The Reproductive Health of Young people in Cote d'Ivoire: Issues and Prospects

Abstract

In Côte d’Ivoire, young people aged between 14 and 24 represent 25% of the population, and this is the age group that is particularly vulnerable to reproductive health problems. Sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS in the main affect 15 to 18-year-olds; the early pregnancy rate is high; and the widespread recourse to illegal abortion by women at an increasingly young age reflects the emergence of an unfilled need for family planning services among the young. To cope with this situation, the Côte d’Ivoire authorities have adopted several strategies, which include launching wide-ranging information campaigns and making condoms generally available. However, over and beyond such actions, which are beginning to bear fruit, it seems that particular attention needs to be focused on young people not at school and on girls, whose social status is low. The promotion of equality between the sexes and the legalisation of abortion could give added force to strategies to promote the reproductive health of young people.