Mwangaza-Action continued its programme on “Community participation in Sexual and Reproductive Health for the Youth”, with financial support from the Mello Foundation, which seeks to improve the reproductive and sexual health of the youth through community participation. The programme seeks to involve the youth as actors rather than targets for whom interventions are aimed.

The objectives of this programme are:

• To change the knowledge, attitudes and practices affecting reproductive and sexual health of the youth through community interventions.
• Involve community members, especially the youth in the preparation, realization and evaluation of  interventions aimed at changing the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour linked to reproductive and sexual health of the youth.
• Strengthen the capacities of different partners (AFY; Mwangaza, Pacific Institute for Women?s Health (PIWH): Youth Association for the Development of the Bittou region; Youth Network of Sissili and Ziro; Association of the Youth for the Development of Pama) in the following areas: knowledge of reproductive and sexual health of the youth; practices that involve technical expertise of actors and members of the community and training.

Mwangaza-Action had identified several problems which this programme sought to address namely, the failure of the youth to practice family planning, the refusal of parents to talk to their children about sexuality, the lack of knowledge about the use of condoms by the youth; the practice of excision, multiple sexual partners, inadequate information on the means of transmission and methods of prevention of STD/AIDS; lack of information on the right attitudes towards the AIDS disease.

Some of the activities undertaken under this programme to address the above problems included:

• Demonstration sessions on how to use condoms, using video and the translation of literature on the use of condoms into the Nuni and Moor? language.
• Video shows followed by discussions with older people and the youth on the practice and consequences of excision.
• Role play educative sessions followed by discussions with the youth on the consequences of irresponsible sexual behaviour.

About 1,400 people participated in the video shows and 791 people took part in the role play sessions.