National Adolescent and Youth Friendly Service Guideline was launched in Vientiane on Feb 26, 2018

Chittaphong Xayalard

(KPL) The National Adolescent and Youth Friendly Service Guideline about reproductive and sexual health information services was launched by the Ministry of Health in association with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vientiane on Feb 26.

The NAYFS guideline is a training guide for health care providers, including midwives, clinical officers and doctors in all health facilities aiming to strengthen the capacity of service providers to respond to specific needs of adolescents more effectively with greater sensitivity and it will make services more accessible, appropriate and effective, so that adolescents and young people can access to the information they need to make responsible decision and access health services.

In the Lao PDR, more than half (58%) of population is under 25 years old, and there are more than 700,200 adolescent girls aged 10 to 19 years.

The adolescent birth rate is one of the highest in the region plus only 2 in 5 adolescent girls delivered with skilled birth attendants and 1 in 6 maternal deaths occurred among girls aged 15-19.

“It is very important to make this guideline for Lao PDR because we know that the adolescent pregnancy is still very high, and it is the highest in the ASEAN. We tried together with the government to make this guideline accessible for all Lao people to get the information and all the services from the Ministry of Health,” said UNFPA Representative in Lao PDR Ms Frederika Meijer.  

“We have seen from the reviews of maternal deaths that from 2011 to 2013, 7% of maternal deaths were girls aged 14 to 18 and, in the recent report (2014-2016) in the same age group it has risen to almost 10%,” said Minister of Health, Assoc. Prof. Dr Bounkong Syhavong.

KPL