BOLIVIA: Youth Issues Reported
La Razón on 26 July reported on the youth situation in Bolivia. According to UNFPA, teenage pregnancies may be related to job insecurity. UNFPA also indicates that teenage pregnancies between 12 and 18 years increased from 18% in 2008 to 25% in 2011 in Bolivia. Read in Spanish: La Razon
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY: Youth Friendly Health Services Assessed
Multiple media outlets reported on 26 July on the workshop that took place on 25 July in Ramallah to present the Assessment of Youth Friendly Health Services Needs in West Bank, 2011, implemented by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and UNFPA.
“The study showed that 40.4% of the youth in the West Bank are in need of mental health services rather than physical health services,” stated Ms. Ola Awad, President, PCBS, “while 24,1% believe that physical health services are more important, than nutrition services (19%)." She added, "This study was conducted on youth ages 15 – 24, is intended to view the type and scope of health services that are provided to youth, actual needs for services from their own perspectives, as well as the perspectives of service providers and key informants at the community level and recommendations on how health services can be adapted to better meet youth health needs while also focusing on youth-friendly service provision."
Ms. Barbara Piazza-Georgi, UNFPA Representative, assured everyone that UNFPA considers youth one of the important sectors in Palestinian society that should be looked at from a comprehensive point of view. Read in Arabic: Al-Quds, PCBS website and al-ayyam
URUGUAY: Afrodescendent Women Lag Behind on Employment
El País reported on 26 July that, according to UNFPA’s data, the unemployment rate of young afrodescendent women in Uruguay is eleven times higher (25.4%) than non afrodescendent men 30 years or older (2.3%). This gap is the result of accumulated layers of discrimination, a phenomenon also known as multiple discrimination, where race and ethnicity are combined with other attributes such as sex and age. In 2011 a report by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had already warned the Uruguayan State of this double discrimination. The article also mention that UNFPA’s document showcases some of the measures and initiatives that are being implemented by the national government. Read in Spanish: El País.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Cervical Cancer Roundtable Launched
Multiple media outlets reported on 26 July on the roundtable, “Marking the beginning of the process of program development for the prevention of cervical cancer in BiH" organized by the UNFPA Office in Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) and Parliamentary Group on Population and Development BiH which took place on 25 July, in Sarajevo. The program included a framework for the combination of primary and secondary prevention, regulations that will ensure the promotion of women's rights to health education, organized examinations as well as early detection of pre-malignant and malignant cervical changes. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 258 women a year are affected by cervical cancer and 119 women die from this disease, as estimated by the WHO and Institut Catala d'Oncologia from Spain. By this estimate, 1.6 million women ages 15 years and older are at risk of developing cervical cancer in BiH. The roundtable brought together representatives from the European Cervical Cancer Association, Republic of Serbia Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Health, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare RS, Parliament, Clinical Center of University of Sarajevo as well as representatives from international organizations, non-governmental research organizations and academia.
Watch in Bosnian: FTV Read in Bosnian: Fena, Radio Sarajevo, BH Telecom, SRNA, Oslobodjenje, Source and Klix