Improving Maternal Health through Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Awareness and Life Skill based Training: Experience in Bangladesh

Background: Studies conducted in Bangladesh reported a high maternal mortality ratio for the past decades. Approximately 80 percent girls become mother before they reached age 18. Lack of knowledge on SRHR among adolescents and lack of skills for empowerment are two major factors responsible for this low performance in maternal health sector.
Objectives: To improve reproductive and maternal health of UCEP students by providing SRHR education and life skill based training to delay marriage and subsequent childbearing.
Intervention area: Providing SRHR education to 4 UCEP school students. Organized FGDs to assess the need of SRHR education in the save intervention area.
Intervention process: The study conducted by using SRHR manual for the students with a pre and post test survey. The Findings suggest that knowledge and attitude of adolescent have changed significantly and those who received the education are more knowledgeable on safe motherhood compared to those who have not. Both vicariate and multivariate analyses identified several key factors which have influenced their behavior.
Conclusion: Considering the importance of SRHR education for adolescent, UCEP-Bangladesh engaged their students in SRHR education and life skill vocational trainings to reduce early marriage and economic dependency.