Promoting Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in East and Southern Africa

In 2006 the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that "in many parts of the world the sexual and reproductive needs of adolescents are either poorly understood or not fully appreciated, [and] evidence is growing that this neglect can seriously jeopardize the health and well-being of young people." Such an assertion is not only stated as a fact, but is also a call for more research for better understanding of the health issues encountered by adolescents: it asks researchers, social activists, and policymakers to participate in breaking the silence about issues that affect our youth, the leaders of tomorrow. It is important to remember that several significant factors such as culture, country of origin, language, and sociopolitical background need to be taken into consideration when addressing this topic, although these elements were not clearly defined in this work. But the book is a unique attempt to advance the consciousness and promote the discussion of adolescent sexual and reproductive health, essentially by pointing out the current lack of communication among the social, political, biomedical, and policymaking fields. More important, the writers do not stop at identifying problems: they propose ways to bridge the gap between these fields in order to build partnerships through collaborative research and a participatory approach.