Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 12, 1 December 1997 — FAMILY PLANNING [ARTICLE]

Help Learn more about this Article Text

FAMILY PLANNING

NUKU'ALOFA (Tonga) — About 97 percent of the 1 ,500 people surveyed in Tonga early this year believe that family planning education should be introduced into the syllabus of high school seniors.

They also want more educational programs on family planning issues on radio and television. This is the result of the AusAID-sponsored survey involving the islands of Tongatapu, Vava'u and Ha'apai. "The majority of the people surveyed, between the ages of 15 and 55, said their religion was not preventing them ffom using family planning methods," said Stephanie Pope of Tonga Family Planning. "It's their misconceptions and false beliefs, as well as cultural taboos that prevent open discussion at home."