Abstract
BackgroundInvestments in the nearly two billion young people, aged 10–24 years, in the world today are necessary to meet global development commitments, specifically the Sustainable Development Goals and Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths. More than 12 million married and unmarried adolescents (aged 15–19) will give birth in 2016. Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the second leading cause of death among 15–19 year-old women and early childbearing can significantly curtail social and economic prospects for young women. Facilitating the ability of sexually active young people to choose and effectively use a satisfactory contraceptive method will ensure they can exercise their right to prevent, delay or space pregnancy.The Global Consensus Statement, “Expanding Contraceptive Choice for Adolescents and Youth to Include Long Acting and Reversible Contraception” provides evidence on the safety and effectiveness of LARCs for young people. Three inter-dependent actions linking advocacy and policy (advocating for policy and guideline revisions); supply (improving quality and accessibility of an expanded method choice) and an enabling environment (social norms and comprehensive reproductive health information) are suggested as vital to achieving full access and full choice for all sexually active young people. Identified approaches include national advocacy addressing policy guidelines and standard operating procedures that guide providers in the provision of age and developmentally appropriate contraceptive services; pre-service and in-service training for health care providers to be able to effectively communicate and counsel young people, including dispelling myths and misconceptions around LARCs; and partnering with young people to design appropriate, contextually-relevant, and effective strategies to increase their self-efficacy and, at the community level, address broader social norms to dispel stigma and discrimination.ConclusionAn immediate call to action for collaborative and coordinated global, regional and national efforts that enable full access and full choice for all young people is paramount to achieve their reproductive health intentions and the Sustainable Development Goal targets.
Highlights
Investments in the nearly two billion young people, aged 10–24 years, in the world today are necessary to meet global development commitments, the Sustainable Development Goals and Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths
Fostering an enabling environment Beyond unsupportive policy environments and limited access to comprehensive and quality contraceptive services, young people face barriers to contraceptive choice at the individual level and at the community level
With the Global Consensus Statement, we have the evidence, donor support, country interest, and full cooperation of professional associations and 45 nongovernmental organizations to move toward full access to full method choice for young people around the world
Summary
With the Global Consensus Statement, we have the evidence, donor support, country interest, and full cooperation of professional associations and 45 nongovernmental organizations to move toward full access to full method choice for young people around the world. This commentary has laid out action steps for expanding young people’s method choice to include LARCs. We conclude with a broader question to the development community at large: What are we waiting for? The time for being polite and patient is long past, and we must take advantage of the window of opportunity for global, regional and national action that will enable all young people to achieve their reproductive health intentions and future aspirations
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