Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, Breaking Bronx features a health-related story, event or tidbit as part of an online expansion of our Be Healthy! column.

As federal lawmakers in Congress continue to debate over whether health insurers should be required to cover the costs of birth control, a recent city initiative is looking to curb teen pregnancy rates in the Bronx, where it is higher than in any other borough.

The program, called Bronx Teens Connection, will offer affordable reproductive health services to the borough’s teenagers, as many here lack health insurance coverage and live below the poverty line. In New York City overall, one out of every 10 teenagers is uninsured, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

“Teens in the Bronx face many challenges as they approach adulthood,” said Dr. Jane Bedell, assistant commissioner at the Health Department’s Bronx District Public Health Office. “A community-wide effort will allow us to work together to invest in the well-being of our teenagers by providing access to services and making sure that teens are knowledgeable about sexual health and empowered to act on this knowledge.”

The new program will team the DOH up with the Department of Education to implement a new sexual education curriculum to be taught in ninth and tenth grade classrooms at 20 different Bronx high schools. Called “Reducing the Risk,” the lesson plans will stress the importance of using birth control and condoms, the risks involved in sexual activity and the benefits of waiting until they’re ready to have sex. A similar curriculum will be introduced through the city’s Administration for Children’s Services to reach teens in foster care.

“We want to help young people reach their full potential and make better choices in life,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., who is a partner in the program. “I believe that this community effort will help our youth improve their knowledge and understanding about sexual health, making them more confident to make the choices that are right for them.”

Additionally, the program will partner with high schools, youth-serving organizations, and teen-friendly community-based health centers, to help young people easily gain access to birth control and testing for sexually transmitted diseases. The city’s Human Resources Administration will work to enroll Bronx teens in the Family Planning Benefits Program, an insurance program that covers reproductive health care services.

The pregnancy rate for 15 to 19-year-olds living in the South Bronx dropped by more than 23 percent between 2002 and 2009, though more teens get pregnant in the Bronx each year than in the other four boroughs.

Editor’s Note: For more information on teen health or to find out where teens can go for confidential teen-friendly sexual and reproductive health services call 311 or search “NYC Teen” on NYC.gov.

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