Hundreds of teenagers and young people from Moldova have participated in the informative and healthy lifestyle promoting actions carried out within the “Let's invest in youth's health” national campaign between July 11 and August 12. For a month, the 38 youth-friendly health centers organized the Doors Open Days and youth organizations carried out awareness raising actions and informative sessions about health in summer camps, IPN reports.
On the occasion of the International Youth Day, ad interim UN Resident Coordinator for Moldova Nune Mangasaryan told a press conference that the right to health must be assured daily. “We need accessible and friendly services, especially in the rural environment, in order to reach the most vulnerable. Young people have a crucial role in this process and I urge them to promote a healthy lifestyle daily”, said the diplomat.
The campaign “Let's invest in youth's health” consisted of several UN-supported initiatives in Moldova, including the Transnistrian region, such as informative actions of youth-to-youth Y-PEER educators in the summer camps in Nisporeni, Ialoveni, Orhei, a flash-mob organized by the Youth Media Center with the motto “A healthy T-shirt”, visits to youth-friendly health centers, discussions with volunteers in order to identify creative messages to promote health services.
Young people with impaired sight from both banks of the Nistru received free consultations from Moldovan and Norwegian doctors. Sixteen of them organized a photo exhibition under the slogan “Access ramps over the Nistru” in the Public Garden “Stefan cel Mare” in Chisinau. Moldova also joined the #healthyselfie global initiative through which young people, decision-makers and the public promote a healthy lifestyle on social networks.
The campaign “Let's invest in youth's health” was organized by the Moldovan government in partnership with youth organizations and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UNICEF and UN Development Programme (UNDP). The goal of the campaign was to raise awareness about risk behaviors among youth and to promote youth-friendly health services throughout the country.
According to study conducted by UNICEF and the Ministry of Health, only one of three young people knows about the main HIV-preventing methods and 7.5% of girls aged between 15 and 19 have already given birth or are pregnant with their first child. Moreover, 50% of boys and 20% began drinking alcohol before turning 15.
