Reproductive Health Crisis for Zimbabwean Adolescents
In the Spotlight at UN Special Session on Children

New York - A new report demonstrates just how devastating the health impact
will be on adolescents worldwide if the Bush administration succeeds in
dismantling existing international agreements on adolescent reproductive
rights at the United Nations Special Session on Children, May 8-10.

State of Denial: Adolescent Reproductive Rights in Zimbabwe, documents a
reproductive health crisis in that African nation, where approximately 45%
of young people are under age 15. Nearly half of all HIV infections -
almost 7,000 daily - occur among people aged 15 to 24, and teenagers undergo
the majority of an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 unsafe abortions performed
each year.

"If governments want to ensure that adolescents survive into adulthood and
avoid the risk of death, ill-health, and abandoned life goals due to teenage
pregnancy and HIV infection, they must act to reinforce the reproductive
rights of adolescents during the Special Session on Children," said Kathy
Hall Martinez, acting director of CRLP's international program.

Written by CRLP and the Child & Law Foundation in Harare, Zimbabwe, the
report is based on over 800 interviews with adolescents, parents, government
officials, non-governmental organizations and UN agencies. It concludes
that young people have a human right to access reproductive health
information and services.

Facts of Life for Adolescents in Zimbabwe:

-30% of girls 15 to 19 years old reportedly had sexual intercourse at least
once; close to 40% of female adolescents in Zimbabwe are mothers by the time
they are 19 years old.

-Zimbabwean service providers cannot provide contraception, including
condoms, without parental consent to any adolescent due to confusing laws
and policies; adolescents' rights to privacy and confidentiality in seeking
medical care is virtually non-existent.

The launch of State of Denial: Adolescent Reproductive Rights in Zimbabwe
will include a presentation by Naira Khan, director, Child & Law Foundation,
Harare, Zimbabwe, and a co-author of the report. CRLP attorneys will also
participate in a panel presentation providing a global snapshot of
adolescent reproductive rights from Europe to Asia.

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For more information on the report launch in New York City on May 8 from
7-9pm, please contact Suzanne Grossman at [email protected].

Copies of the report will be available to download at
www.reproductiverights.org.