"The onus of family planning should not rest with women alone. Male sterilisation is shamefully low in India and other South Asian countries. This trend has to be reversed. We must incentivise permanent sterilisation both amongst males and females, but more amongst males," said Dr Amita Pandey, Academic Editor of Asian Research Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, and Professor in Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, King George's Medical University (KGMU) in India.
"Since decades we have seen abysmally low rates of male sterilization compared to very high rates of female sterilization. Males often do not use condoms because 'they do not enjoy with the condom on'. Such attitudes have to change towards men taking responsibility for not only of one's own health but of others too. Condoms, for example, protect both sexual partners from HIV and 20-21 other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), as well as from unintended pregnancy. We must ensure access to male and female condoms for everyone and everywhere, as well as all other science-based prevention options for STDs, HIV and unintended pregnancy," said Dr Ishwar Gilada, who represents Asia Pacific region on the Governing Council of International AIDS Society (IAS), and is the longest serving HIV medical expert in India.
Do young people have a full spectrum of services to protect them from STDs, HIV, and unintended pregnancies?
An adolescent girl or young woman acquired HIV every two minutes in 2021. "The population of young people today, is the largest ever historically in the world. In Asia Pacific we have about a billion people who are in the age group of 10-24 years with a lot of diversities," said Sonal Mehta. "But many reports from UN agencies point out that most of the young people are not well prepared or are ill-equipped with insufficient knowledge and they lack life-skills to negotiate safe and consensual relationships."
Although rates of teenage pregnancy have declined in most parts of the world, they still remain alarming. Child marriages have also declined but in some parts remain a deep concern. Countries are at different levels with rolling out comprehensive sexually education for the young people but this is clearly not enough.
"If I am a 16 year old and I can step into a health setup without being feared or without being tabooed, and ask for a contraceptive, then I think that day the young will be able to ask for a HIV test without any adult consent" said Mehta. In India, those below 18 years of age need parental or guardian's consent to take a HIV test.
Mehta believes that young people need to be in the driving seat. We need to provide opportunities, safe spaces and enabling platforms where they can speak up with confidence and trust, and access the full spectrum of health and social welfare services.
Shobha Shukla - CNS (Citizen News Service)
(Shobha Shukla is the award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service) and is a feminist, health and development justice advocate. She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College and current Coordinator of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media). Follow her on Twitter @shobha1shukla or read her writings here www.bit.ly/ShobhaShukla)
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