Huancavelica: Save the children and Diresa promote a new proposal for the benefit of adolescents in the region

This year, this innovative virtual course will train 500 health professionals in key aspects such as the prevention of adolescent pregnancy, socio-emotional containment and the prevention of violence.

Through the virtual self-training course “Adolescence, a challenge for public health”, a first group of 77 health professionals from Huancavelica strengthened their knowledge about this age group and prepared themselves to provide differentiated and warm care to adolescents to attend the various health centers in the region.

The first professionals trained during January belong to the areas of obstetrics, nursing, psychology and nursing technicians from 60 health establishments, from the four categories of the first level of care in the seven provinces of Huancavelica.

The course, developed in partnership between Save the Children and the DIRESA (Regional Health Directorate) of Huancavelica, is the first virtual self-training experience, simple and dynamic, aimed at health personnel and focused exclusively on the theme of the adolescent life stage that is promoted in this region.

The initiative is valuable since it will help improve the perception that young people have about the care they receive in their health centers, which is classified as insufficient according to the “Survey on health care for children and adolescents in the Huancavelica region ” held in 2020. In addition, it will encourage the sector to reflect on the importance of considering investment in health with a focus on adolescents as a priority, since currently, 0% of Huancavelica’s health budget is used in exclusive programs for adolescents.

“This course is a tool to strengthen the skills of our health personnel. A trained staff will be able to help us in the task of detecting risks in time and preventing other aspects such as pregnancy or anemia. By 2022 we hope to have 500 professionals trained with the course and thus be able to use all this new knowledge to improve the quality of life of adolescents,” said Oscar Chahua, Head of the Adolescent Life Stage Area of ​​DIRESA Huancavelica.

“It is an innovative course due to its format and content. In the first round we have tried to reach professionals from the most remote areas to make them aware of the importance of working with adolescents, since they represent the largest population group and the second window of opportunity. This is a key stage where important changes are going through and in which adequate and timely attention is needed. In addition, key aspects such as prevention of adolescent pregnancy, socio-emotional containment, violence prevention, among others, are also addressed”, adds Yanina Gonzales, Project Officer of Save the Children.

We make a special call to Huancavelica education professionals to continue enrolling in this course, since at the end of it a certification will be delivered.

About the project

The course was designed within the framework of the project “Improving the health of mothers and adolescents in Huancavelica”, implemented with the support of the Latin American Children’s Trust – LACT. The project aims to provide timely care that increases the chances of adolescents in the region to have a better quality of life, prioritizing their physical and emotional development; as well as allowing spaces for dialogue where they can access relevant information to encourage them to make the most appropriate decisions regarding their future.