The reproductive health of young people in Cote d'Ivoire: issues and prospects

In Cote d'Ivoire, young people aged between 14 and 24 represent 25% of the population, and this is the age group that is particularly vulnerable to re productive health problems. Sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS in the m ain affect 15 to 18-year-olds; the early pregnancy rate is high; and the wi despread recourse to illegal abortion by women at an increasingly young age reflects, the emergence of an unfilled need for family planning services a mong the young. To cope with this situation, the Cote d'Ivoire authorities have adopted several strategies, which include launching wide-ranging infor mation campaigns and making condoms generally available. However, over and beyond such actions, which are beginning to bear fruit, it seems that parti cular attention needs to be focused on young people not at school and on gi rls, whose social status is low. The promotion of equality between the sexe s and the legalisation of abortion could give added force to strategies to promote the reproductive health of young people.