KAYANZA Nov 18 (ABP) – The Network of Religious Confessions for the Promotion of Sexual Health and Integral Family Welfare (RCBIF-Burundi) proceeded on Wednesday November 17, 2021 to the popularization of its project called “Imenye “which will be carried out in Kayanza and Gatara communes of Kayanza province (northern Burundi) for a whole year.
According to Mgr Georges Bizimana, bishop of the Catholic diocese of Ngozi, certain non-governmental organizations presented themselves as benefactors while they were targeting other interests, especially in the field of sexual and reproductive health of schooled and out-of-school youth.
That is why, he said, people growth has increased from year to year, which has caused the scarcity of arable land and the upsurge in land disputes in the courts. In addition, unwanted pregnancies have become more and more numerous, especially among young people in school.
For that ecclesiastical authority, the “Imemye” project set up by the network of religious denominations looks at all these problems in the Kayanza and Gatara communes that it will cover.
That project will be an opportunity for young people, both in school and out of school, to benefit from lessons relating to sexual and reproductive health that will allow them to avoid engaging in acts leading to sexual relations before sexual maturity, added Mgr. Bizimana.
In his presentation related to the state of play on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health, the director of Kayanza health province, Dr Célestin Congera, spoke about the challenges that plague this sector. He deplored the fact that not all health centers are friendly to young people and that young people do not frequent enough these health centers which, sometimes, face the lack of attractive material for the young people who should attend them.
For his part, the director of the school province of Kayanza, Mr. Désiré Hatungimana, said that 92 young girls were pregnant during the 2020-2021 school year. For him, the education sector must be a concern of everyone in order to curb all the causes of unwanted pregnancies in schools.
Representatives of religious denominations members of RCBIF-Burundi, administrative officials from Gatara and Kayanza communes, provincial level health officials and education officials took part in this workshop.