you should be able to get information about sexuality.
“Maybe your parents don’t like to talk about it so the school has to inform you. This is what we work on. We are making sure that sexual education is included in the school curriculum.”
These problems are coming to the forefront, but with more education to inform and raise awareness we can help youth and adults from all across the Pacific become more knowledgeable about their sexual and reproductive health.
If we, as young people, take initiative on these issues we can encourage those within our own communities to make a change and realise the importance of discussing sexual health.
By Courtney Smyth – United Youth Media

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