Copper Rose Zambia has concluded its 4 year youth care project whose aim is to enable adolescents and youths aged 10-25 years especially girls and other vulnerable adolescents living in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia, advocate for and practice self-care for their sexual and reproductive health rights and needs.
CRZ Advocacy and health promotions programs manager Newton Donkola said the project wanted young people to not only know about these products but also be able to access them during the length and even after the project’s life span.
He said they implemented the project across two provinces but in four specific districts that’s Lusaka, Chilanga, Kitwe and Kalulushi, with 10 specific facilities were 10.
Delivering the project overview CRZ evaluation, research and learning manager Chanda Mwamba said they surveyed 3,866 adolescents within their catchment areas.
He said they have been able to reach 299,712 adolescents and young people between the ages of 10 to 24.
Mr. Mwamba said through their various interventions and working with cooperating partners and health facilities they have recorded a good improvement in terms of the number of adolescents and young people who have accessed public sexual and productive health rights and HIV services.
He added that there has been an increase in the number of adolescents and young people aged 10 to 24 adhering to ART at the target health facilities through the life of the project.
“We also saw a huge reduction in teenage pregnancies from over a thousand to 300 new teenage pregnancies, we also have seen a reduction in new infections among adolescents and young people,” He added.
And CRZ Chief Executive officer Natasha Kaoma said their goal is to ensure young people thrive as they are the ones that will take the country out of poverty.
Dr. Kaoma assured that this is not the end of the youth care project.
“This is not the end of the youth care project, we have a new project funded by the Swedish government, were we want to train young entrepreneurs,” She revealed.
We shall call upon you our partners again and work with you on these projects, so as you sit on those boards of decision making lobby for CRZ as our works are quality and we do not cheat data. She appealed.
Dr. Kaoma stated that CRZ wants to ensure youth care becomes a national policy and appealed on their cooperating partner to lobby for funding for the organisation to achieve this.
