UN launches a new programme on sexual and reproductive health

The fight against several ills confronting the East and Southern African region such as unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and sexual and gender based violence has received a new boost. This comes after the launch of a new joint programme by several UN agencies at the 8th African Conference on Sexual and Reproductive Health last week in Johannesburg, South Africa. The new programme is the brainchild of several UN organizations, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children Fund and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS. In East and Southern Africa, about four thousand adolescent girls and young women are infected with HIV each week. Also, an average of three in ten girls and young women between the ages of 15 to 24 years reported experiencing violence at the hands of their intimate partners in 2016. Dr. Catherine Sozi, Director of the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa expands on the idea behind the new programme..