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MUST READ FOR ALL MOTHERS ...

Adolescent-centric policies for a healthy nation

Dr. Tareq Salahuddin
AT 26, Palki Begum became a grandmother. She was married off at 12 to a 40-year-old man who had already been married once. Still a child herself, she had to take care of three children close to her age from her husband’s earlier marriage. She didn't know what birth control meant or that she was supposed to go to a doctor for check-up during her pregnancy. Her daughter was born at home, in the presence of a midwife. Palki says that her marriage was the worst thing that happened to her.
One would assume that her own experience would lead her to plan a different life for her daughter, but she informs that her daughter, too, was married off at the same age as she was. At 13, her daughter Rehana gave birth, also at home, without ever consulting a doctor or healthcare provider. Palki herself assisted in the birth.
Even though she regrets her own marriage, Palki seems proud that her daughter is married and that she has a grandchild already. The socio-economic situation does not allow her to envision a different future, for her, or for successive generations.
According to WHO (World Health Organization), young people aged 10-19 years are regarded as adolescents. Adolescents are a large and growing segment of the global population. One-third of the population of Bangladesh is aged 14 or younger while adolescentsrepresent a quarter of the total population. Adolescence generally is a vigorous period of life; many of them are less educated, less experienced, and less comfortable accessing family planning and reproductive health services than adults.
Approximately one in four adolescent girls experience physical violence. Nearly 60 per cent of women have suffered from some type of violence, including physical assault, rape and acid throwing. Fifty-five per cent of adolescent girls become mothers before the age of 19. To remove this deplorable condition of this vulnerable section, it is very imperative to empower the adolescents to improve their life condition and prevent the exploitation committed to them. If they
are provided with adequate education, health services and employment, they will stimulate economic growth.
Child marriage and childbirth limit young women's and girls' educational opportunities, most often suspending them indefinitely. Child marriage also inhibits socio-economic advancement, and directly impacts household security and wellbeing.
It is very alarming that we have one of the highest rates of child-marriage in the world. 64% of women (aged 20 to 24) were married before they turned 18.This was the direct outcome of poverty, ignorance and lack ofawareness. At the July 2014 Girl Summit in London, Bangladeshi Prime Minister vowed to take steps to reduce child marriage in Bangladesh. She committed, by 2021, to stop marriage for girls under age 15. Bangladesh vowed to stop all child marriage by 2041. The government also committed to develop a national plan of action on child marriage before 2015, and take other steps to change social norms and engage civil society in the fight against child marriage.
Our adolescent should be involved in various cultural and social activities for removing the mental set-up of discrimination. Encouraging girls to play sports helpsaddress gender disparities, improving girls' mobility and participation in community activities. Increasing the economic value of adolescents strengthens arguments against child marriage and dowry.
Violence against women in the form of rape, assault (domestic as well as workplace violence), trafficking, or acid throwing is prevalent throughout the country; with an estimate that nearly 2 out of 3 women in Bangladesh have experienced SGBV in their lives.
While Bangladesh has made gains in providing support services in maternal, neonatal and children's health (MNCH) and family planning (FP), there are considerable gaps and unmet need. An estimated 7,000 mothers die each year due to pregnancy-related causes as high maternal mortality and morbidity remain serious concerns in the country.
Services such as family planning; skilled birth attendants at deliveries; antenatal, post-partum and emergency obstetric care are critical life-saving means of support that impact fertility, maternal mortality and morbidity.
UNFPA, Bangladesh is using a rights-based approach to address SRH in collaboration with the government and other UN organizations honoring the country's commitment to the UN Secretary General's Global Strategy for women's and children's health.
The government policies should be more adolescentcentric to build a healthy nation.
(Written with material support from UNFPA)
E-mail: tareq.salahuddin@gmail.com