The Prevention and Solution of the Adolescent Pregnancy Problem Act, B.E. 2559, primarily mandates five ministries: the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, to collaboratively address the issue of unplanned adolescent pregnancies. The principles are based on respecting the rights and dignity of adolescents, meaning that adolescents must have their personal information kept confidential, receive services privately, make their own decisions, receive adequate information, and access services with state welfare support.
The enactment of this Act has changed the approach to addressing adolescent pregnancy issues, as it has made various local agencies, such as local administrative organizations, provincial public health offices, schools, and youth councils, recognize the importance of the adolescent situation. This has led to collaborative efforts between agencies, benefiting adolescents because the pregnancy issues they face are related to various aspects of their lives, including at home, in the community, at school, at work, and in hospitals.
On July 11-12, 2019, the Bureau of Reproductive Health, in collaboration with the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, organized a knowledge exchange meeting on driving the prevention and solution of adolescent pregnancy issues at the Ambassador Hotel, Bangkok. The focus was on exchanges between local administrative organizations and other agencies in the area. Throughout the two-day meeting, each agency presented their work experiences in the area, and the following content summarizes interesting lessons in the work of families, communities, schools, and youth.
The first part concerns families and communities. The Songkhla Municipality Office is interested in communication between adolescents and their parents or guardians, so it organized a training course titled “Open-hearted Conversations for Safe Children” for parents of secondary school students in the municipality’s five schools. This is to prepare parents and guardians to understand the rapidly changing social situations adolescents face, recognize the importance of listening to adolescents, and provide guidance at home instead of arguing or pushing them away. The Songkhla Municipality Office believes that one of the solutions to adolescent problems must come from the family.
At the community or public level, there can also be participation in driving adolescent pregnancy issues. In the sub-district and district levels of Uttaradit Province, there is a group of community radio DJs who have been working for over 10 years and are trusted and respected by the locals. Many adolescents come to seek advice on relationships or personal matters. Later, the community DJs took on the role of volunteer counselors, providing direct sexual advice to adolescents.
The second part concerns schools. At Ban Song Witthayakhom School, Mueang District, Roi Et Province, they work on preventing adolescent pregnancies with the principle that sexuality is natural and cannot be controlled or prohibited, but what schools can do is prepare and educate students about safe sex, both from diseases and pregnancy. They distribute condoms to students for easy access and have a dedicated counseling room for students seeking advice, which is private and confidential. Meanwhile, the teachers at Ban Song School closely monitor students and organize them into groups to observe and offer appropriate assistance, such as groups expected to be sexually active or groups expected to have problems from sexual activity.
Additionally, at Namrid Witthaya School, Mueang District, Uttaradit Province, they have designed an alternative school curriculum for pregnant female students to continue their education without having to drop out or transfer schools. They also accept pregnant female students who cannot continue their education in their original schools from all provinces in the northern region to study at Namrid Witthaya School.
Story by Thiranan Thirasirisil, RSAthai.org website team RSAthai.org
Read more: Adults and Youth Care and Take Action: Lessons in Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy in the Area (2)
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