Footage of young people talking, playing, living.

There is one commonality among young people worldwide, no matter where they live; they want to grow up, find their independence and begin their lives as adults.  In developing countries, access to reproductive health education and services is critical to this process, and is imperative to the health, education and livelihood of young people, especially for the development of young girls.

SOT – James Wagoner, President, Advocates for youth

IN:  04:13:02 – OUT 04:32

RESPONSIBILITY IS A TWO-WAY STREET.  YOUNG PEOPLE MUST SAFEGUARD THEIR OWN SEXUAL HEALTH AND THAT OF OTHERS.  SOCIETY NEEDS TO PROVIDE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH THE TOOLS OF RESPONSIBILITY, ACQURATE INFORMATION, CONFIDENTIAL ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTION ARE A REAL STAKE IN THE FUTURE.

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Footage of young girls with children or young families

According to the World Health Organization, more than 10% of all births are to young women ages 15 to 19 years old.  Unintended pregnancies can irrevocably disrupt a young girl’s life, preventing further schooling and training.  Adolescent teenage girls who become pregnant, and who are not physically mature, are in danger of obstructed labor and complications before, during and after delivery.

Education footage, classes, doctor’s offices

Young women who are educated about reproductive health care are more likely to continue their education, increase their earning potential, maintain their status in the household, and often choose to space their pregnancies, having fewer children, whom they are better able to raise and nurture.

SOT – Phatsimo, Botswana

 In 1:04:26:26

“When I am 15 and I get pregnant, my body isn’t ready to develop yet to accommodate the baby.  When I go and deliver my baby, my baby is at risk, I, the mother, is at risk, and we can lose both lives just for the fact that treatment(?) teenagers are getting…”

Footage of schools and young girls or young mothers

SOT Phatsimo: From Botswana

In 1:07:38:25

“The minute you get pregnant in Botswana, school stops.  In Botswana, you need education for survival.  If you don’t get educated, you cannot survive. People who graduate at the universities don’t get a job, what about you, a mother who is young?”

Boitshoko, Botswana

In 1:09:46:27 ABOUT :30 INTO IT

“Providing information is actually not enough because the problem seems to be the inaccessibility of the health facilities.  It is not that the youth don’t know that they fall pregnant if they have sex, the problems is that the facilities are not accessible to them.  So basically, it is a matter of lobbying for youth facilities”

sWEEPING FOOTAGE OF THE LIFE THERE, YOUNG GIRLS AND BOYS, YOUNG BABIES, EDUCATION – SHOULD END WITH A HOPEFUL VISUAL.

While world leaders and governments debate the necessity and approach to reproductive health care and young people, new cases of HIV and AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancies continue to increase among adolescents. 

To ensure that reproductive health care and education for adolescents becomes a reality, policymakers must make these services a priority.  As a result, young people will become empowered to continue their education, make mature family planning decisions and ultimately live longer, healthier lives, free of HIV, AIDS and unintended pregnancies.