Authors of the paper titled A qualitative exploration of the salience of MTV-Shuga, an edutainment programme, and adolescents’ engagement with sexual and reproductive health information in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa examine the extent to which an edutainment programme, MTV-Shuga, was reported to influence young people’s engagement with sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Their findings highlight the importance of enabling young people in rural areas to watch MTV Shuga with peers in a safe space in which discussion of the content is facilitated. The authors also argued that there is also value in encouraging parents to watch MTV Shuga as a means of enabling discussions between children and adults in their lives about SRH matters.
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There has been a gradual increase in the number of adolescents visiting healthcare facilities in South Africa and in the number of adolescents giving birth in healthcare facilities from 2017 to 2020, according to a report by the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA).
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According to Funeka Mthembu, project manager at The Aurum Institute’s Rustenburg clinical research site, while there are programmes and policies in place to help promote adolescent and youth-friendly services, there are still gaps.
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Mthembu says knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and available services is still a challenge.
“According to the SA National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour and Communication Survey (2017), only 36.1% of youth between 15 and 24 years had accurate knowledge of HIV transmission. Another study conducted in the Northern Cape among high school pupils found that pupils had 70% knowledge on STIs and only 12% on HIV and Aids. A study conducted in Eastern Cape among 15 to 24-year-olds found that 15.33% of youth did not know what STIs were,” she says.
