Currently, there are more than 1 billion youth — defined by the U.N. as people between the ages of 15 and 24 — living throughout the world, the majority of them in developing countries. However, this largest-ever generation is disproportionately affected and neglected across a range of development indicators — health, employment, education, nutrition, poverty and more.
Young people are especially vulnerable to negative reproductive health outcomes. Globally, pregnancy and childbirth-related complications are the leading cause of death for women 15-19 years old, less than 5 percent of the world's poorest young people use modern contraceptive methods, adolescent girls in developing countries undergo at least 2.2 to 4 million unsafe abortions each year and youth account for more than 100 million cases of curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) contracted each year.
"As a marginalized group, young women are at greater risk of resorting to unsafe abortions," said Ipas Associate for Youth Programs Laura Villa. "Subsequently, this means that their risk of dying or being injured from unsafe abortions is also greater."
Even in developed countries, adolescents often lack access to and information on sexual and reproductive health, including youth-friendly services and contraceptives; however, in developing regions, an inability to access services and information can be a death sentence. Adolescents account for more than one-half of the 67,000 unsafe abortion-related deaths each year and more than 7,000 young women and girls contract HIV every day.
Youth today are reaching puberty and engaging in sexual behavior earlier — which poses its own unique challenges — but, compounded with poverty, stigma and gender discrimination, further hinders young people's, and especially young women's, ability to achieve positive, healthy futures for themselves, their families and communities.
Adolescent pregnancy and its associated consequences — increased risks of pregnancy-related complications, such as prolonged, obstructed labor, obstetric fistula, mother-to-child HIV transmission and malnutrition, decreased social capital, increased likelihood of living in poverty and an inability to access education — are most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where more than half of girls give birth by age 20. However, adolescent pregnancy also poses significant problems in Southeast Asia, almost one-quarter of girls in the region give birth by age 18, and — running counter to global trends — adolescent birth rates are on rise in some Latin American countries.
Students in Brazil — where each year adolescents account for more than 18 percent of the 250,000 hospitalizations related to unsafe abortion, the fourth-leading cause of maternal death in the country — are tackling this challenge head on.
In commemoration of International Youth Day, on August 12, Brazilian students will depart for the Caravana da Saúde, Educação e Cultura, or Health, Education and Culture Tour. The Ministry of Health-sponsored Caravana is being led by the União Nacional dos Estudantes (UNE), Brazil’s national student union, and it will visit 42 universities in 26 states across the country to discuss issues related to education, culture and health — including legalizing abortion.
In July 2008, Ipas met with 25 Brazilian student activists from six regions to develop activities for the tour and discuss issues surrounding abortion, including legality, feminism, religion, public health and human rights. Several universities will have activities focusing on abortion, and others will discuss sexual and reproductive health and gender violence more generally.
"I think we increased our knowledge about abortion," said one participant. "Even more, we are on the way to consolidate our work and role as young women and activists at the UNE. The student women's movement is increasingly taking more spaces without asking for permission [and continues to] play a key role in this fight."
Ipas is working closely with the students and is planning to participate in activities at the universities where abortion will be discussed. Villa believes collaborating with youth as partners is an instrumental step in raising awareness and changing policy:
"Ipas has identified youth not only as a target population for our activities, but youth activists as key partners to continue advocating for liberalizing laws in those countries that still have legal restrictions on accessing this basic reproductive health option."
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