Health Alert Youth for Health Project (Y4H) has impacted positively in the lives of not only the youths but the country. The project which was jointly implemented by Health Alert in collaboration with Marie stope Sierra Leone will finally come to end. Addressing the media at their PWD Health Alert office in Freetown yesterday, the Executive Director of Health Alert, Victor Lansana Koroma underscored the importance of the project.
He said the project is an EU funded project been implemented as part of the youth component. “The project has help to address a lot of family planning issues, sexual and reproductive health among others. As part of the close out phase we are going to engage DHMT at district level on the positive outcomes of the project.
As CSOs we advocate and ensure health care worker provide services that are dignify in line with human right base approach. Since our intervention cases of teenage pregnancy has reduced, and we believe as an organisation we have also contributed to build the country good image in the health sector,” he said.
In his presentation, the Programe Manager, Health Alert, Dalton John said one of the three-year Y4H initiative has enabled the organisation to enhance access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services for marginalized adolescent girls, including those with disabilities, in rural and hard-to-reach areas of Sierra Leone.
He said Health Alert MSSL has established itself as the largest Advocacy organisation on family planning (FP) and SRH services in the country, collaborating with the Government of Sierra Leone and other stakeholders to reduce the national maternal mortality rate (MMR) and increase the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) in underserved regions.
He said HASiL focuses on advocacy, training, networking, policy analysis, and lobbying with policymakers to ensure that affordable, accessible, and quality healthcare is available for women, children, and adolescents in Sierra Leone. Over the past three years, through the support of the Y4H project MSSL and HASiL have significantly expanded the availability and utilization of SRH services and information for adolescent.
| He said there is now increased demand for, and access to, high-quality, discrimination-free ASRHR information and services, increased public sector willingness and capacity to deliver and sustain high-quality ASRHR information and services, improved enabling policy and funding environment at regional, national, and sub-national level. |
| He said 12,000 Adolescent girls (aged 10-19) and poor women in hard-to-reach communities including PWDs, 36,000 decision –makers and influencers and 45 youth peer educators. He noted direct SRH/FP service delivery through 15 Public Sector Sites and Advocacy in the project operational communities. In his statement the External relation and communication Manger at Marie Stopes Sierra Leone, Sandy Massaquio said Marie stopes is now 39 years in health active service delivery in not only Sierra Leone, but other countries Marie stop is operating. He said there is success in the Youth for health project and encourage all to support the project. He said as an organization, they have reviewed policies and supported government on teenage pregnancy and other areas that save lives. |
