About 60 teens and young people from different settlements of the country were informed about the provisions of the draft Health Code that was presented for public debates. In a workshop organized by UNICEF Moldova, the young people could formulate recommendations about the access to youth-friendly health services. The event involved representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Parliament, IPN reports.
Among the recommendations are to ensure access to sexual-reproductive education in schools and to health services without the parents’ consent from an earlier age. The young people consider the family doctors must transmit information about their health to them too, not only to their parents. The teens want the information about their health to be confidential. According to them, the Health Code must envision the carrying out of campaigns and events to inform about the health of teens and young people.
UNICEF Representative to Moldova Nune Mangasaryan said the sexual-reproductive education is very important. The young people often access information about this subject from unsafe sources. That’s why the school curriculum should include information verified by the state authorities so that the teens are correctly informed. “In many countries, there is this fear that if reproductive health for adolescents is included in schools, this will trigger early sexual initiation. This is not true. The experience of many countries that introduced these subjects shows that the situation is completely different. The young people, when they find out more about the consequences of the too early sexual life, take the decision to delay this moment,” stated Nune Mangasaryan.
The head of the parliamentary commission on social protection, health and gamily Oxana Domenti said that a consultative committee consisting of teens and young people will be created under the commission. The committee will meet regularly to discuss the social and health rights of the youth. “You submitted some qualitative proposals and recommendations. I’m glad that you had the best experts from Moldova among your supporters. That’s why all your ideas were arranged correctly and accessibly,” she said.
According to Oxana Domenti, the draft Health Code could be adopted by Parliament during a year and a half. It is now being debated and finalized.
