Adolescents not forgotten too
Not giving step-motherly treatment to adolescents, the SLCP also organized a comprehensive three- day Training of Trainers’ Workshop on their health while forming the Adolescent Health Forum.
The Manual on Adolescent Healthcare was launched at the inauguration of the workshop and the first copy was handed over to Women’s and Children’s Affairs Minister, Chandrani Bandara, by SLCP President Dr. Ramya de Silva in the presence of LRH Director Dr. Kumara Wickremasinghe.
Forty Consultants including Paediatricians, Gynaecologists, Psychiatrists and Community Physicians participated in this workshop conducted by three eminent Consultants from the UK, Prof. Russell Viner, Professor of Adolescent Health, University College London; Dr. Fiona Straw, Consultant Community Paediatrician, Nottingham Hospital; and Dr. William White, Consultant in Adolescent Medicine, University College London.
The interactive sessions at the workshop dealt with the mental and sexual health of adolescents, transition of their care from Paediatricians to Physicians and much more.
“Like the newborn, the adolescent is also marginalized. However, investing in adolescents’ health and development is key to improving their survival and wellbeing and critical for the success of the post2015 development agenda,” stressed SLCP President Dr. de Silva.
Sri Lanka has 3.35 million adolescents (10-19 years) comprising 16% of the population. Of them, about 70% are attending school, she said.
This workshop was conducted in collaboration with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) which is headed by President Prof. Neena Modi.
Meanwhile, the aim of the Adolescent Health Forum is to help establish Adolescent Clinics throughout the country to streamline their care.