Kathmandu, May 16:

Over 3,000 adolescent girls from fifteen VDCs of Udaypur, Mahottari and Baglung districts got an opportunity to expand their knowledge base on family planning and reproductive following the execution of a two-year pilot project, Piush Kayastha, adviser to the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) said today. Kayastha was speaking at a programme on ‘Building Demand for Reproductive Health Awareness Among Adolescent Girls in Conflict-Affected Districts in Nepal’.

Dr Chhatra Amatya, country director, CEDPA, said: “Following the implementation of the project, around 45 per cent of girls who completed literacy training were enrolled at primary schools.”

“The project conducted classes, mainly on reproductive health, to girls six days a week,” said Dr Amatya, adding the project results showed that using health-related content material in literacy programmes causes double impact: Girls acquire information on health, impacting cognitive development and improving health of their future families. A project conducted in 2004-2005 aimed to generate awareness among girls and encouraged them to seek increased access to reproductive health services and education.

The CEDPA and its partners — Aamaa Milan Kendra, Nepal Technical Assistance Group and the Nepal Red Cross Society — aimed to improve the lives of adolescent girls through an education programme.