A number of social advertisements that treat problems typical of adolescents and young people, such as alcohol use, sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, nutrition and use of violence, were launched at the Youth-Friendly Health Center “Calipso” in Anenii Noi. This is one of the 41 centers of the national network Youth Klinic Moldova (YK).
The adverts feature athletes, actors, journalists, singers and other persons who faced similar problems and now relate their experiences in overcoming them and also call on the young people to communicate the problems they encounter and make use of youth-friendly health services, IPN reports. The video intended for teens and young people was designed as part of the project “Healthy Generation - youth-friendly health services”, with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the UNICEF Representative Office in Moldova. The event involved the volunteer team of the YK Center “Calipso”, students of the local lyceum and the institution’s principal and representatives of UNICEF and SDC.
Attending the launch, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Moldova Caroline Tissot said she was impressed by the messages transmitted by the protagonists of the social advertisements and by the activities of volunteers of the YK Center “Calipso” of Anenii Noi. “I want to thank the volunteers for involvement as it is different when a young person speaks to another young person than when they speak to parents or teachers. Your role is to orient other young people to come to this center to seek assistance or aid,” stated Caroline Tissot.
In the same event, UNICEF Representative in Moldova Desiree Jongsma approved of the successful cooperation between young volunteers and centers’ personnel that have a rich experience. The volunteers help more young people from different localities to gain access to these centers.
Director of the Anenii Noi Health Center Ina Gurski said the doctors are trained to promote teenage health and they know their problems. The Center “Calipso” is visited by children with health problems or by those who just want to inform themselves. Here they can be consulted by a gynecologist, a dermatologist, a nutritionist and can benefit from qualified psychological assistance.
YK Center “Calipso” head Valeriu Cojocari, who is a senior specialist in mother and child assistance, said that initially the center was visited by 80-100 young people a month, but now the figure rose to 400. Many parents work abroad and a teen who faces a problem does not know where to seek help from. They learn about this center from friends and teachers and are guaranteed confidentiality if they come to the center. Some of the teens come to the center to get contraceptives that are issued free.
The volunteers who attended the event stated for IPN that they chose to become volunteers because they wanted to learn more about teenage health and to later inform their mates about how particular problems can be solved and, especially, prevented. Volunteering also offers them the possibility of taking part in different activities of the center and of other schools or even in nationwide events, to interact with mates and to make friends.
The short films will be distributed at all the 41 national youth-friendly health center that form part of the Youth Klinic Moldova network that is developed by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection with support from the project “Healthy Generation - youth-friendly health services” that is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
