Chief Minister Unveils Health Alert’s Family Planning Youth Connect Keke
By Foday Moriba Conteh
During the launch of the Pregnancy Registration and Service Tracking application (PreSTrack) on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at the New Brookfields Hotel in New England Ville, Freetown, Chief Minister Dr. David Moinina Sengeh officially commissioned the Family Planning Youth Connect Keke. This project, implemented by Health Alert Sierra Leone with support from USAID Momentum, aims to enhance family planning services for young people.
Victor Lansana Koroma, Executive Director of Health Alert Sierra Leone, explained that Sierra Leone joins other countries worldwide in addressing Family Planning & Sexual Reproductive Health issues through the National Youth and Adolescent Family Planning & Sexual Reproductive Health Conference.
This annual conference brings together stakeholders, NGOs, social change-makers, health workers, community advocates, youths, and adolescents from the country’s 16 districts.
He said that the idea for the Family Planning Youth Connect Keke emerged from young participants at the last National Youth and Adolescent Family Planning & Sexual Reproductive Health Conference, adding that during the conference, participants were divided into six groups and tasked with developing innovative family planning ideas.
Koroma revealed that the Kenema District group won with their Family Planning Youth Connect Keke Initiative that will be providing support and information on family planning to young people.
He highlighted that the Family Planning Youth Connect Keke aims to reach young people with Family Planning Services who find it challenging to visit healthcare facilities.
Koroma noted that the Family Planning Youth Connect Keke will be taken to Kenema District because they won, but said the pilot phase will begin in Kenema District, the origin of the winning idea. If successful, the initiative, with support from partners, will expand to all districts.
At the launch, Chief Minister Dr. David Moinina Sengeh expressed his appreciation for the Family Planning Keke initiative, emphasizing its potential to make family planning services more accessible to young people and help combat maternal and child mortality in Sierra Leone.
The ceremony culminated with the official unveiling of the Family Planning Keke by Chief Minister Dr. David Moinina Sengeh, alongside Minister of Health Dr. Austin Demby and Executive Director of Health Alert Sierra Leone Victor Lansana Koroma, among others.
