Luanda — Angola's First Lady, Ana Dias Lourenço, Saturday in Windhoek, Namibia, called for major attention to be paid to the well-being and development of adolescents and young people, as they are more likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the "Befree" Youth Campus, the First Lady said governments, particularly in Africa, should be attentive to diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis and Syphilis, as they mostly affect young people.
Ana Lourenço said she hopes that the Befree Project can serve as a model for the southern African region, as it deals with young people's reproductive and sexual health in a multidisciplinary and integrated way, with innovative and appropriate solutions.
According to a press release sent to ANGOP, Ana Dias Lourenço said that Angola has carried out various activities and consultation programmes with different youth organizations to take care of the situation.
The Angolan government, Ana Lourenço said, is increasingly committed to providing multi-sectoral and comprehensive responses to youth problems, with emphasis on primary and mental health care, sexual and reproductive education, early pregnancy, among others.
Mrs Lourenço is in Windhoek at the invitation of Namibia's First Lady, Monica Geingos, who runs the "One Economy" foundation that develops the Befree project, whose aim is to provide integrated and multidisciplinary assistance to combat sexually transmitted diseases and work for youth development.
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On the occasion, Monica Geingos said that African peoples should work together to solve the problems of young people.
Angola's First Lady has developed various initiatives aimed at improving the living conditions of the population, particularly the most vulnerable.
By way of example, her foundation, Ngana Zenza, has developed multi-sectoral projects, with particular attention to adolescents, in the most remote communities, namely along the Lobito Corridor, which aims to ensure equal opportunities in access to essential services.
The Ngana Zenza Foundation is also developing the "Dikota E 6.0" project, with the aim of creating healthy lifestyle habits and preventing common diseases in the elderly, promoting intergenerational relationships and solidarity to guarantee the transfer of values and experiences in a mutual learning way.
In addition, the Integrated Community Program is being developed in the town of Toco, Lubango, Huíla province, which promotes community development with a view to improving the living conditions of rural communities.
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