Facilitating sexual and reproductive health services for adolescent girls in the COVID-19 era: An urgent public health priority
Murewanhema, Grant;
Musuka, Godfrey;
Dzinamarira, Tafadzwa;
(2022)
Facilitating sexual and reproductive health services for adolescent girls in the COVID-19 era: An urgent public health priority.
African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 14 (1).
e1-e2.
ISSN 2071-2928
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v14i1.3357
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Almost 18 months into the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, sexual and
reproductive health (SRH) concerns for adolescent girls in Zimbabwe remain unresolved.1
The
control measures for COVID-19 pandemic such as lockdowns and closure of non-essential health
services resulted in disruption of SRH services for this critical population. The disruptions have
resulted in failure to access family planning (FP) clinics, emergency contraception, abortion
facilities in cases of unintended pregnancies, treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
and attendance for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) victims, and disruptions in human
papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination programmes.1
This correspondence is, therefore, a call for
prioritisation of restoration and maintenance of robust SRH services for adolescent girls in
Zimbabwe to militate against further negative impact on SRH outcomes in this population.