Action Health Incorporated (AHI) will integrate youth friendly centre in Ashogbon primary healthcare Centre in Bariga, a Lagos suburb.
The decision was unanimously reached during a public dialogue between AHI and stakeholders in the community at the Ashogbon healthcare centre Bariga Lagos.
The initiative is geared towards counselling youths against engaging in nefarious activities and social vices, to educate teenagers on sexual issues, and to advocate against rape which is on the increase in the community.
In her address, Abosede Ojerinde a personnel from the Ministry of Education stressed the need for such initiative in the community.
She said: “The issue of rape is very common in the community but stigmatisation and discrimination will not allow them to open up. However, this initiative will help them speak out and be bold to talk about it when it happens.”
Adewale Bamgbose the community secretary applaud the initiative while pledging a full support towards the actualisation and sustenance of the initiative.
Action Health Incorporated (AHI) has released an impact assessment report from the survey on the reproductive and Sexual health status of young people, age 10 – 24, living within Olojowo, a slum community in Badia, Lagos.
The objective of AHI, a non-profit organization, dedicated to promoting opportunities for young people’s health and development to ensure their successful transition to healthy and productive adulthood, was to assess the Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) service utilization by young people living in the community and to gauge the fresh SRH perceptions of same people.
Recall that the organisation published a report about a month ago from its survey conducted on the Olojowo community, which revealed the staggering information of how young people in the Lagos Suburb get information on sexual health, how they process the information and communicate same among peers. Findings of this survey were disclosed in a stakeholders meeting.
The outcome revealed that many of the houses in the community are made of wood, which makes them susceptible to serious fire accidents. Also, there are no toilet facilities in many of the houses and power supply is very poor.
Residents do not have access to potable water and there is a high level of insecurity at night, with many residents reporting disturbances by hooligans and frequent fights. Other themes explored in the study include young people’s involvement in sexual activities, knowledge of contraceptive methods, knowledge of HIV/AIDS and other STIs.
However, even as the survey reports that about 70 percent of the respondents had received information about their reproductive organ and sexual activity (sexuality education) from someone while about 30 percent had not, the information was either not accurate or rather wrong.
The survey had 553 respondents drawn from four Community Development Association (CDA) Area: Oke-Oja West, Oke-Oja South, Oke-Oja North, Gaskiya West, who constitute 46.1% male and 47.2% female respondents.
Unfortunately, the level of education, according to the survey outcome states that only about 3.8% of the male respondents have had a Tertiary education of one form or the other, 79.2%, secondary education; 16.3% primary education while 0.7% have no education at all. Similarly, 3.0% of the female respondents have had Tertiary education, 83.4% have been through secondary school, and 12.8% have had a primary school education while 0.8% have no form of formal education.
Meanwhile, as at the time of the commencement of this survey, 30% of the respondents have not had any form of sexuality education, a number which reduced to 13% at the end of the project. By this, 87% of the respondent are now aware of sexuality education, the assessment indicated.
According to the assessment, the highest source of information on sexuality education remained the school with 81.1% followed by Friends, 54.1% at the baseline of the survey. The percentage, however, changed with School now at 84.5%, Mothers at 65.3%, Medical personnel at 50.8% and Friends now at 44.1.
Young people from public secondary schools across Lagos State will showcase the realities of child marriage in Nigeria using songs, poetry and drama to advocate for the elimination of Child marriage in the country on November 12th, 2016 at the 23rd Annual Teenage Festival of Life (TFL).
TFL was initiated by Action Health Incorporated (AHI) in 1993 with the aim of bridging communication gap between young people and adults and also to serve as an enabling forum where young people and relevant stakeholders meet to both identify the plights faced by them. This year, the event is focused on creating awareness on the issue of child marriage, its prevalence in Nigeria, impact – effects on the child bride, community and national development.
Child marriage is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and despite laws against it, the practice still remains widespread. In Nigeria, 43% of girls are married before their 18th birthday and 17% are married before they turn 15. The prevalence of child marriage varies widely from one region to another, with figures as high as 76% in the North West region and 10% in the South East.
These child brides are burdened with responsibilities as wives and mothers with little support, resources, or life experience to meet these challenges. Furthermore, girls’ rights, health and development are undermined by the impact of early marriage, including pregnancy and early childbearing which impacts on their mortality and morbidity. There are also outcomes of early termination of their schooling which limits human capital and their future productivity which of course affects the lives of their children and families.
This year theme “Ending Child Marriage”; is one of the priority areas under “Ending Gender Inequality” Goal 5 of the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Ending Child Marriage not only achieves gender equality but translates to the fulfilment of other priority areas such as Ending Poverty, Achieving Education for All, and other goals. This, therefore, calls for urgent steps to eradicate the practice in Nigeria through policies and innovative ideas that must be implemented.
This event will have in attendance as the special guest government officials from Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, UNFPA, the Tutor General/Permanent secretaries of all the Education districts in Lagos state, teachers and students of secondary schools in Lagos as well as the Executive Director of Action Health Incorporated Mrs. Adenike Esiet. Also in attendance as the celebrity artist of the day is Aramide, winner of best female artist Afrima 2016.
Residents of Olojowo community within the Badia, Apapa- Iganmu Area of Lagos State have expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the stakeholders meeting held to disseminate a survey report on a baseline study on the sexual and reproductive health status of young people living in Badi.a
Speaking for AHI at the meeting on Tuesday, Miss Funso Bukoye, noted that the survey conducted on the Olojowo community revealed staggering information of how young people in the Lagos Suburb get information on sexual health, process the information and communicate same among themselves.
This report documents the findings of a survey on the Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) status of young people particularly girls ages 10 – 24 including SRH service utilisation and expectations for SRH services in Badia, Apapa- Iganmu. Many of the houses in the community are made of wood, which makes them susceptible to serious fire accidents, there are no toilet facilities in many of the houses and power supply is very poor.
Residents do not have access to potable water and there is a high level of insecurity at night, with many residents reporting disturbances by hooligans at night and frequent fights. Other themes explored in the study include young people’s involvement in sexual activities, knowledge of contraceptive methods, knowledge of HIV/AIDS and other STIs.
However, even as the survey reports that about 70 percent of the respondents had received information about their reproductive organ and sexual activity (sexuality education) from someone while about 30 percent had not, the information was either not accurate or rather wrong.
In terms of where a person can get methods to prevent pregnancy, 32.7% stated that methods could be gotten from hospitals, 56.4% mentioned chemists, 28.4% mentioned peers as a source of contraceptive methods to prevent pregnancy, 19.3% were unaware of where they could get methods to prevent pregnancy and 9.8% identified other sources of contraceptives.
Lamenting the situation in the community and rededicating his commitments to the well-being of the people, Mr Olayomi Olumide, the Sole Administrator, Apapa-Iganmo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), urge AHI as well as sponsor, Champions for Change, to ensure that the programme is not a one-off.
[quote color=”#000000″ bgcolor=”#dd8e18″ bcolor=”#81d742″ arrow=”yes”]“Please do all within your capacity to see that there is continuity. As youths, the genes in the body will push them to do things that they were cautioned of and that they make mistakes does not mean we must abandon them. Let us stop judging these young people when we observe their mistakes,” Olumide said.[/quote]
Recounting how he peeps through the window of his office and sees the way many of the young people waste their time and resources on things that are not worth it, he advocated that the young people need to be better informed, educated and exchange relevant communication.
Confirming that many of the young people get information from the wrong sources as discovered in the survey which proof that a larger number get information from friends and schoolmates who may advise them wrongly or mock their mistakes, the Sole Administrator advised parents to spend quality time with the children, especially fathers.
In his remark, the governor of Peer Educators in the community, Adeyanju Temitayo, thanked Action Health Incorporated and Champions for Change for considering the community confessing that the initiative has brought valuable knowledge to young people as well as old ones in the community.
Temitayo confessed that before the coming of AHI, he, like many others do not visit the Primary Health Centre simply because of the attitudes of the Health workers, the service time which is against students who can only visit by evening when the facility has closed as well lack of manpower which causes delay in service, a factor that youths detest.
The health workers, who requested for security, additional staff and other health enhancing materials, noted the observations from the people and promised to effect the changes as soon as possible.
Action Health Incorporated on Wednesday graduated about 120 out-of-school adolescent girls who are beneficiaries of its Project tagged; ‘Expanding Access of Marginalized Out-of-School Girls to Services in Ilaje Community’.
The graduates, drawn from Ilaje Community out of the 42 slum areas of Lagos State, were empowered with intensive livelihood skills and sexual and reproductive health programme with the support of United Nations Population Funds.
Delivering her welcome speech, Mrs Adenike Esiet, Executive Director, Action Health Incorporated, noted that the girls will be given start up kits worth N10,000 adding: “This is in addition to being registered with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the opening of a bank account to aid financial accountability in their businesses.
“It is important to note that the lack of schooling has implications far beyond access to basic education: being out-of-school substantially increases the threats to these adolescent girls’ health, pressure to engage in risky sexual relations, pressure to marry early, as well as exposure to exploitative labour conditions,” she noted.
In his remarks, Mr Koffi Kouame, UNFPA, Deputy Director observed that the programme could not have come at a more auspicious time for Nigeria as globally, countries are currently setting in place actions that will ensure the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“In this regards, it is important to note that the ability of the Out Of School Girls (OOSG) to fulfil her potential is a major contributor to the attainment of the SDGs and therefore is a corresponding critical development in Nigeria.
Some of the 120 graduating girls in a group photograph after the celebration in Lagos
“As a result, landmark occasion represents a call to action to all Nigerians (policy makers, legislators, other development partners and NGOs) to work in ensuring that the OOSG is empowered in terms of accessing formal or informal education as well as the acquisition of skills and knowledge about her sexual and reproductive health, which will enable her reach maximum potential and contribute to the development of Nigeria,” Kouame stressed.
Speaking further, he noted that Lagos, with over 2million young girls aged 10 to 19, has the highest number of young girls in Nigeria. “Even though, Lagos state has been a pacesetter in the promotion of girls’ education and women empowerment, a significant proportion of these girls are still out-of-school.
“Therefore, if significant progress towards the empowerment of the OOSG is achieved in Lagos, the impact will be felt nationally and indeed on a global scale as well. It is well acknowledged that the OOSG is one of the most vulnerable individuals in our society as they are well accustomed to living in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, exposed to gender based violence, coerced sexual encounters or forced marriages, early pregnancy/child bearing and exploitative labour conditions,” Kouame noted.
During their testimonies, elated Godonu Gloria narrated how she dropped out of school at primary 5 only to help her parents sell pap (koko) as a means to sustain the family. According to Gloria, she later went to stay with her grandma, who told her to join the other girls in selling fish as a tradition for all the children living with her.
She went further to explain how she had always wanted to bake and how she got to know about the opportunity on a Sunday at church. She harped on it and is now an empowered graduate of the Action Health Incorporated Programme. According to her, she made N4000 during her first baking business.
Similarly, Olawale Aminat, another beneficiary recounted her ordeal in the polygamous family being the last child of the third wife. Aminat dropped out of school at the Senior Secondary School (SSS) 3 because her mother could no longer meet up with the incessant demands of the science department she belonged to in school to carry out various projects.
On her part, she learned makeup artistry and headgear (gele) tying and has succeeded in practising her new trade at a public event where she made N1500 on the first day. Aminat thanked the AHI and UNFPA, observing that both organisations have done well for many girls, including her.
Present at the graduation ceremony include the Honourable Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Women of Affairs, Mrs Lola Akande, represented by Mrs Folasade S. Adesoye, Permanent Secretary, Lagos state Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation; Mr Coffin Kouame, Deputy Representative, UNFPA; Mr S.A Bamgbade, Ilaje Community Leader; Mrs Oluwasoromidayo George, Corporate Affairs Director, Unilever, to mention a few.
Action Health Incorporated, a non-profit organization, key stakeholders comprising policy makers, private sector, donors, community members, media, civil society and young people recently held a dialogue on out-of-school adolescent girls.
The discussion is meant to analyse the scale and magnitude of the challenges faced by out-of-school adolescent girls who dwell around slums with a view to mobilising support and investments for a harmonized approach to addressing these challenges through policy, programming and investments by all stakeholders in Lagos state.
According to a press release signed by Funso Bukoye, Media contact, the Lagos State Development Plan (2012-2025) puts the number of slums in Lagos at over 100.
The release claimed that many of the residents in the slums lack basic amenities, access to services and opportunities, with a vicious cycle of poverty and deprivation.
“Findings from a 2010 research carried out by Action Health Incorporated (AHI) among 480 adolescent girls in Iwaya – a densely populated slum in Lagos, showed that almost half (45.2 percent) of girls aged 10 -14 had never attended school while none of the girls surveyed reached beyond secondary school level.
“This finding reveals the rising demographic of out-of-school adolescent girls and this should be a concern for all.
“Despite an increase in the number of programmes supporting girl-child education and empowerment in Lagos state, out-of-school adolescent girls living in slum communities remain marginalized. These girls lack opportunity, safe spaces and other services necessary for their healthy development,” it stated.
It further observed that such adolescences need formal and/or non-formal education, sexual and reproductive health information and services, vocational skills and business-related training, as well as protection from sexual abuse and violence as these will help reduce their vulnerability while protecting and improving their well-being and that of their communities.
The meeting which coincides with the commemoration of International Literacy Day with the theme Literacy and Sustainable Society, and coming ahead of the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by Heads of Sates and Governments later in the month in New York, is timely and critical towards ensuring the vision of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State.
According to Governor Ambode, his vision is “making Lagos work for all” especially towards accomplishing many of the SDGs, particularly Goal 5 – achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Effective investment in out-of-school adolescent girls is not only the right thing to do but the smart thing to do. When girls are empowered with age-appropriate information, skills and resources it creates a multiplier effect of sustainable change that benefits families, communities, and nations.
