CHTU 214 Population and Health CORE LESSON 4 Policies and programs: Population policies, programs and services

targeting different sub-populations

Principles of sound policies

Intergenerational and multigenerational emphasis Implement for long-range with lots of planning Gauge the interface between a strong scientific evidence base and political will. Inter- sectoral action for health and health equity Incorporating a life course perspective on health

Rationale for the national Population and health Policies

Rapid population growth, young age structure and the uneven spatial distribution High fertility rates which contribute to under development
Low productivity in almost all sectors of the economy resulting in high rates of unemployment and underemployment. Low accessibility to education, health services and housing e.t.c

The perennial problem of food insecurity. High prevalence of maternal, infant and child morbidity and mortality. Low life expectancy.

Sustainable health policies and policy issues affecting adolescents and women

Adolescents

Why adolescent laws and policies

They are critical in determining whether adolescents can obtain appropriate information concerning human sexuality Whether the adolescent can have access to the necessary family planning services.

Why reproductive health service policies for adolescents

Reproductive health services for adolescents should seek to fulfill 2 requirements: 1) to provide care to adolescents who need it, ensuring that they are fully informed of the consequences of such care; and 2) to clarify the position of health care personnel providing treatment to minors through appropriate legal and educational channels

Ethical issues in adolescent reproductive health promotion

Screening procedures, parental consent requirements, and regulations as to where abortions may take place assurance of confidentiality in their interactions with health care professionals (adolescents fear of embarrassment, disapproval, or even punishment)

 This is particularly true for services generally considered to be sensitive e.g.

family planning, sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening and treatment, mental health treatment, and substance abuse treatment.

Specific areas that need adolescent health policies

health in schools reproductive health care, sex education, availability of reproductive health care services for adolescents condoms, FP services health care for sexually transmitted diseases,

Specific areas that need adolescent health policies (contd)

smoking, alcohol use, drug dependence, health care for the handicapped and disabled, mental health care, occupational health and safety, Accident and injuries prevention , Oral health

Policies
1. Minor consent laws There are some adolescents who have reached 18 but are still considered minors. Also under 18 require consent laws. Laws should constituted that explicitly give certain minors the right to consent to specific services that might include general medical care and sensitive services. Such adolescents include those who are high school graduates, serving in the military, pregnant, married, or legally emancipated from their parents

Policies continued
2. Aligning Medicare Policies to Ensure Confidentiality This involves referring adolescents to family planning clinics or public health department STD clinics that can guarantee confidentiality

Other policies
Health education strategies aimed at changing individual behavior, changes in health-care delivery systems that increase access to care, structural reforms that shape the environment in which adolescents live (role of school and home environment).

 Policies affecting women

1. Poverty reduction Policies to reduce poverty and hunger should be allied with policies to safeguard female migrants, and to reduce trafficking of women and girls. Humanitarian relief programmes should be designed to protect women and girls in situations of war and displacement, and to ensure that their basic needs are met.

2. Universal Primary education Not yet fully attained sensitization of some communities Policies and programmes aimed at universal primary education should promote education for girls and women as a means of empowering and protecting them, and of achieving gender equality in society.

 Educational programmes should include measures that enable girls and women to benefit from their increased educational level without fear of violence. This may include efforts to involve or sensitize the partners of women in education programmes, as well as broader awareness programming.

 Social and educational policies should seek to eliminate harmful gender norms that devalue the education of girls, together with practices such as child labour and early marriage Educational authorities must ensure that schools are safe places for all students, with special attention to the security of girls

3. Violence against women and gender-based discrimination This is deeply embedded social and cultural norms that perpetuate gender inequality

 Policies intended to empower women must address current norms and traditional social customs that legitimize violence against them, as well as legislation and enforcement of laws that discriminate against them

 Initiatives to promote gender equality must deal openly and vigorously with the issue of partner violence, because women will never be equal in their public lives until they are equal at home

 Governments should ensure that statistics on violence against women, including on prosecution and conviction rates, are regularly collected and disseminated and that interventions to address violence are properly evaluated.

4 Policies to reduce female child mortality Policies to reduce child mortality must include policies to eradicate female infanticide and discrimination against girls. Such programmes must address underlying harmful gender norms and biases, and prohibit practices that economically burden the birth of females

 Policies to reduce infant and child mortality should include measures to reduce partnerviolence against women. To better monitor gender-based infant and child mortality, all statistics collected on the health of under-5-year-olds should be disaggregated by sex and age.

5. Improve maternal health Policies to improve maternal health should include measures to reduce partner-violence against women Providers of reproductive health care should be trained to recognize signs of violence against women, and referral systems put in place to ensure that appropriate care, follow-up and support services are available.

6. National HIV prevention strategies This should include components that aim to reduce violence against women, challenge social norms that condone such violence and empower women and girls to protect themselves against unwanted or forced sex

 HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns should include information about the relationship between violence against women and HIV/AIDS, and the HIV-related health risks of harmful traditional and formal practices.

7. Policies to provide sustainable access to drinking-water and fuel This should take into account the safety needs of women, both by reducing the distances they have to travel and increasing their security as they make the journey

8. Policies that improve security of women in public places This should include policies that improve the lives of slum dwellers and interventions to reduce the risk of violence against women through designs and services that enhance security in public places. 9. Development strategies that promote women's ability to participate as full social, economic and political partners, unrestricted by harmful gender norms and violence

THANK YOU

Group work
Discuss the major policies and policy issues affecting the elderly and special populations in Kenya