YONECO SRHR POLICY

SHAREFRAME CONFERENCE Salima - Malawi Mr. Samuel Bota Board Member

In this presentation…… ▬Yoneco in brief ▬Policy background ▬Policy vision and mission ▬Policy target group ▬Policy thematic areas ▬Policy strategic direction ▬Policy Benefits

Yoneco in brief  Youth serving NGO that seeks to empower youth, women and children, prevent the spread of HIV infection, mitigate the impact of AIDS, promote human rights and democracy for socio economic development  YONECO works in HIV and AIDS prevention activities, sexual and reproductive health and rights promotion and advocacy  Life skills development for youth for their own growth and development  Advocacy for improved services for youth in areas of education, SRH&R and GBV

Policy background  YONECO conducted a Needs Assessment on ‘SRHR Counselling Needs of Young People.’  Outcomes of the assessment will be discussed in detail in the policy rationale.

Youth Net and Counselling shall be committed to the provision, promotion, and advocacy for the availability, accessibility and acceptability of high quality sexual and reproductive health and rights services for social economic development of young people in Malawi. Comprehensive and integrated sexual and reproductive health and rights services for positive youth development in Malawi. Policy Vision Policy Mission

Policy Target Group Young boys and girls of 10 to 25 years old.  Malawi’s hope and as a means of protecting the next generation.  Prevalence of HIV and AIDS among 15 – 19 age is lower (3.7% for females and 0.4% for males).  increases from age group with an average of 13.2 (female) and 3.9 (male).  Youth must have the relevant information, skills and services to reduce their risk of HIV infection.

Policy Thematic Areas

Thematic one: Behaviour change among youth Needs Assessment Outcome;  High levels of unprotected sex among the youth i.e. low levels of condom use (50% of the respondents did not use a condom during their first and last sexual intercourse).  Low levels of health seeking behaviour among young people i.e. counseling.  Multiple sexual partners among young people i.e. study results showed that a section of the respondents had more than one sexual partner and High levels of early marriages.

To increase by 50% number of targeted youth showing traits of positive behavioral change in condom use, delayed sex and early marriage and health seeking behaviour by Objective

Thematic two: SRH, HIV and AIDS knowledge among service providers and youth Needs Assessment Outcome;  Contradictory approach and information in counselling and SRHR among service providers targeting the same youth.  Existence of myths and misconceptions on HIV prevention and transmission and pregnancy prevention.  Inadequate teachers with adequate SRH information  Traditional, family and peer counsellors with inadequate knowledge and skills

To increase the capacity of counseling and SRH&R service providers in provision of correct and consistent information on SRHR Objective

Thematic three: Skills development among counselling and SRH providers Needs Assessment Outcome;  Traditional counselors are open but they give misleading information and lack skills.  Lack of privacy and confidentiality among counsellors.  Lack of confidence among the non trained teachers to handle SRH subjects  Negative attitude of the teachers as they are not approachable and not open to the young people.  Negative attitude of health workers as they are not youth friendly and not readily available for the youth.

To promote adequate skills and confidence among counselors in counselling and SRH providers in provision of Youth Friendly SRH services by 25% by 2015 Objective

Thematic four: Enabling Environment Needs Assessment Outcome;  Health workers are the most preferred by the youth for counseling because they have the knowledge but they are not youth friendly and are not available.  Cultural and traditional beliefs are a barrier to communication on SRH&R information  Non accessibility of Male condoms and non availability of Female Condoms,  Need to expel the myths and misconception and give correct information,

To increase access to quality life skills programmes for both out and in school youth by undoing cultural and attitudinal barriers to communication of SRHR information by 2015 Objective

Strategies 1.Condom education programme among the youth especially the high risk groups 2.Life skills programmes among both in school and out of school youth 3.Mobilization and sensitization meetings with young people on the available health services 4.Implementation of a youth and child helpline 5.Mobilization and sensitization meetings with young people on behavioral change 6.Advocacy interventions targeting community and national decision makers 7.Capacity development in Peer education among peer leaders 8.Community stakeholders meetings with key traditional leaders

Strategies 9.Capacity development of community and traditional counsellors in counselling skills and SRHR information 10.Capacity development of teacher counsellors and patrons/ matrons of life skills clubs in counselling skills and SRHR information 11.Capacity development in youth friendly health services among health service providers 12.Production of IEC Materials on Youth friendly health services. 13.Promotion of Youth friendly health services through the media 14.Procurement and distribution of Youth friendly health service equipment for community health centers

Policy Strategic Direction  YONECO SRHR Programme links very well with National Education Programme i.e. Life Skills subject in schools  The policy recognizes that young peoples’ SRHR needs for information and services, and their risk for negative outcomes vary depending on many factors i.e. gender, poverty status  YONECO shall ensure participation and involvement of young people in design and implementation of SRHR interventions  YONECO shall use a positive approach of sexuality as opposed to a fear-based approach.  YONECO shall advocate against a fear-based approach that focuses on the dangers of becoming sexually active at a young age  YONECO shall promote and jealously guard the comprehensive use of ABCDEF+ messages in its Information, Communication and Education approaches

Policy Strategic Direction  YONECO shall equally provide in an equal and non discrimination manner, information on all issues deemed sensitive.  YONECO recognizes varying social norms in the communities in which it works However, YONECO shall condemn all social norms and cultural practices that put the lives of young people at risk  YONECO shall work and co-operates with health service providers from both government and private sector by among which building their capacity in YFHS.  The SRHR policy for YONECO corresponds to its workplace policies, related to HIV/AIDS and gender.  The Programme team in YONECO shall be responsible for the routine monitoring and evaluation based on set targets quarterly and annually.

Policy Benefits Promotion of a more coordinated approach in Youth SRHR programming within the organization and with different actors based on the needs of the youth and communities they live in. Provision of an opportunity for participatory review of progress and incorporation of other emerging SRHR needs of the youth.

Thank You