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HAI PHONG, Viet Nam – European donor countries can learn from Viet Nam in providing sexual and reproductive health information and services for young people, an Irish member of parliament said during a 2-day study tour to the port city of Hai Phong.
Senator Mary Henry was one of seven European parliamentarians introduced to Viet Nam’s youth-friendly health services, set up over the past three years with support from the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) totalling US$2.4 million.
“Most social problems are international,” Henry said after seeing a rural counselling and service centre for young people in Tan Phong commune, on the outskirts of Viet Nam’s third-most populous city.
“We have nothing like this in our countries. We will learn a lot that we may be able to apply when we return home to our countries. We could look on the money that we have given as an investment for what we can do at home,” she said.
The centre she and the other parliamentarians visited is like the 21 others around seven provinces in Viet Nam, created as part of a regional joint EU-UNFPA initiative to improve the sexual and reproductive health of young people in seven Asian countries, the RHIYA programme.
The “youth-friendly corner” concept is simple: create a comfortable space young people can access easily, and where they can get information, confidential counselling, services and contraceptives when they want or need them.
The colourful decor of Viet Nam’s youth-friendly corners is designed and created by local youngsters, who also use the corners as a place to meet up with friends.
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For many years now, there is little doubt about the fruitful partnership between the European Union and UNFPA. In recognition of the close ties between the two, a parliamentary delegation from the European Parliamentarians Forum on Population and Development (EPF) will be visiting the EU/UNFPA Reproductive Health Initiative for Youth in Asia Programme (RHIYA) in Viet Nam from 23rd to 25th November.
The delegation includes 10 key members of parliament, namely Hon. Sarmite Kikuste, Senator Mary Henry, Hon. Gudrun Ogmindsdottir, Hon. Hélène Mignon, Hon. Hilde Vautmans, Hon. Anne van Lancker, Hon. Kirsten Brosbol, Hon. Nicolay Gerarsimenko, Hon. Karl Öllinger and Hon. Teresa Caeiro. In a three-day study tour, they will have a chance to gain hands-on experience of what RHIYA has achieved in the domain of sexual reproductive health in the last three years by visiting the UNFPA country office, which is the host of the event and RHIYA youth friendly corners. During these visits, Parliamentarians will meet with RHIYA stakeholders, policy makers, young people and locals from all walks of life. The study tour will also bring European friends a better view of Viet Nam as well as her history, culture and society, thus contributing to the mutual understanding between Viet Nam and European countries.
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It was a summer afternoon. Ngan, a secondary school pupil, had just finished an extra-curricular class, and was rushing to the Tan Hoa Youth-Friendly Corner (YFC) in Hoa Binh town for yet another weekly 'class' with her peers. This ‘class’, however, is different from the others Ngan attends. The topics covered are not run-of-the mill school subjects delivered through passive lectures. Here, Ngan gets basic information on sexuality and reproductive health, and finds herself in the role of facilitator and active participant of group discussions.
"I am very much interested in these meetings because they give me knowledge which I was previously too embarrassed to ask about, and didn’t know where to find," she says proundly.
Participating in interactive education on sex and gender are among the fundamental rights of youths like Ngan that RHIYA has been making all of its endeavors to realize. Today, Viet Nam acknowledges its young boys and girls as the future of the country as never before. Their basic rights, however, are not always fully recognized. Adults tend to address youth issues the way they assume is good for their children, but often without consideration for the real needs and wants of young adults. Adopting a rights-based approach, RHIYA partners are pioneers in basing their activities on young people’s rights rather than on adults’ responsibilities. Integrating youths into the project implementation process is central to this approach. Young people like Ngan are not merely beneficiaries, but protagonists in key project activities. At the local level, they design, decorate and operate YFCs. At the central level, they take part in the development of project strategies, products and materials. In general, young people are given the power to determine their own destinies. RHIYA is a project of young people for young people.
No one understands the needs and concerns of the young better than the young themselves. Their participation and ownership is crucial to ensuring the services provided by RHIYA are tailored to actual demand. According to a client exit survey conducted in August 2005, as many as 98.2% of respondents perceived YFC services as accessible and discrete. Most of them (85.4%) were willing to come back and would recommend the services to their friends. In a country where reproductive health care services traditionally cater for married people, the data implies initiatives addressing young people’s rights and needs, and, crucially, involving young people themselves, are slowly but steadily emerging.
Adolescence is a critical period for self and identity formation. It comes with many physical, mental and emotional changes. Protecting young people's rights and respecting their dignity are, therefore, key to building up a strong and confident generation of individuals who can make informed decisions for a better future
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Video of the visit of RHIYA projects by European Parliamentarians in Bangladesh