By Pempho Kantayeni and Prisca Promise Mashushu

Lilongwe, November 15, Mana: Sexual Reproductive Health Research African Trust SRHR (SAT) has urged the media to help disseminate information regarding sexual reproductive health in the country.

SRHR Africa Trust (SAT) Country Director, Robert Phiri said this during a media engagement meeting on Sexual Reproductive Health held in Lilongwe on Friday.

He said the media has a critical role to play in disseminating information to people by covering stories on sexual reproductive health without fear of being criticized by the public since these stories are considered sensitive.

“Sexual reproductive health issues require a lot of attention from people hence the media should be on the forefront in disseminating right information to the people.

“In as much as we are making progress in some areas such as fighting HIV, we are not making much progress on issues of teen pregnancies and child marriages” he said.

Research Officer for African Population and Health Research Centre, Emmanuel Otukpa said a research conducted in Malawi shows that pregnant and parenting adolescent in Malawi face a lot of challenges.

“We observed that about 700 adolescent girls face challenges that include stigma, discrimination from their community members and lack of opportunity to go back to school.

“We have also observed that the experience of poverty in their communities contribute to their inability to live life to the fullest” Otukpa said.