Youth Advocates is calling for urgent action to remove barriers preventing adolescent girls from accessing sexual and reproductive health services, despite Malawi being praised for major SRHR progress.
Speaking during the National Engagement Meeting on Consent for Access to SRHR Services, Youth Advocates Executive Director Tatenda Songore said cultural and religious beliefs continue to fuel teenage pregnancies and early marriage.
“When you look the issue teenage pregnancies and child marriage have been there for so long. For example within our culture, we have heard traditions where people used to marry or still marry children and they would be below the age of 18, this has been there. Even when there are laws, people have not been following the laws or sometimes the laws are systematically not applied. But with the issue at hand, laws have to be enforced.
We need open dialogue that puts the rights, autonomy and health of adolescents first, without judgment or stigma,” he said
The meeting, held under the Step Up 4 Access initiative, brought together policymakers, health workers, legal experts, civil society, and youth groups to discuss consent, confidentiality, provider bias, and harmful social norms.
New research by the Aga Khan University, Population Council, SickKids and AFIDEP shows Malawi has made significant gains. The country doubled its modern contraceptive prevalence rate and reduced adolescent fertility by 45% between 2000 and 2023 due to sustained investment in reproductive health services.
However, the Ministry of Health says many girls are still being left behind.
Deputy Director of Reproductive Health Services Hanz Katengeza admitted that access remains a major challenge.
“The challenge remains big and requires multiple interventions from government and partners,” Katengeza said. He cited stigma, misinformation and service access as key barriers locking girls out.
Malawi lifted its ban on family planning in 1994 through the National Population Policy and has since committed to improving SRHR for all women, including adolescents.
Participants agreed that legal clarity, youth-friendly services, and community sensitization are needed to turn policy gains into real access for girls.
