Havana, Cuba: The contest ?Don’t break your dreams down? invites children and young people to participate today and until April 30 to raise awareness about teenage pregnancy and prevent the scourge in Cuba, Prensa Latina publishes.
According to the Cuban Women Federation (FMC), all people between the ages of 12 and 19, of different educational levels, can send comics, drawings and stories.
The themes for the initiative are the importance of responsible sexuality, protection, as well as communication between families and adolescents on these topics. The contest is part of the initiatives for the National Day of Prevention of Pregnancy in Adolescence, developed from last February and until this month.
Official Yaniova Corrías explained that the FMC has as a priority the prevention of the scourge due to its multiple consequences, since it hinders the adequate development and insertion of infants, as well as their personal growth and life projects.
To do this, the women’s organization designed specific actions for this population segment, based on workshops and meetings to carry the message in the communities, the promotion of sexual education and the stimulation of communication between parents and children.
There are also orientation exchanges for families to train their offspring, in addition to training for teaching staff for their work in schools and links with students, she said.
According to experts, half of all pregnancies in the world are unintentional (121 million each year) and only 57 percent of women are able to decide about their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
According to reports, in 2020 live births in Cuba to adolescent mothers represented 15.5 percent and pregnancies occur more frequently between 17 and 19 years of age, in the provinces of Camagüey (center of the country), Las Tunas, Holguín and Granma (all in the east).