Labour established the strategy to reduce rates of pregnancy in England among teenagers from deprived backgrounds. Photograph: Alamy
A teenage pregnancy prevention strategy that is credited for halving the price of conceptions among teenagers in England is to be used as a blueprint in countries that wish to emulate its success.
Alison Hadley, that led the 10-year programme resulting in tape lows in teenage pregnancies, has actually been asked by the Globe Healthiness Organisation (WHO) to share the lessons of the project so they can easily be applied globally.
The teenage pregnancy strategy was established by the Labour government to manage soaring rates of pregnancy in England among teenagers from deprived backgrounds. It resulted in a 51% lose in conceptions over a 16-year period. According to the WHO, pretty couple of others programmes international have actually had such success.
New teenage pregnancy figures are because of be published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday, however figures released in March showed conception rates among under-18s at their lowest level. According to the ONS, in 2014 23 women under the age of 18 from every 1,000 became pregnant in England and Wales, compared along with 47 from 1,000 in 1998.
One of the reasons for the triumph of the programme was the length of time devoted to it. 10 years is unusually generous, along with projects regularly limited to three or 5 at most. Additionally credited is the comprehensive, multi-agency approach, along with job carried out in schools and colleges, among youth workers and social workers.
“It was a joined-up government strategy,” said Hadley. “No one department said they could solve it on their own, and it went on for a full 10 years which was very unprecendented. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen such a big movement to manage such a complex issue.
Related: Number of teenage births in England and Wales at lowest degree in 70 years
“That’s exactly what the that are attempting to extract. You necessity numerous time. You necessity the structures to deliver it properly. You will certainly not do it overnight – you necessity it across government and multi-agency.”
The strategy came to an end as quickly as the coalition government came in to power, however Hadley went on to established the Teenage Pregnancy Knowledge Exchange at the University of Bedfordshire to guarantee that lessons were not lost.
Following an approach by the WHO, she has actually Additionally co-authored a paper in which she identifies lessons from the strategy that could apply to others countries. The paper is published in the Journal of Adolescent Health on Tuesday.
She has actually Additionally travelled to Mexico to share her expertise, and hosted a visit from the Thai government, which has actually seen an raise in teenage pregnancy and is hoping to learn from the UK.
Dr Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli, that functions in adolescent sexual and reproductive Healthiness for the that and co-authored the paper, initial heard Hadley talk regarding the strategy in 2014. “This is a huge achievement. This is one of the fantastic achievements of this generation.
“We actually have actually to celebrate it. however we can’t photocopy a programme and put it in place in others countries. exactly what we absolutely have to do is to take numerous of the principles of the UK strategy and apply them elsewhere.”
Hadley, that remains the government’s teenage pregnancy adviser, said: “The that earned it clear that the UK strategy is unique in the 2 its extraordinary triumph and its impact on families from deprived backgrounds and has actually numerous features that are transferable to low- and middle-income countries.
“It’s pretty exciting to believe that the plans we rolled out, and that earned such a positive impact across England, could be used about the world. Due to the fact that teenage pregnancy affects the Healthiness and life opportunities of young parents and their children, higher levels are a concern to an increasing Lot of countries.
“Our strategy demonstrated that efficient education programmes and simpler access to contraception equips young individuals to make selections and brings down rates even in deprived areas. Crucial to triumph was government commitment, durable coordination between agencies and sufficient time to effect change.”
There is still a lot job to be done in the UK, Hadley warned. “As we share the lessons internationally, we have to go on the reductions at home. Crucial to further improvement will certainly be to make comprehensive sex and relationships education statutory in all of schools.
“We still lag behind our western European neighbours and there is significant variation in rates across England. If we do not go on our job on prevention, the figures will certainly rise again.”
