Traditional leaders stand up to protect youth from HIV, unintended pregnancy
April 3, 2017
SHISELWENI, Swaziland – “We have high youth unemployment and high teenage pregnancy,” Mr. Obed, a traditional leader in Shiselweni, Swaziland, told UNFPA.
Yet many conservative, rural communities have resisted publicly discussing topics that would improve the health and rights of young people – including adolescent pregnancy, gender-based violence and sexually transmitted infections like HIV.
This silence can have devastating implications. Swaziland has an HIV prevalence rate of 28.8 per cent – one of the highest such rates in the world – according to 2015 data from UNAIDS. And some 87 out of every 1,000 girls, aged 15-19, give birth in Swaziland, according to 2016 data from UNFPA. By comparison, the global figure is 51 births per 1,000 girls.
Traditional leaders like Ms. Obed have significant influence over the health and rights of young people in their communities. For this reason, UNFPA’s Safeguard Young People programme has begun working closely with traditional leaders, gaining their support to bring life-saving sexual and reproductive health information and services to the country’s youth.
