The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development emphasizes on dissemination of information and services to adolescents which would protect them from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The special needs of adolescents in the area of reproductive health have been well recognized. Motherhood at adolescence age exposes millions of girls to the risks of maternal death, reproductive health hazards and various nutritional complicacies. Significant section of adolescent girls worldwide are forced to go for unsafe abortions every year. There is an increasing trend among adolescents of both sexes in different parts of the globe of being affected by HIV infection and AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. In India, a series of policies have been formulated during last couple of years to bring adolescents to the center stage of development planning. These policies are: the National Health Policy 2002, the National Population Policy 2000, the National AIDS Policy 2001, the New National Draft Youth Policy, and the Women Policy 2001. Past experiences reveal that the interaction between policies and practices fail miserably in achieving the desired goal. Most of these policies exist in vacuum without any significant contribution to programme realities. All these policies would be effective if the needs of adolescents are addressed to through political and bureaucratic commitments at highest level and continuous support of policy makers. It is urged by international documentations that government and non-government organizations of our country must recognize the special needs of adolescents and implement appropriate programmes directed towards education and counseling of adolescents in the area of responsible sexual behaviour, family planning, family life, reproductive and sexual health, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection and AIDS. The issues of adolescents are very delicate and complex. The present book is based on the research study on Nutrition and Health Care of Adolescent Girls in Urban and Rural area of Orissa sponsored by National Commission for the Women, New Delhi. The research project has been directed by Prof. R.N. Pati, an eminent social anthropologist of Orissa. The book deals with various issues of adolescent girls in the areas of reproductive and sexual health, socialization, quality of life, nutritional issues and so on. The study recommends how the programmes for adolescents could be made more effective and how the adolescents could be fully involved in identifying their reproductive and sexual health needs.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR R N Pati
R.N. Pati (born in April 1954) is an eminent Social Anthropologists cum Demographer by profession. He has worked among tribes, peasants, slum dwellers and back ward groups of Orissa over a period of twenty years. Currently he is Assistant Director, Population Research Centre, Bhubaneswar. As a demographer he has contributed significantly in the field of tribal health, evaluation of health and family welfare programmes in Orissa. He has also visited Kualalampur, Malaysia and Honolulu, USA on a Fulbright Project assignment in 1982. He is an eminent Social Worker of Orissa. He has been actively associated with activities of various institutions in different capacities. He has visited several foreign countries like USA, Norway, Netherlands and participated in different international conferences, i.e., 20th World Conference o SID on “World or Severalâ€, Amsterdam May 1991, ECO-92 Public Forum, May 1991, Amsterdam, 30th IULA World Congress on “Environment, Health and Life Style†June 1991 Osio, Norway, South Asia Regional Conference on Policies and Strategies for Sustainable Development in South Asia, Dhaka, Bangladesh, November 1990. He is Honorary Executive Director of Council for Tribal and Rural Development (CTRD) a leading NGO of Orissa. He was rthe Professional Associate to East-West Population Institute, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA in 1982. At present, he is Secretary General, Society for International Development of Bhubaneswar Chapter. He worked as Consultant Anthropologist to NORAD in 1981 and 1987 for the project, Development of Traditional Fishing villages in Northern Balasore. He worked as Consultant anthropologist to various national and international agencies. He has directed a good number of research projects sponsored by National Commission for Women, New Delhi, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi, Harijan and Tribal Welfare Department, Government of Orissa. He has edited twelve books. His other books are Population Family and Culture (1987), Tribal Development in India (1989), Aged in India (1989), Tribal Demography in India (1990), Health, Environment and Development (1991), Rehabilitation of Child Labourers in India (1991), Reproductive Child Health (2002) and Tribal and Indigenous People of India: Problems and Prospects (2002). He was honoured with prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhawana Award 2003 as the Best Scientist of the Year 2003 Orissa by Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, New Delhi.
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