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dolescent girls and young women from Traditional Authority (T/A) Mizinga in Machinga District have commended Malawi Sexual Reproductive Health Alliance for providing family planning services in the area.
The alliance, a consortium of six non-governmental organisations (NGOs), organised an outreach service on Friday at old Mbanila Health Clinic in the area to provide contraceptives to the youth.
One of the beneficiaries, Esther Mussa from Mbanila Village, said she was pleased to access the services within reach.
She said: “I have never interacted with a healthcare worker on family planning issues. This limited my understanding on these issues and created room for misconceptions.
“I have learned about the contraceptives and I chose norplant.”
Another beneficiary Thomas Chosaine from Khuzumba Village said lack of contraceptives, such as condoms have resulted in the spread of sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancies.
Centre for Youth Empowerment and Civic Education coordinator Mphatso Mtembenuzeni, whose organisation is one of the NGOs in the alliance, said they wanted to enable adolescent girls and young women access family planning services and learn more on sexual and reproductive health issues.
“We are commemorating the World Contraception Day, so we wanted to support an outreach service to give chance to the youth to get the services,” she said.
Machinga district youth-friendly health services coordinator Kenneth Mkandawire said the district has no community-based distribution agents to help provide youth-friendly services to the youth.
With funding from Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Sonke Gender Justice, the alliance is implementing a five-year- Power to Youth project on sexual and reproductive health in the district.
