Mexico's Health Ministry Launches Online Chat for Teens

The Ministry of Health, through the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), has launched the online chat '¿Cómo le hago?' (How do I do it?), a digital tool designed to provide reliable, personalized, and stigma-free information to adolescents seeking guidance on sexual and reproductive health. Available at https://comolehago.org/, this platform handled over 34,000 consultations during 2024, a figure that reflects the growing demand for safe spaces where adolescents can resolve their doubts without fear of judgment or discrimination. The chat is operated by specialized professionals in sexual and reproductive health, who provide service from Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 22:00 and on weekends from 8:00 to 20:00. Based on these findings, the chat component was incorporated in 2021, developed by the INSP in coordination with the National Center for Gender Equity, Sexual and Reproductive Health (CNEGSR), the institution to which the staff operating the tool belong. In addition to the chat, the '¿Cómo le hago?' website offers videos, tutorials, and short games that address topics such as the difference between sex and gender, skills for saying no, and practical guides on the correct use of condoms in a couple, strengthening autonomous learning and self-care. According to service records, the peak demand hours are between 9:00 and 12:00, as well as from 15:00 to 17:00. Consultations are conducted in complete anonymity, without the need to provide personal data, which fosters trust and openness among users. The director of Sexual and Reproductive Health at INSP, Aremis Villalobos, explained that the platform offers information based on scientific evidence, adapted to the language and needs of the adolescent population. The '¿Cómo le hago?' initiative emerged in 2015 as a website, with the objective of increasing knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills for the responsible and healthy exercise of sexuality. Villalobos recalled that the project was developed within the framework of the National Strategy for the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy, whose purpose is to increase the informed demand for contraceptive methods, especially long-acting reversible and dual contraception, to prevent both unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.