UNFPA - UNICEF report highlights the importance of sex education
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The consequences of early pregnancies are vast, including health-related issues, perpetuating cycles of inequality and impeding progress towards gender equality.
To curb the issue, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) launched the ‘Understanding pathways to adolescent pregnancy in Southeast Asia - Findings in Malaysia’ report.
The report was a result of a study taken to understand this complex situation further and was part of a larger regional effort to identify the patterns that drive adolescent pregnancy across the region,as determined by relationship or marital status and the extent of the girls' bodily autonomy in decision-making.
UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Offices Deputy Regional Director Dr Aleksandar Sasha Bodiroza said the launch of this report is a milestone as it provides necessary evidence and understanding of patterns that drive adolescent pregnancy.
“This qualitative research that UNFPA, UNICEF and Burnet Institute jointly conducted and released this year will provide us with an opportunity to chart a path forward,” he said in his speech.
The Malaysian part of the study involved in-depth interviews with 45 adolescent girls from Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Pahang.
Participants were from Malay and Orang Asli ethnic backgrounds, while more than half of the participants were from Pahang with the rest residing in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
The objectives of the research project is aimed at understanding different pathways of adolescent pregnancies and policies that can address this matter.
UNFPA also stressed that programmes and policies are needed to raise awareness and help youth navigate the stages of life safely, for their full potential to be realised.
