KNOWLEDGE AND BEHAVIOR OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AMONG THE ADOLESCENTS OF BHOJPUR VDC IN BHOJPUR DISTRICT

CHAPTER ONE

 INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background

The terms "Adolescent", "Youth" and "Young people" are used differently in various societies. These categories are associated with reproductive health where they are recognized at all with different roles, responsibilities and ages that depend on the local context (UNFPA 2003:3). A young person who is developing from a child into an adult: adolescents between the ages of 13 to 18. (Oxford 2013)  Adolescence has been defined by the World Health Organization as the period of life spanning the ages between 10-19 years, and youth as between 15-24 years. At last UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO define "Young People" as between the ages of 10 and 24, "Youth" as those aged 15-24 and "Adolescent" as the population aged 10-19.
The 2011 census of Nepal exuberated that 26,494,504 (Census 2011, CBS) people live in Nepal. Among them 33.08 per cent young and 23.45 per cent are adolescents. Adolescents' problem is one of the most important parts of the reproductive health. For the time being adolescents are small child but they are our future. Today every parents, society and nation need to address their problems.
Nepal is a developing country in the world. It is a republic, consisting multi-party system, and multi-religion, multi-cultural, multi I caste/ethnicity.  Nepal ranks 156th (0.458) in the Human Development index (UN HDI Report 2011), with 25.16 per cent populations living below the poverty line (LASMS) 2066/2067. Unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, less economic growth, labor migration , increasing divorce rate, lack of electricity, drinking water, political instability characterize the Nepalese society. It means Nepalese people are not able to utilize the reproductive health education and services.
According to the ICPD "Reproductive Health is state of complete Physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matter related to the reproductive system and to its function and process. People are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide it, when and how often to do so. Men and women have the right to be informed, have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of their choice for the regulation of fertility, as well as access to health care for safe pregnancy and child birth."- (ICPD Programme of action as document in action for the 21st Century/Reproductive Health and Rights for All Family Care International. (FCI 1994)
The government of Nepal has recognized Integrated Reproductive Health Package, which includes:
• Family planning
• Safe motherhood including child health (Newborn Care)
• Prevention and management of complications of abortion
• Prevention and management of RTI/STI/HIV/AIDS
• Prevention and management of sub-infertility
• Adolescent reproductive health
• Problem of elderly women i.e. uterine, cervical and breast cancer treatment at tertiary/ private sector
So, adolescent and reproductive healths are correlated. Effects of those components of RH depend upon different cohort. Adolescence is a risk period; it is the case of worse reproductive health status if the adolescents are involved on the use of those components unsafely.
The terms adolescent, youth and young people are used interchangeably to represent people of young age. It is very difficult to define adolescent, youth and young people in terms of the age group since different organizations and researchers refer to different age groups to define them. However, according to World Health Organization (WHO), adolescence refers to the age group 10 to 19 where as young people represent the people of age group 10 -24. Population falling in the age group 15-24 is considered as a youth. This study is based on adolescent definition of WHO.