 Meantime, a national initiative has been launched targeting teenage and adolescent girls. The Girls Not Mothers campaign, being undertaken by the St. Lucia Planned Parenthood Association, forms part of activities commemorating adolescent week from October 18 to 21, 2021. The initiative aims to provide teenagers with adequate resources to make responsible decisions in order to maintain low rates of teenage pregnancy in the country. Supervisor of information and education, Patricia Modest, during an appearance on NTN's morning update, spoke to the importance of sexual education to youth making responsible decisions. The education has to start at the home, where mothers will start with the children, about the body, the organ, you know. All we tell parents, sit with your child, give the child the information according to the child's age. You start at very early, about the body. Certification is not about sex, personal hygiene, the different parts of the body, and if you start that way, the child will build a relationship with you, will be able to sit and come to you and say, Mommy, look at that, or you can sit and tell the child, look. Now you are growing, I realize the changes, the physical changes, is taking place. That's the first thing you will see. The breast growing, the boys will hear the voice changing, you know, and the boys will start have beard, you see the girls hip widening, you have eyes, you can see the trees in your own child. So that's the time you have to start, and you start talking to the girls, what turns for you to know about your body. Ms. Modest highlighted the health risks and consequences of engaging in early sexual activity. As an early pregnant, they can get an STI STD, then early sexual activity at an early age can cause cancer of the cervix. There are lots of complications, you know, and you see when the body is not fully matured and you see you get to sexual activities, sometimes the mind sets. And you know, if a girl get pregnant at an early age, you what they go for and they can reach the wellness center, all the risk factors. But we get a lot of them coming in with infections. Ms. Modest further explained that the Girls Not Mothers program will engage teenagers in the school and community settings and will equip participants with the requisite tools to make informed lifestyle choices. She said while the program focuses on the education and awareness of females, it is important that young males are included in the conversation.