Monday, March 14, 2005
Welcome to the online Youth Forum on Pregnancy Prevention in a Time of AIDS!
This forum is being coordinated by YouthNet and the INFO Project, in conjunction with the Implementing Best Practices in Reproductive Health (IBP) Initiative, which is coordinated by the World Health Organization. The forum officially begins March 15 and will extend through April 15, 2005. We hope that this month-long online forum will provide a stimulating environment for discussion and sharing of experiences and lessons learned on the subject of pregnancy prevention among youth. We anticipate participation from all those who have an interest in improving youth reproductive health services, including service delivery providers, policy-makers, researchers, educators and youth themselves. To date we have 530 individuals registered to participate from 77 countries in North American, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Near East and Asia. To focus our online discussions, we've decided to have four different themes – one for each week -- during the forum. These themes and guest panelists are:
Week 1: March 15-21
- Topic of Discussion: The Needs of Youth for Pregnancy Prevention in a Time of AIDS
- Illustrative subtopics: varied reproductive health needs of married/unmarried youth; different needs of boys/girls; needs for both pregnancy and HIV prevention and forms of dual protection.
- Featured guest panelist: Ward Cates, President of the Institute for Family Health, Family Health International
Week 2: March 22-28
- Topic of Discussion: Especially Vulnerable Youth - Focus on Young Women and Girls
- Illustrative subtopics: Why young women and girls are vulnerable to unwanted pregnancy and HIV infection, what can be done to prevent them and how to engage men and boys in this agenda.
- Featured guest panelist: Lynn Collins, Technical Advisor HIV/AIDS, UNFPA
Week 3: March 29-April 4
- Topic of Discussion: Medical Barriers and Accessibility Issues
- Illustrative subtopics: defining medical barriers; WHO medical eligibility criteria; ongoing research (e.g. Depo and bone density); provider training resources; accessibility issues such as institutional or legal barriers to contraception for youth.
- Featured guest panelist: Jim Shelton, Senior Medical Advisor, U S Agency for International Development
Week 4: April 5-11
- Topic of Discussion: The ABCs of Pregnancy and HIV Prevention among Youth - Country Perspectives and Lessons Learned
- Illustrative subtopics: examples of successful programs using the combined ABC approach, or elements thereof; additional strategies for pregnancy and HIV prevention.
- Featured guest panelist: to be determined
April 12-15: Wrap-Up
To give you an idea of what to expect, each week day during the forum we plan to send out one e-mail, beginning March 15. In the first e-mail you will find an introductory message from our guest panelist for the week, Ward Cates, President of the Institute for Family Health at Family Health International. Feel free to submit your own posting to the forum by replying to the e-mail you receive or by responding online by logging into the Implementing Best Practices in Reproductive Health electronic communication system. Instructions on how to participate were previously sent.
Your submissions may take the form of a response to the comments made by the guest panelist, a question posed to the guest panelist, or your own comments/experiences relevant to the topic for the week.
Beginning March 16, you will receive a digest of e-mails from the previous day and additional comments/responses from the guest panelist. All posts will be screened to prevent spam and inappropriate content. The forum editors will take the liberty of summarizing messages for brevity and to avoid repetition. Submissions will be identified by name and country unless the sender requests to remain anonymous.
Each week we will also suggest some background reading for the topic under discussion. Since this week's focus is on the needs of youth for pregnancy prevention in a time of AIDS, the suggested background reading is YouthLens No. 5 (Condoms and Sexually Active Youth), No. 8 (Abstinence and Delayed Sexual Initiation) and No. 12 (Expanding Contraceptive Options and Access for Youth). These YouthLens can be found by scrolling to the appropriate numbered YouthLens here. If your primary language is Spanish or French, you will also find translations of these YouthLens by scrolling down the page.
Thank you for your interest in participating in this online forum and please share this message with your friends and colleagues who may also wish to participate.
Best regards,
Ed Scholl
Forum Moderator
On behalf of YouthNet, The INFO Project, and the Implementing Best Practices in Reproductive Health Initiative
For help, contact info@ibpinitiative.org.
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