The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, with support from UNICEF and the Swedish embassy, launched two online portals and a phone application on Tuesday, providing millions of adolescents and youth in Bangladesh better access to health information and services.
This initiative, launched at The National Adolescent Health Conference held in Dhaka, aims to increase awareness and ensure easy access to physical and mental health information and services for adolescents, read a press release.
At the event, Minister of Health and Family Welfare Zahid Maleque said, “Adolescents can be powerful agents of change, and we must do all we can to empower them and to address their age-specific needs.
“The launch of these platforms represents the Government’s commitment to strengthen adolescent-friendly health services in Bangladesh.”
Adolescents in Bangladesh, accounting for over 36 million of the country’s population, face multiple social barriers to accessing information and health services that are essential for them to grow and thrive.
Low awareness and social stigma about mental health and mental illness, for example, are widespread among communities. And when it comes to sexual and reproductive health, it is challenging for both girls and boys to seek and find trusted information and vital services.
UNICEF Representative to Bangladesh Sheldon Yett said, “Adolescence is a transformative time when teenagers are exposed not only to a new sense of independence but also new challenges.
“Adolescents need access to information, skills and services to enable them to reduce risk, but also to grow into capable adults that form a strong foundation for the next generation and the global future. The app gives them critical health information that they may be too shy to ask from parents, peers or health professionals.”
The Adolescent Health platforms include educational and gender-adapted guides and courses on sexual and reproductive health and rights, nutrition, violence, and physical and mental health as well as information on how and where to access adolescent-friendly health services.
To promote widespread use of the platform, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and Ministry of Education will engage with adolescent clubs, youth peer-groups and teachers in all secondary schools in the country.
“The Adolescent Health platforms have the potential to improve the lives of millions of girls and boys in Bangladesh. We are delighted to be a part of this initiative,” said Ambassador of Sweden Alexandra Berg von Linde.
