30 May 2023

A youth friendly clinic has been opened in Bokspits to ensure youth in the BORAVAST cluster have access to health care services tailor made for youth.

Speaking during the clinic launch at Bokspits recently, Tsabong District Health Management Team coordinator, Ms Gaboelwe Rammekwa said the structure was designed such that the youth became inclined to use it.

“The structure is different from the rest of the clinic facilities so that youth can feel that they belong and be able to use it. Parents, let us encourage our youth to use the structure,” she said.

The move is in line with Ministry of Health initiative to create youth friendly services, an idea which was conceived in 1999 after it was realised that majority of those infected by HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections were youth. High teenage pregnancy cases also made it necessary to design health services aimed at assisting such they youth.

“Back then if you were pregnant you dropped from school. It was noticed that the future of the youth was affected. Government then initiated youth friendly services programme that targeted young people. In 2001 we then started to implement youth friendly services,” she said.

Ms Rammekwa said Tsabong district had high teenage pregnancy numbers and new HIV infections, which necessitated the launch of youth friendly services. From January to date, Tsabong district recorded 42 teenage pregnancies while in the last quarter, from October to December 37 cases were registered.

She said when they noticed the trend, they took a decision to open a clinic at Tsabong Unified Senior Secondary School equipped with a full time nurse to arrest the situation.

Tsabong Cluster leads in teenage pregnancy numbers followed by Werda, Middlepits and then BORAVAST cluster.

She said the number of cases recorded in BORAVAST was high considering the area population, “We believe that there are more cases of teenage pregnancies in the area, but the children are schooling elsewhere hence the need to open a youth clinic to cater for them,” she said.

For his part principal registered nurse, Mr Kenna Mogapi said the services that to be availed to youth in the age range of 10-24 years would be delivered by health care professionals who were within youth age range.

Services to be offered at the centre include maternal and child health care services such as ante-natal and post-natal care, screening and testing for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The clinic will also provide cervical cancer screening to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment.

Furthermore it will provide professional counselling and guidance in resolving personal or psychological problems, family planning as well as health talks.

Mr Mogapi highlighted that there were many issues affecting the youth and the centre was designed to help them hence he encouraged them to use the facility.

“We are health care professionals, rest assured that we shall not judge anyone who comes,” he said.

Bokspits/Struizendam councilor, Mr Hendricks Jacobs called on communities of Bokspits, Rappelspan, Vaalhoek and Struizendam to make the newly opened youth clinic a success.

He implored health care professional to uphold patient’s confidentiality.

“I encourage you nurses to be very professional when dealing with patients. What you do here, what you discover in here should stay in here,” he encouraged the nurses.

He urged the youth to take control of their lives, avoid substance abuse, stay focused to avoid falling into pitfalls at a young age as the future of the country was in their hands. ENDS