YMCA, PSI Provide Health Services to Young People
The young people of Liberia have been challenged to take advantage of the voluntary HIV/Aids counseling, the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, as well as counseling on teenage pregnancy Program for their own betterment.
The program was recently held for hundreds of young people in Monrovia and its environs in continuation of efforts by the Liberia YMCA, in partnership with the Population Services International, PSI to face the reality of time.
The Nurse Counselor at the Youth Drop-in Center of the YMCA Pauline Wleh expressed satisfaction for the partnership, Noting that the Youth Drop-in Center caters to young people between the ages of 15-24 years, with the center opened six days a week.
She described Services at the center as free of charge, with the provision of condoms. The Youth Drop-in Center (YDIC) was established by the Liberia YMCA, in partnership with the Medical Emergency Relief international- MERLIN, an English international NGO in partnership with the YMCA of Liberia in October 2007.
It arose out of the need for youth in and out of school to access HIV and AIDS and other reproductive health services, including STIs, family planning, life skills training and voluntary counseling and testing.
The project is being implemented in six communities in Monrovia to include New Kru Town, Clara Town, Soniwein, West Point and Crown Hill. Merlin officially ended its collaboration with the YMCA in 2010. Population Services International (PSI) is now collaborating with the Liberia YMCA in providing services to young people in the Youth Drop-in Center.
