Likhubula Youth Group advocates sexual reproductive health in Zomba

Malawi-The Likhubula youth group from Mandala Village in the Zomba District has taken the lead in promoting the interests of other young people on issues related to sexual and reproductive health, writes Mathews Mwantani.

The non-profit youth group, which currently has 9 members—4 women and 5 men—was founded in 2001 by concerned individuals with the goals of empowering girl child education and addressing issues related to sexual and reproductive health. The youth group has a total of 17 different youth group branches.

The group has been distributing feminine hygiene products to girls in their communities, hiring medical professionals to counsel young members on sexual and reproductive health and mental health issues, and also working to prevent early child marriages and send girls back to school.

Clement Malikebu, a programme officer for the Likhubula Youth Organization, emphasised the significance of promoting young people's sexual and reproductive health in an interview, claiming that doing so helps to reduce sexually transmitted diseases, and early pregnancies, and promotes education.

"As Likhubula Youth Organization, we observed that sexual and reproductive health issues posed a challenge in our community. Many young people, particularly girls, found it difficult to discuss these issues with their parents. In addition, there was a problem with girls missing a lot of school during their periods and putting themselves at risk of infection by using other unhygienic materials in place of sanitary pads because they couldn't afford them,” explained Malikebu.

"As a solution to these challenges, the Likhubula Youth Organization engaged different stakeholders to help them address these issues," said Malikebu, the programs officer for the organization.

"Last year, around November, we thought it wise to organize a meeting with our fellow youths at Zomba Community ground where we invited different health experts. The experts were responsible for answering questions from youth concerning sexual reproductive health and offering other advice."

In agreement with Malikebu's statement, the Headmaster for Chalomwe Primary School, Mr. Smoke, shared how the lack of access to sanitary pads has affected attendance rates for girls in the school.

“Here at Chalomwe Primary School, we really had a problem of girls being absent because of menstrual periods as they did not have nor could they afford sanitary pads. This problem was so big because from standard 4 to 8 we could have maybe 12 absentee girls per day because of menstrual period and lack of sanitary pads.”

Mr. Smoke shared that at Chalomwe Primary School, they had a significant problem with girls being absent due to menstrual periods as they could not afford or access sanitary pads.

This issue was particularly prevalent in grades 4–8, with around 12 girls absent each day due to menstrual periods and a lack of proper menstrual hygiene products.

He recounted an incident when some girls even started their periods in class without any pads or substitutes, and one of their female teachers had to provide them with cloth wrappers to use while they went home to change.

Mr. Smoke emphasized that it was a terrible situation for these girls until Likhubula Youth Support intervened.

Mr. Smoke added, "The coming of the Likhubula youth group saw his primary school girls receiving 450 sanitary pads, which has now reduced the number of girls being absent from school from 12 per day to 3 per day and has also influenced the good performance of the girls."

One of the beneficiaries from Likhubula initiatives, Milika Pindani, a student from Chalomwe Primary School, shared, "I received 5 pads and two panties from the Likhubula Youth Group, a development that brought me excitement because before receiving these sanitary pads, it was tough to be in class while on my period since I could not afford them. Sometimes the boys would laugh at us in class when they saw us bleeding, so we could stay at home without going to school for five days, which is one week until the period ends."

Another beneficiary, Esther Khayani, a form 2 student, explained how Likhubula youth helped her to quit a marriage to which she was engaged while in form 1 and helped her to get back to school.

"I got married while in Form 1, but when Likhubula youth got the news, they approached me together with my parents to help me get back to school. They provided me with sanitary pads, pants, and exercise books," Esther said.

Likhubula Youth Organization shared 1220 sanitary pads with two primary schools, Chalomwa and Chipiloni, 11 other villages, and 6 youth clubs.

Despite addressing these issues, the Likhubula Youth Group has faced challenges such as financial difficulties in providing adequate reproductive health care in their community.