Nkhotakota youth groups drilled in emergency contraceptives

Malawi: Youth groups from the Traditional Authorities of Kalimanjira and Mwansambo in Nkhotakota have received emergency contraception training.

Simon Sikwese, director of the Pakachere Institute of Health and Development Communication, stated after the training that the training aimed to bridge the knowledge gap that exists among youths regarding the use of contraceptive methods.

"The case of early pregnancies has been a challenge to many youths, especially those who live in difficult-to-reach areas because they lack information on how to prevent themselves from such, so we were here to train these youths on how to use emergency contraception and advise their friends on how to prevent themselves from early pregnancies,” he said.

Sikwese went on to say that because youths are the pillars of the nation, they should be educated on a variety of topics as things change.

He said: "In the two traditional authorities we are targeting, there are still many issues that these youths face, so there is always a need to come in because youths are the pillars of this nation. Pakachere will continue to support these youths by providing them with up-to-date Sexual and Reproductive Health information to avoid any interruptions in their daily life."

According to one of the facilitators, Josein Chizara, who is also the Nkhotakota District Sexual Reproductive Health District Coordinator, despite some challenges, there has been progressing in the number of youths using contraception, and this training will help to reduce the number of unsafe abortions.

"Today we were discussing issues concerning emergency contraceptives simply because we are seeing an increase in the number of teenage pregnancies, which means we are also seeing an increase in the number of unsafe abortions, which is why we came here to discuss issues concerning emergency contraceptives," Chizara explained.

Amadi Sindi, who represented the Mtaya youth group, stated that the training is timely and will help to dispel myths about contraceptive methods among young people.

"When we return to our respective homes, we will tell our fellow youths the truth about the myths, because many youths are usually afraid to go and seek help whenever they face challenges, so it is time to clear that up, and we thank Pakachere and the entire management for this,” Sindi said.

Aside from the training, the Pakachere Institute of Healthy and Development Communications donated two brand new bicycles to two Masewe Youth groups to help the youths overcome mobility challenges when travelling to the nearest hospital, which is 20 kilometres away.