The workshop was divided into two parts, both of which emphasised active roles for all participants through interactive panel discussions and small group discussions. Priority issues and concerns presented earlier by the adolescent representatives were assessed in the second part of the workshop. The assessment provided a basis for the development of a programme of action and strategies that were intended to guide individual countries in developing programmes and strategies at the national level. Society needs your help. There is very little knowledge about how adolescents view sexual relations, unwanted pregnancy, abortion, STDs, gender relations in reproductive health decision making, and male responsibility.
Adolescence is at one and the same time demanding yet promising, extremely exciting yet unsettling.
To a large extent, a person's complete physical, mental, social and spiritual growth and development depend on the adolescent years. Situation analyses of East and South-East Asia and the Pacific underscore the need to pay greater attention to adolescent welfare. Adolescents constitute some 20 per cent of the national population in some countries in East and South-East Asia, compared with 18 to 25 per cent in the Pacific countries. Clearly, there is an urgent need to provide for their total well-being, including ensuring their right to reproductive health education and care. Current situations in different countries in East and South East Asia and the Pacific have hindered the promotion of adolescent reproductive health.