Family planning, by definition, is deciding the number and spacing of your children through the use of contraception (ex: abstinence, natural planning, or hormonal contraception). Being a basic human right and central to women empowerment, it is an important component of youth health education.
Making family planning youth-friendly will ease its adoption within this generation and bridge gaps in poverty. Amazing techniques have been used in many communities and educating people about their bodies and their sexuality at a young age will help them better understand the concept of family planning.
By increasing awareness in interactive ways, it becomes easier for us youth to reach out for complimentary family planning methods and adhere. To celebrate IYAFP’s 3rd birthday, we encourage everyone not only to make family planning available, but to make it youth-friendly. Members of IYAFP Cameroon have been developing youth friendly approaches to family planning and reproductive health. One thing we distribute is something called the ‘Menstrual Bracelet’. It is distributed for use by girls to learn about their menstrual cycle and how their body works. With the conventional 28 beads for the 28 days and different colours for different phases of the menstrual cycle, they move through the beads each day as they move through their menstrual cycle.
Djemi Njiki Michele
Member, IYAFP Cameroon