An in-depth consultative process brought together 30 stakeholders from the health sector to determine national standards for youth friendly health services & formulate guidelines on adolescent sexual health information and services. The workshop organised by Health Protection Agency of Ministry of Health and UNFPA together with WHO was held from 24th - 28th March 2013.
The 5-day workshop, an initiative of UNFPA Maldives, was an opportunity to propose actions for providing youth friendly health services at various levels and thereby reaching a very active youth cohort that needs to be sensitised in this area. The necessity to address this issue is becoming more and more pressing as statistical figures on adolescent behavioural patterns demonstrate many risks that may bring otherwise. The week long workshop began with sectoral presentations, case studies, identification of gaps and determining standards. The process further took into account the package of services that youth should have access to at each health facility in the country and identify points of delivery.
The workshop is the first ever extensive process to be organised in the Maldives, in the area of standardising health services for young people.
