BY DELISA THWALA
MANZINI – As a way of mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on children in Eswatini the Family Life Association of Swaziland (FLAS) provided free Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) services to adolescents.
However the service was not only limited to the children, a number of community members, were also provided with the service. This took place at Nhlambeni today.
According to a research page compiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO) SRH is of research, health care, and social activism that explores the health of an individual’s reproductive system and sexual wellbeing during all stages of their life.
A health worker who was part of the team dispatched to carry out the services, said they were mostly focusing on children living with disabilities because there was a huge gap, left by COVID-19.
“Adolescent health creates a major global burden, and has a great deal of additional and diverse complications compared to adult reproductive health such as early pregnancy and parenting,” said the health worker.
In addition to that she said for most adolescent females, they have yet to complete their body growth trajectories, therefore adding a pregnancy exposes them to a predisposition to complications.
“These complications range from anaemia, malaria, HIV and other STIs, postpartum bleeding. So with this exercise we are hoping we were able to prevent such cases,” he said.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Health applauded the strides by health care centres especially during these times of confusion in the country.
The Ministry’s Communications Officer Nomfundo Dlamini said more exercises like this were set to take place, she said they were targeting over 100 children living with disabilities.
“We are currently underway with the service provision; we have a certain target we want to reach. This is a mitigating exercise because of the gap left by COVID-19 and the unrest,” said Dlamini.
A health motivator in Nhlambeni, Sarah Nkambule said they were grateful for the visit from FLAS and other health workers. She said they had identified issues like teenage pregnancy but now they, were at ease because the children were sensitised.
“ This event was made possible and fully supported by European Union in Eswatini (EU) in partnership with UNICEF Eswatini . We are grateful for the opportunity to help out teenage girls learn,” she said.
Cover photo sourced from UNICEF social media.
