Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health

The need to address the adolescents, who constitute the largest group in India, is evident from the various policies and programs of the Government. The Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Program, of Government of India, incorporated the provision of ARSH services in primary health care facilities. The guidelines were prepared and implementation plans, for the service delivery, setting the environment for provision of services, communication activities and M & E plans were prepared for the provision of ARSH services. However, the ARSH intervention appears to have been lost in the larger paradigm of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Consequently, the provision of ARSH services in public health settings is at best patchy, across states. The field reports appear to indicate that the utilization of the RCH services by the adolescents is negligible. This is a very major concern. The ARSH services continue to be inaccessible, unaffordable, judgmental and of poor quality. There is a need to address these.