Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 7: “It is high time to invest in adolescents to add value to their roles and accountabilities by enabling their life skills and proper growing up processes,” said Bishwaranjan Purohit, state project coordinator of Vuluntary Health Association of India (VHAI)-Orissa at state-level workshop to discuss sexual and reproductive health rights here recently.
The workshop was organised by VHAI in the backdrop of the growing cases of substance abuse among adolescents along with dependence on alcohol, smoking, drugs and tobacco, which has raised eyebrows of health experts.
About 50 per cent of adolescent girls are going through a phase of transition in which they experience different physical, psychological and sociological changes.
During this period, they have several queries that are left unanswered.
“Parents or teachers hesitate to answer the queries of children. This often puts them in trouble as they turn to their friends,” said Purohit.
“Education on reproductive and sexual health for adolescents has become the need of the hour. Adolescents should be given age-appropriate information on their growing up processes and body parts,” remarked Purohit.
“There is a need to create adolescent-friendly health services at institute and outreach level and create a demand among them for better utilisation of services,” said a health expert here.
The workshop was attended by the director public health Kailash Chandra Dash, joint director child health Joshna Rani Pattnaik, deputy director, girl education, OPEPA SurekhaTarei, director project and research KISS Ramakanta Mishra and executive director VHAI-Orissa Dillip Samal.