The Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) conducted a State-level workshop on ‘Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights’ here recently. The workshop aimed at instructing health workers to play a pivotal role in educating adolescents on different physical, psychological and sociological concerns and issues during adolescence.
State project coordinator of the VHAI Aparajita Dr Bishwaranjan Purohit said that many adolescents get into various problems due to some inappropriate information about their various physical, psychological and social transitions. Besides, a large number of adolescents remain school dropout, get married early, work in vulnerable situations and become sexually active and later come under peer pressure.
These factors have serious social, economic and public health implications. This calls for creating an Adolescent Friendly Health Services (AFHS) at institute and outreach level creating a demand among the adolescents for better utilisation of services available around them. Among others, Public Health Director Dr Kailash Chandra Dash, Child Health Joint Director Dr Joshna Rani Pattnaik, KISS director (project and research) Dr Ramakanta Mishra and OVHA ED Dr Dillip Samal were present.