The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Adolescent

  • ‘Invest in adolescent girls’

    Activities commemorating this year’s International Day of the Girl Child have ended with the investiture of Mrs. Aisha Buhari as the Grand Patron, High Level Women Advocates for Girls Education in Nigeria during an advocacy visit of 50 adolescent girls to her.

    The wife of the President at the interactive session with the girls promised to advocate publicly for legislation against child marriage. She encouraged parents to keep their daughters in school for at least 12 years. “No single girl will be left behind in my movement to get every girl into school,’ promised.

    With the theme of “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030”, UNICEF and other partners including the Federal Ministry of Education focused their activities on the transforming power of education to empower adolescent girls to overcome all challenges that affect their lives and inhibit their prospects of advancement.

    The 2013 National Demographic Health Survey indicate that there are about 20 million adolescent girls in Nigeria and there is very low education rates among them especially those in the lowest wealth quintiles in the society. In Nigeria 60% of the 10.5million children out of school are girls. Data indicate that among other factors one reason for low enrolment and retention of girls in schools especially in the north is the lack of female teachers in the rural areas.

    In response to this UNICEF with funding from the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and counterpart funding from five participating States started the Girls’ Education Project. The Girls’ Education Project Phase 3(GEP3) aims to achieve one million enrolment of girls into school by the end of the year 2020.

    The project is currently running in five Northern States of Nigeria: Bauchi, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto and Zamfara. Since implementation commenced in 2012, the project has contributed to the enrolment of additional 360,000 girls in primary schools in the five states.

    “Adolescent girls should be empowered through deliberate policies to transform their lives and those around them. Young girls who are educated are better placed to improve their own and their children’s health and chances of survival, and boost their work prospects”, said Jean Gough UNICEF Representative in Nigeria  Investing in high quality girls’ education, prepare girls for life, jobs, and leadership. It directly translates into the girls being powerful and positive change agents of development.

     

  • ‘Investing in adolescent girls is beneficial to all’

    ‘Investing in adolescent girls is beneficial to all’

    Activities commemorating this year’s International Day of the Girl Child ended Tuesday with the investiture of the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari as the Grand Patron, High Level Women Advocates for Girls Education in Nigeria.

    This was during an advocacy visit of fifty adolescent girls to her.

    Mrs. Buhari at the interactive session with the girls promised to advocate publicly for legislation against child marriage and encouraged parents to keep their daughters in school for at least 12 years. “No single girl will be left behind in my movement to get every girl into school,” she promised.

    With the theme; “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030”, UNICEF and other partners including the Federal Ministry of Education focused their activities on the transforming power of education to empower adolescent girls to overcome all challenges that affect their lives and inhibit their prospects of advancement.

    The 2013 National Demographic Health Survey indicate that there are about 20 million adolescent girls in Nigeria and there is very low education rates among them especially those in the lowest wealth quintiles in the society.

    In Nigeria 60 percent of the 10.5million children out of school are girls.

    Data indicate that among other factors one reason for low enrolment and retention of girls in schools especially in the north is the lack of female teachers in the rural areas.

    In response to this, UNICEF with funding from the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and counterpart funding from five participating States started the Girls’ Education Project.

    The Girls’ Education Project Phase 3 (GEP3) aims to achieve one million enrolment of girls into school by the end of the year 2020.

    The project is currently running in five Northern States of Nigeria: Bauchi, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto and Zamfara.

    Since implementation commenced in 2012, the project has contributed to the enrolment of additional 360,000 girls in primary schools in the five states.

    “Adolescent girls should be empowered through deliberate policies to transform their lives and those around them. Young girls who are educated are better placed to improve their own and their children’s health and chances of survival, and boost their work prospects,” said Jean Gough UNICEF Representative in Nigeria.

    Investing in high quality girls’ education, prepare girls for life, jobs, and leadership.

    It directly translates into the girls being powerful and positive change agents of development.

     

  • Celebrating pioneers of child and adolescent mental health

    SIR: By various accounts, majority of children in sub-Saharan Africa face a life of poverty, insecurity and poor mental health. These factors hinder their ability to develop into healthy adults, live an improved quality of life and fulfil their life aspirations. Until recently, virtually all social and health interventions for children had focused on the major causes of mortality to the neglect of mental health issues and social problems that have serious consequences for children’s growth and development and the society at large.

    Despite the identified burden of mental health problems in children, there are very few services for child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) care in sub-Saharan Africa and a lack of trained professionals. There was also no regular or coordinated training of health professionals for child and adolescent mental health care until recently. What this means is that the majority of African children with disabling mental disorders go untreated and children within the community do not have access to mental health promoting services or environments. There is no doubt that with the present problems of insecurity and violence in several African countries including Nigeria, the mental health burden will be rising.

    To bridge this huge gap in mental health care for children and adolescents, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation provided funding to the University of Ibadan to establish a Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. In the last 18 months, the centre has had the privilege to train mental health professionals from different regions of Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

    Today, Monday June 16, the centre will celebrate 13 successful students who completed a rigorous 18 month Master of Science programme in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (MSc. CAMH), first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa. This landmark ceremony will hold in the Paul Hendrickse Lecture Theatre, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.

    Coincidentally, the milestone event holds on the occasion of the 2014 Day of the African Child, a yearly event to commemorate the public killing of school children in a protest against apartheid-inspired education in Soweto, South Africa, in 1976. The Day also presents an opportunity to focus on the roles of all stakeholders involved in upholding the rights of the African Child, and to renew efforts towards eliminating the existing obstacles to the realization of these rights.

    This year has as its theme – “Right to participate: Let children be seen and heard”, aimed at generating increased awareness about the need to promote emotional and mental health of African children.

    • Olatunji Oladejo,

     Director of Public Communication,

    University of Ibadan

  • ‘Adolescent pregnancy rooted in poverty, gender inequality’

    Adolescent pregnancy is not only a health issue; it is also rooted in poverty, gender inequality, violence, forced marriage and power imbalance between adolescent girls and their male partners.

    The Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola on Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs. Iyabowale Aluko, said this in Lagos at the World Population Day.

    She said this year’s theme: ‘Adolescent pregnancy’, described the need to undertake steps to ensure the development of the girl-child.

    She said the state government would protect the rights of the girl- child to meet the set target.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Bayo Sodade, said statistics showed that millions of adolescent girls face discrimination and exclusion, which prevent`them from claiming their rights and living out their true potential.

    He said the day is designed to increase people’s awareness on population issues, such as the importance of family planning, gender equality, poverty, maternal health and human rights.